Eleven Months

Holy cow!  My baby girl is getting so close to turning one year old! 

 Of course, she tries to act like a one-year-old already.  Little Sprout is quite the skilled walker by now and is trying her hand (or feet, rather) at running.  She talks constantly - most of it still pretty unintelligible to the average adult, but the siblings seem to know what she's saying all the time.  She demands food constantly, with her current favorites being baked spaghetti, bacon, and pancakes. 

The girl has a crazy amount of energy!  She has a new-found fascination with balls and will pick them up, throw them, and then go pick them up again for hours.  I confess I do allow the other children to play "fetch" with her occasionally.  Hey, it wears her and the kids out too, and then the kids stop begging for a dog.  For at least a day, anyway. 

Little Sprout's middle name is Joy, and she truly is the joy of my life.  It's hard to be down when she is around!

 

 

Next time we'll be wishing you a sweet first birthday, baby girl!  

Ten Months

 I love this face!  I love this girl!  Her enthusiasm, her sense of humor, her energy, and her affection just fill and complete our family.

She is growing at a ridiculous rate.  Babbling up a storm, her favorite words are mama, dada, Anna, m-nana (banana), and bye-bye.  Little Sprout is walking!!!!! now.  She is the earliest walker of all my kids.  It's exciting, because all the other kids cheer her on and get all-out giddy when she takes a shaky step.  Of course, amidst all the excitement, I would love to hang on to my baby just a bit longer.  Lucky for me, she is a fantastic snuggler and a great playmate.  Sometimes, after the other kids go to bed, I'll go into her room and wake her up for one more snuggle and playtime with just me.  Yeah, I'm sentimental that way. :)

Love you so much, you sweet sweet baby cheeks.  Happy ten months!

Nine Months and Narcissism

 It's already time to post a monthly update on little Miss Sprout?!?  I am seriously freaking out now - I want to hang on to the "babyness" as long as possible.  Is that so much to ask?  I can't help it that she is just one stinkin' cute baby! 

With this sassy little one, there is no need for any other entertainment in our house.  Little Sprout knows that she is the center of attention and feeds off it.  She wakes up every morning cooing and chattering, just waiting to get to her audience at the breakfast table.  If no one deigns to pay attention to her, she demands attention by throwing food and chanting her name.

Yes.  You heard that right.  She knows her name and can say it.  Repeatedly.  Our fourth child's first word is "Anna."  She knows the world revolves around her!   See for yourself here. 

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Hummus Baby

the girl likes her hummus. . .

linking up at 5 Minutes for Mom...

Eight Months - Why Does Time Fly By So Fast?

 I feel as if I just wrote about her turning seven months old!  Time is certainly speeding along, and this momma is clutching at its heels and begging it to slow down just a little bit.  This time around, I am really savoring all the moments that I know from experience don't last.  Even when she wakes me too early in the morning, I eagerly take her from her crib, smiling at the sweet chubby legs dangling over my arm.  Her two-tooth, wide grin gets me every time.  I impatiently wait for her to show it off again.  Everything about her - her squishy tummy rolls, her drooly face, her loud baby chatter, her hilarious cackle - is precious to me. 

I am happy to report that Little Sprout is FINALLY drinking formula!  It took a lot of effort and countless bottles thrown across the room, but she now will drink either Target's Up and Up Gentle formula or Costco's Kirkland formula.  At least she's frugal. :)  She weighs just about sixteen pounds - still petite for her age.  And if you look closely at that cheesy grin, you'll see two tiny teeth emerging from her lower gum.  They popped out last week.

This girl is so full of life!  Naptime is a battle every day as she just wants to stay out with her brothers and sister and party!  She is sleeping better at night, only waking once or twice during the night now.  We were blessed to have a friend drop off several baby and toddler toys for her.  Now she has toys just for her, although she still gravitates to the Hot Wheels and Barbies. 

Ah, I adore her so much!  Can you tell?  In the midst of the busyness of playing with and working with my six-year-old, five-year-old, and four-year-old, it is relaxing and just plain fun to have a baby around.

I think we'll keep her. 

Little Sprout is Seven Months

Little Miss Sprout has turned seven months old today.

The pictures speak for themselves - this little gal is way ahead of herself in motor development.  She is pulling up on anything that she thinks will support her and is taking shaky steps all around the furniture.  Occasionally she will venture out and try to walk without any support, but this always ends in a faceplant.  We had to make a trip to IKEA to get a special baby gate to fit across our stairs.  Now you can hear me hollering a million times a day to "don't forget to close the baby gate!  We don't want your baby sister falling down the stairs."  Of course, at the rate she is going, I wouldn't be surprised if she had the skills to rappel down the stairs. 

Unfortunately, momma's milk is gone.  I have spent a lot of time in the last few weeks trying to get this girl to take a bottle, a sippy cup, a regular cup, a medicine dropper, anything to get more hydration and more nutrition into her.  She is quite stubborn - I have no idea where she gets that from.  Currently the combination of coconut milk and a certain kind of bottle seem to be working okay.  Night time is the hardest.  Miss Insomniac gets up at least two to three times during the night and expects to be brought into bed and nursed back to sleep, essentially.  Now I'm shoving a bottle in her face and begging her to go back to sleep.  It's not fun.  Emotionally it has been hard on me.  I am sad that this bonding time with my baby girl is gone.  I am however very proud that I was able to breastfeed her for almost seven months. 

Who needs TV when the kiddos have a charming baby sister to chase around and watch all of her amusing antics?  Despite the feeding and sleeping troubles, I would say that this baby is the most fun one we've had yet! 

Little Sprout is almost fifteen pounds and is wearing 6-9 month clothing.  She is tiny for her age, but she still sports some fat rolls that are beyond adorable.

On to eight months!  I wouldn't be surprised if she were walking by then!

Six Months - Yes, Really

Little Sprout is officially half a year old today!  Our sweet girl is amazing me every day with her newfound skills and happy spirit.

 This month, the girl decided to speed things up and mastered the art of sitting up independently, crawling, and pulling herself to a precarious standing position in her crib, all within the space of two weeks.  

 The siblings are starting to realize that they had better put away their stuff or baby sister might get a hold of it and destroy it!  Little Sprout loves demolishing pancakes, bread slices, crackers, and pretty much any food she can get her hands on.

 She has some favorite toys now - this IKEA bear being one of them.  She also has a yellow Toad (of Super Mario fame) that the Nerd gave her way back at Christmas.  She loves that thing - slobbery legs and arms are evidence of that.  Little Sprout is also becoming quite attached to a certain animal-print blanket.  Of course, it is a thick, fleecy blanket - so perfect for summertime.

This is the face of a definite mama's girl.  She loves her daddy and grandparents too, but if I am in the room, she wants me.  Unfortunately, breast feeding has become a bit of an issue this month.  She still loves nursing and hates bottles, but at the beginning of this past month, she decided she didn't like one of my breasts and chose to only nurse on one side.  I've tried hard to keep my milk supply up, but I can tell it is quickly diminishing.  I think it will soon be time to wean, but stubborn baby girl hates bottles and refuses to take them.  Anyone have any good ideas on going from breast to bottle?  My other kiddos never had any trouble with it, although this is the longest I have ever been able to nurse one of my children.  

Ah, my heart aches as I look at these pictures, knowing how fast they grow up!  I will try to hold fast to the moment today...