9 Months Old

I can't believe that one year ago, I was preparing for your first baby shower, and feeling you kick, flip, and nestle in my belly! I sometimes miss 'always' having you close by, but I am so proud of what an amazing little girl you are becoming! At 9 months old, you are:

-Pointing-You love to point at things that peak your interest. I try to describe the things you point at to help you learn.
-Dancing! You LOVE music, and enjoy 'shaking' your head and body to any and all tunes. It is so adorable....
-You love to inititate and play Peek-a-Boo
-You are trying very hard to walk, and love to 'furniture cruise'
-I turned my back for 20 seconds yesterday, and you had climbed up 2 stairs to our landing! I was so freaked out and shocked, I had to do a double take! You were just standing there, holding yourself up against the wall, shaking and bouncing... No idea when or how you learned to climb stairs, but you certainly did and it was quite amazing (if not frightening for mom)!
-You love to explore and examine everything, including intricate detail. You notice the smallest things and love to analyze them.
-You love to stick your fingers in people's mouths, and for some reason think this is hysterical...
-You finally said MaMa! Yay!! It is few and far between, but you have definitely mastered the word!
-You have learned the skill of handling the Sippy Cup! You are quite the expert, and love to show it off to anyone who will watch.
-You no longer like anyone to feed you with a spoon (lil' miss independent!). You now pitch a fit and fuss whenever I feed you pureed foods, so I have to be very creative and 'distract' you in between bits of puffs or cheese and sneak a bite in!
-Your favorite foods are meats, cheese, vanilla Yo-Baby yogurt, Mum Mums, and pancakes!
-You love to do 'somersaults', and flip on your pillows and changing pad (see picture below) Thanks MeMe for teaching me this fun, new trick!


Daddy's Boots :)

More Holiday Photos...

Here are some pictures from the holidays.... I am way behind in posting them due to the drama and events that have taken place over the past 2 months! But I love these pictures, she looks so precious in all of them. I think they are my favorite so far.

Yummy Snowflake!

Clapping for her gifts :)

Opening her first gift! She was so excited, yet not sure what was going on!

Leighton and Uncle Garrett

Mom's Adventure!

Last week, I traveled to Dana Point, CA for 5 nights. My company had our national sales meeting, so it was work work work, go go go the whole time! I admit I was very nervous and had some anxiety beforehand.... This is the longest I have ever left Leighton, and she is in that super clingy, only want my mommy phase, so that didn't help the matter:( I fretted about it for a week beforehand, but it was so strange because as soon as I walked into the airport, a large sense of peace and calm fell over me. I had prayed that God would provide me with reassurance and confidence that we (mainly I) could take this leap and be separated for such a long time (and long distance)! I think the anticipation is always worse than the actual event in most situations in life!! It has certainly been true in most of my experiences.

I was very busy, and inundated with a great deal of information while there. However, I also had some very fun evenings going to nice dinners, enjoying drinks and quiet time in the evenings, sleeping in a bit, and just overall having some much needed 'me' time. Plus, my mom (Meme) got to spend some very important bonding time with LG, as did daddy! It was so awesome because when I got home yesteraday, I could sense that Jason exuded more confidence with her than I've ever seen, and it seemed like they had shared some wonderful bonding time! Not that they weren't close before, but I think when I am here, I tend to take on many of the tasks and responsibilities just because I have always done them and have dubbed them 'mine'! I always just say "Oh no, I will do it" just because! I am so glad Jason got to spend some crucial bonding time with Leighton, as did my mom. In my opinion, it is so important for children to have close knit relationships and memories with close family, and learn the ability to lean on others and gain some independence from a young age!

One thing is for sure, I couldn't have picked a better time to travel to a sunny, warm destination! It snowed nearly 8 inches here when I left last Sunday, and everyone was housebound for 4 days!! Yuck!