11 Months

It is getting nearly impossible to get a photo of C in that chair!

Stats: We weighed her both on our bathroom scale and the Schlyper bathroom scale, and she came in at 18 lbs at our house, and 18.6 lbs at their house.  So she's gained weight and percentiles and is now somewhere between 13th and 16th percentile!

Health:  We had the sickness from hell this month.  On the last Sunday of June, at 4 in the morning, Callie woke up crying and definitely running a fever.  We spent the following 4 days dosing her with Tylenol or Ibuprofen when her fever went above 102, on and off the phone with the RN line when her fever spiked above 104, and when she started convulsing from fever shivers, and when her lips turned blue and her cheeks flushed with veins from who knows what.  We went in to the clinic twice since her fever never went down and we had no idea what it might be.  The two pediatricians we saw suspected either the Roseola rash or Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease, but she never broke out in a rash, so we never figured out what was wrong.  It was a pretty rough 4 days.  Needless to say, she didn't sleep well and she gets really clingy when she's sick, so we were up a lot holding her and rocking her, or she was in bed with us laying on top of us to sleep.

Sleep:  Callie had a 10.5 month sleep regression where she woke up around 10:30 pm and 3 am for a feeding.  She might have been going through a growth spurt, which would explain the extra percentile growth we saw in her weight this month.  But that only lasted for about a week.  She's normally down between 7 and 8 pm, and up again between 6:30 and 7:30 am.  Sometimes if she's up or around 6:30, we can feed her and she'll go back to sleep for awhile, but she's pretty regular.

She also takes two good, long naps a day.  She'll go down for about an hour and a half to two hours around 9 am, and again around 1pm.  She's cut out the 3rd evening cat nap for the most part, and will stay up, playing, and happy from around 3 until her bedtime at 7.

Clothes/Diaper Size:  Calista is still fitting nicely in her 6 month clothes, which is good because I have soooooo many adorable clothes in that size, and I don't feel like I got to use them all enough!  She's also fitting into 9 month stuff, but the onesies are a little loose and the pants are a little baggy, so I'm happy to keep those clothes in the 9 month drawer and wait to use them until she's too big for the 6 month stuff.

She's wearing size 3 diapers, and I think she'll be in those for some time since they're rated from 16-28 lbs.

Diet:  We've been having so much fun with solid foods lately.  Because she chews her foods now, we're able to cut down on the baby foods and the purees, and give her more of the foods from our plates.  She loves small chunks of meat - chicken, hamburger, pork, salami, salmon, it doesn't seem to matter.  She'll also eat just about any fruit or vegetable we put in front of her.  She went through a 5 lb box of strawberries in under a week.  This month's experiment was cherries since they're in season and soooooo delicious.  They're a bit of a pain to cut up for her, but she loves them.  Some food staples for her are bananas, avocados, cheese (lately she prefers the Smoked Gouda and Creamy Havarti from our cheese variety pack), scrambled eggs, and cheerios.

She's also getting bottles of formula throughout the day.  We offer her a full bottle before and after every nap, which sometimes she sucks down and sometimes she only takes an ounce or two.  I've stopped keeping track of how much she's eating since it was stressing me out too much, and since we're offering her food so often, I feel confident she's taking in what she needs.

Baby Gear Love:  We had a little "keeping up with the Schlypers" purchase a few months ago, and bought a high chair/shopping cart cover and it has really come in handy now that Callie is no longer content in her car seat while we go shopping.  I love it especially because Callie is at this awkward stage where she's too small to fit comfortably in the shopping carts or high chairs, so this kind of packs her in more securely and she doesn't try to wriggle out of them any more.

We also recently purchased a portable high chair that screws on to any table, and we've gotten a ton of use out of it since we bought it.  It was a little spendy at $60 new, but it's weight max is 37 lbs, so I know we'll get a few years use out of it.  We bought it after our beach house trip last month and not having a high chair for her, and we've already gotten a lot of use out of it.  We used it at the Yacht club in Klamath, at friend's houses when we visit for dinner, and at the picnic tables while camping.

Other items I STILL use on a daily basis are our BOB stroller, the swing, the Ergo carrier, the pack n play, and the command center and walker.

Nicknames:  Babers, Boo Boo, and Baby have caught on with Bryann and my parents.  Others that make their appearance include Callie Bug, Callie Belle, and Callie 'Laine

Favorite Songs/Lullabies:  Callie likes just about anything I sing to her, and I make up all sorts of songs all day long.  Mostly I just sing about what we're doing to the tune of whatever song I have stuck in my head at that moment.  Sometimes I think she sings back.

Milestones/Firsts:  This month, Callie learned to clap her hands, to wave hello and bye bye, and to show us how big she is.  She can stand up without pulling herself up on anything, and she can stand by herself without holding on to anything.  She's gotten much better at walking, though she's still not super interested in walking as a way of travel, and much prefers to crawl.  She's become much more vocal than she used to be, and is including "doh-doh" in her babbling repertoire.

This month she celebrated her first Independence Day (though she was sound asleep in the 5th wheel at my parents house during the fireworks), and went to one of her best friend's 1st birthday party, during which she played in a pool for the first time!

We also took her to her first baseball game in Hillsborro.  We met Tamara, Rian, and Hannah out there for a 7pm game because we wanted to practice and get a sense for how she would handle staying up waaaaaay past her bedtime when we went to the Braves games in Seattle in early August, and more Braves games in Atlanta at the end of August.  We had a great time with the Schlypers, fed her some dinner at the park, and she was fairly content playing in our laps until she got tired, and then she did well in the Ergo, but didn't fall asleep while we were at the park.  It was a nice first run since we could go straight home if things went poorly (unlike in Seattle or Atlanta!)

At the Hillsboro Hops game to practice for the Braves games later this summer

At the end of her 11th month, we took her on her first camping trip!  There was no cell service, so of course I turned off my phone and got zero pictures of the weekend, but Callie did SO great!  She napped like a champ in the Ergo, she slept in her crib at night in our tent (but only when it got dark.  We tried to put her to bed at 8 when it was still light out, and it did NOT go well!)  I put her on a blanket to play a few times, but she just crawled off and started putting rocks, and dirt, and bark chips in her mouth, so she spent most of the time either in someone's lap, in the Ergo, or in her portable high chair.  She ate mostly solid foods the entire weekend, since she prefers a warm bottle and wouldn't drink any of the cold formula milk.  We would heat the water up during group meal times for her, but if the bottle wasn't warm, she wasn't having it.  We also spent the day at the lake with Katee and Isaac, and Auntie Elizabeth, and she got to play in a lake for the first time.  This girl LOVES water!!  When we got home, we let her play in our shower while we showered the camping trip off of us all, and she had a blast crawling around in there, too.

Likes:  Climbing over obstacles, "wrestling" in bed aka being pushed over by mommy and daddy whenever she tries to get up and crawl away, chewing on stuff, going for walks, being outside, bath time, water play time.

Dislikes:  The end of bath time, the end of play time, having things she's chewing on taken away from her, being told "No, you can't play with that," being put down when she's having the greatest time ever squirming around in my arms, diaper changes with out Mr. Frog to entertain her.

Things I Don't Want to Forget:
All of her funny faces.  Her different smiles, her squinchy face, her laughing face, her concentrating face, her curious face, her furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips, even her sad face.  She's got SO much personality and I love all of her faces.

At Klamath Yacht Club for Independence Day weekend

Overlooking Klamath Lake

Tasting the binoculars instead of looking through them... Typical C

Walking along the docks with Daddy

Family photo

Callie with Aunt Whitley

Sleeping in her carseat

Swinging at Cook Park

Going down the slide at Cook Park with Daddy

Callie, Hannah, and Clara tormenting poor Murphy

Lasagna and Avocado night at the Schlypers!

Baby in a box

Still using the swing even at 10.5 months old!  Her eyebrows tell you what a fussy face she was.

Sword play at such a young age.  Uncle Nate would be proud!

Daddy and Daughter

Pool time at the birthday party

Splish Splash!

10 Months

Stats:  We will have to wait until her 12 mo. appointment to get all the stats again, but we had to take baby girl in to the clinic shortly after her 10 mo birthday, so we got a weight on her.  Calista is a whopping 16 lbs. 7 oz!  

Health:  Callie was a healthy, bouncing baby girl all through her 10th month!  No reflux, no sickness, just a happy girl.  

Sleep:  This past month really seemed to mark a turning point in her sleep habits.  She started sleeping through the night at Grandma 'Laine's house while we were in Ashland, and it just continued all month long.  Callie goes to bed between 7 and 8, and doesn't usually wake up again until between 6 and 8am.  Sometimes if she wakes at 6, we can feed her and get her back down again, but she hasn't woken up in the middle of the night all month long!

Callie also gets 2-3 long naps a day.  She goes down for naps around 9am, 1pm, and 4:30pm, and her naps usually last between 1-2 hours.  

Clothes/Diaper Size:  She's still fitting well in her 6 month clothes, but we also put her in 9 month layette sets since the pants are longer.  She's a normal height for her age, just a lightweight, so her 6 month pants are all high waters now.  

We use the Costco brand size 3 diapers, but for any other brand, she wears size 2.  

Diet:  Calista has enjoyed a wide range of foods this month!  She's gotten SO much better at biting off finger foods and chewing, so we can give her a wider variety of stuff without her choking.  She eats 3 solid meals a day - jarred baby food, eggs, berries, steamed veggies, pasta, meat, cheese - and we offer a full bottle whenever she goes down or gets up from a nap (so about 3 hours, on average) and she'll drink whatever she feels like.  We also give her a sippy cup with water during meal times, to start the transition from the bottle, and it seems like she's starting to get the hang of it.  

Baby Gear Love:  We don't use a lot of the baby gear anymore now that Calista is moving around so much on her own.  I'd say the Ergo still gets weekly use - I strapped her in during both of Bryann's graduation ceremonies - since she's so wiggley in our laps, and it's a great carrier for sleeping when we're out during one of her naps, or during her bedtime.  

Nicknames:  Babers has caught on with Bryann recently.  Also Callie Girl, Boo Boo, and Callie Bug.  

Favorite Songs/Lullabies:  "Good Morning Callie Sunshine", "Baby Baby Boo" to the tune of the Scooby Doo song.

Milestones/Firsts:  Last month held SO many firsts, this month just can't compete!  But I love the little person she's becoming.  She communicates more in her own baby way.  She talks a lot and she has the most incredible facial expressions!  She will pull herself up on my leg when she wants to be held, she'll start making smacking noises when she wants to be fed, she'll put her arms up when she wants out of a chair, or up in my arms.  She's just really fun to be around!

She's been working on honing all of her new movement skills.  She can walk, assisted, around the room, although she prefers to crawl since she can get around so much faster that way.  She cruises along the length of the couch or windowsill pretty easily now.  She has started crawling with toys in her hands, and switching toys from one hand to the other, bending down to pick up a toy and standing back up again, and even putting toys in her mouth to carry while she crawls around the room.

She's also learning to wave hello and goodbye, and we started working on clapping.  We'll see where that goes at the end of 11 months.  

We've made several long car trips recently - to Klamath Falls at the end of May, and to the beach towards the end of June - and she has done SO great in the car.  She's content for about 2 hours before she needs a stretch/eating break.  

She celebrated Bryann's first father's day.  Which meant that I got to do all the dirty work while Bryann relaxed and enjoyed the day getting only the fun parts.  But I got the same on Mother's Day, so it was a fair trade.  

Father's day Brunch!

For Bryann's Father's Day Brunch, he got to show off his fathering skills by holding his daughter and eating at the same time!

Bryann graduated with his MBA this month, and Callie attended both the hooding ceremony and the graduation ceremony with me.  

At Bryann's hooding ceremony

At Bryann's MBA graduation

Callie went to her first Beer Festival with us.  We met the Schylpers, and some other friends for the Fruit Beer Festival on Burnside, and spent a lovely few hours sampling beers and hanging out in the shade together.  She did really great being held for about 2 hours and visiting with friends. 

Callie with her stunner shades!

Mommies and Babies at Brewfest

Enjoying our first Beerfest together.

She went to the beach for the first time!  We technically made it to Rockaway earlier this year, but it was thunderstormy and the power went out so we went home Saturday night, and we never actually made it to the beach.  But this time the weather was BEAUTIFUL, and we went for long jogs every morning after her first nap, and she got to crawl around in the sand, and play in the water!  

Enjoying an evening at Rockaway Beach

Sitting and playing nicely on the blanket didn't last long!

Callie's first touch of the ocean!

Eating sand and enjoying the beach

Family photo at Twin Rocks

Likes:  Bath time, getting rinsed off after a meal at the sink, eating sand, eating grass, exploring the world with her mouth, KITTY!  Crawling around our bed in the mornings when we're too lazy to get up.  
Dislikes:  Being contained on a lap.  Callie doesn't sit still (ever!) so it's hard to get her to just hang out in your lap, like say for a graduation ceremony!  Being tired and having her diaper changed at the same time.  

Things I Don't Want to Forget:  Driving in the car on the way to the beach and Callie is happily babbling away to herself - or maybe talking to Sam, we couldn't tell - and Bryann and I are in the front seats cracking up laughing at her.  She is so adorable, and entertains herself for surprisingly long periods of time.  

The way Callie lights up and squeals with delight when she sees me walk in to Katee's to pick up her for the day, or when Bryann gets home from work.  It's nice to be so loved.  :-)   

Baby girl takes after her momma!  Whenever I set her down in the kitchen, she crawls right toward the teacup collection!

Our days of evening cuddle naps are numbered... 

LITERALLY Eating the Alphabet!

She just demolished an avocado.

B-52 Play Time!

First boo-boo!  Callie got a little too friendly with kitty and got a swipe to the forehead.

Our Breastfeeding Journey Comes to a Close

I just recently dropped my evening pumping session, so now we're down to either breastfeeding in the early mornings (5 or 6am) or pumping after she wakes up.  I'm not sure when I'll drop the morning feed, but I'm realizing that giving my daughter breast milk may end sooner than I had planned.  My original goal was to breastfeed for a full year.  I didn't want to use formula at all, and I was open to breastfeeding for even longer, possibly up to 2 years.  But things didn't go at all to plan.

Somewhere around the time Callie woke up to the world, she became impatient breastfeeding.  She seemed frustrated waiting for my letdown, and then she seemed to get overwhelmed with the sudden flow of milk and would cough and choke.  She would pull off and look around and get fussy and want to sit up and visually explore her surroundings.  Breastfeeding just stopped being a pleasant experience for both of us, so we started bottle feeding more often.  Callie was calmer with the bottle and would eat for longer sessions.  I could sit her up more, and turn the bottle with her when she turned her head.  She is still absolutely insistent when she is done eating - she'll push the bottle away from her face and turn her head - but getting her to eat is less of a struggle, and when she tells me she's done eating, I am happy to drop the matter instead of pushing her to latch again and eat longer and having us both get more and more frustrated.

And it's probably a good thing we switched to bottle feeding rather than push breastfeeding longer.  She GAINED weight percentiles between her 6 month and her 9 month check up.  It makes me wonder if perhaps we'd switched to more bottle feedings earlier, she wouldn't have dropped weight percentiles so drastically.  But I kept hearing that breastfeeding is best, and that breast milk has so many more nutrients and benefits than formula, so I pushed it longer than maybe I should have (cue mommy guilt).  Ultimately we started just paying attention to our daughter's cues, and she told us what she needed.  And if there wasn't so much noise in the background about how breast is best, and mommy shaming for introducing formula, we may have paid attention to Callie's cues a little sooner.   (No one I actually know has been unsupportive.  The mommy shaming is my own self-inflicted issue from reading the forum sites whenever I googled anything baby feeding related.  Google just makes you feel worse!)

I noticed a drastic drop in my milk supply when I started my period again, when Callie was almost 6 months old, which also made it hard to keep on feeding breast milk exclusively.  Yes, I could have put more time/effort into pumping to keep bottle feeding her breast milk.  Yes, I could have started drinking mother's milk tea, and making lactation cookies, and taking fenugreek supplements to increase my milk supply.  So yes, part of it is me being lazy, but man-oh-man I hate pumping!  And we did our due diligence on the research, and I can't find anything really convincing that says the benefits of breast milk outweigh formula past around 6-7 months of age.  This article on the Timeline of a Breastfed Baby helps ease some of my mommy guilt for not pumping as often anymore.  We actually made it almost 8 months of using exclusively breast milk in her bottle, which is longer than 99% of mothers who start off breastfeeding.  My husband wasn't breastfed at all, and I was only breastfed for 6 months, and we both turned out just fine!  (Better than fine even, considering we're decently smart people with Masters degrees.  And when I consider what a friggin' genius my husband is, it kind of throws all arguments about formula out the window...)

So it is with extremely mixed emotions that I say adieu to our breastfeeding journey.  I know we're doing what's best for our daughter, and I see how she's growing and thriving with formula and the solid foods she's getting, but I can't help feel a twinge of regret that things didn't go according to plan.  Callie is not the type of baby that is content to hang out, relax, get some good mommy cuddles in, and breast feed for an hour at a time (if you've met her, and seen how active and curious she is, you probably could have surmised that yourself!)  She's got shit to do!  Stuff to see!  Things to chew on!  So I'm listening to her more, and accepting her for who she is, and realizing that it's OK for our journey to be a bit different.

First Weekend Away

This past weekend, Bryann and I celebrated our 3-year wedding anniversary WITHOUT THE BABY!!!  We drove down to Klamath Falls and spent a day/night there to help transition Callie to Grandma Lainey's care, and then we drove to Ashland for the rest of the weekend.

In addition to this trip being her first weekend without mommy and daddy, it was our first long-distance car trip with Callie, her first full weekend away from her own crib.  I was really nervous she wouldn't sleep well with all the change in scenery, but coincidentally, she was also getting sick and may have been teething (we haven't seen any teeth pop down yet, so jury is still out on that one)... so yeah, she didn't sleep very well the first few nights.  I even bought an extra little mattress pad for her pack n' play crib, but the first two nights were really rough.  Bryann had been gone all week and I had been having a hard time with her before we even left for the trip, so we didn't exactly set ourselves up for success here.  But we had hotel reservations and play tickets, and PTO requests in, so we weren't about to cancel!

We left Portland at 8:30pm on Thursday (Bryann had driven down from Tacoma that afternoon, so we couldn't leave any sooner) and Callie slept pretty well in the car on the way down.  We stopped in Chemult and I nursed her, and then she slept until Klamath.  We thought we could just change her, feed her and put her back down... Boy, were we wrong!  Enter several hours of screaming and crying and several rounds of whose-turn-is-it-to-comfort-the-baby between Bryann, me, and Gma, and we got maybe 3 hours of sleep that night.  Who knows what was going on, whether she was stuffy and not feeling well, the altitude change, the crib change, the different smells, different room, but she also wouldn't nap without being in someone's arms the next day, and Friday night was equally painful to get her to sleep in her crib.  Thankfully I have the best mother in the world who stayed up with Callie until 1:30 in the morning and finally got her to sleep in her crib.  Bryann and I passed out around 10 thinking she'd be in her crib soon and slept blissfully unaware until 7am.  (Thank you, mom!!)

On Saturday morning, we headed over to Ashland via 66 (gorgeous views of the valley) and started the weekend off with AMAZING brunch at Morning Glory (complete with mimosas to celebrate our freedom!) and checked into our hotel early.  We stayed at the Columbia Hotel right in downtown Ashland.  It's the oldest and longest operating hotel, and we found it to be perfect for our needs.  Small, queen room, shared bathrooms, free coffee, friendly and accommodating staff (they let me use their fridge to store my pumped breast milk) and 2 blocks from the theater and park.

One of our reasons for wanting to visit Ashland was to check out all the areas wineries.  They have a warmer, dryer climate than the Willamette Valley, so I was really looking forward to all of the yummy darker reds!  We decided to follow the blue winery signs and started our wine-tasting itinerary at family-owned Weisinger's where we spent a good hour and a half sipping the wine samples on the sunny deck, listening to some music, and reconnecting.  We even got a private cellar tour from the owner and operator, Eric Weisinger!  And in true Kristi & Bryann fashion, we hadn't planned out any itinerary, so we asked the pourer and some of the locals tasting that day where else we should go, and which restaurants we should try.  We visited Dana Campbell (great views, good wines, delicious pulled-pork sliders), Grizzly Peak (Bryann really liked their Syrah),  and Eliana (we relaxed in the adirondak chairs, and really liked the 2010 Bordeaux Blend).

We got dinner recommendations for Cucina Biazzi, but we couldn't stay to enjoy the recommended full 4-course dining experience because we were cutting it close to the play time, so we didn't like the restaurant as much as we might have otherwise.  Needless to say we were exhausted by that point and not at all looking forward to a 3 hour play.  When we got to will-call to pick up tickets, the cashier handed them over and said "Ok, 2 tickets for tomorrow night.  Enjoy!" and we both exclaimed a sigh of relief.  We called it an early night and enjoyed NOT having to stay awake for a play.

On Sunday, we scheduled a nap for the middle of the day so we wouldn't be so exhausted.  We had breakfast at Greenleaf, took a stroll through Lithia park, and left for the wineries around 11:30.  We started at Trium (tasty Viogneir and Cuvees), then to Paschal (our favorite of the trip - we loved everything on the tasting menu, and enjoyed the tree swings after the tastings), and ended at Pebblestone (probably our least favorite place - all the wines were a bit bubbly which means they bottled them to soon).  We went back into town and had lunch at Standing Stone Brewing Co, and then took a nap and had some down time to relax a bit.  That evening, we had dinner at Loft (dungeness Crab Macaroni and cheese... HelloooooO!!!!) and then saw Cocoanuts that night.

We didn't have time to check out ALL of the wineries, or ALL of the restaurants we would have liked, but luckily, Ashland is an easy weekend trip for us and so close to Klamath that I'm sure we'll be back again.  I started to miss Callie by Monday morning and was glad to go back to see her again.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel all weekend without my sweet baby girl, but I surprised myself.  I called my mom to check in on them around breakfast and dinner, and I didn't worry about them at all.  I knew my mom had everything under control.  I think I felt so comfortable because Callie has already spent a lot of time with Gma Lainey, and she does great being away from me at daycare.  I think every mom/dad/parent has a teensy tiny voice in the back of their head saying "if something happens when I'm away, I'll never forgive myself", but whatareyagonnado?  We had a great weekend away together, and had some much MUCH needed time to reconnect.

9 Months

Stats: Callie gained percentiles this month for the first time since she was 2 months old! She now weighs in at 16 lbs (8th %), is 22.5" long (48th %) and her head circumference is 17.22" (43rd%)!

Health:  Callie got a cold right towards the end of this month, but her reflux hasn't been an issue.  I think she's grown out of it because I truly can't remember the last time she spit up more than just the tiniest little bit.

Sleep:  I've heard that babies never sleep consistently until they're well over a year.  Callie has given us some amazing sleep nights, and some really awful sleep nights.  This month has, in general, been better than last month.  She generally sleeps until 2 or 3, and then gets fed, and goes back to sleep until around 6 or 7.  Bryann and I  haven't been crazy sleep deprived this month, so I call it a win.

She did drop a nap this month.  She used to nap 3 times a day at 9 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm, but she's been working on dropping the 4 pm nap.  Sometimes she can do it if she naps for at least an hour at both the 9 am and 1 pm nap, but if not, she needs a 30 minute catnap at 4.

Clothes/Diaper Size:  She's filling out 6-month onesies and jamies nicely now, but the pants are a little on the small side, so we're going to have to move up to 9-month pants.  She graduated to size 2 diapers, and size 3 diapers at night.

Diet:  I still breastfeed her in the middle of the night, and sometimes before a nap, but for the most part during the day, I'm pumping and she's eating either breastmilk or formula from the bottle.  She gets a big bowl of cereal and baby food in the evenings, and a few extra bites of whatever I'm eating, cut into tiny pieces.

Baby Gear Love:  I still use her swing when she's fussy but not quite ready for a nap.  Or I have a meeting (since I'm still working from home 90% of the time) and I need to pacify her for awhile.

I also use the command center and her walker (one stays downstairs and one stays upstairs) when I need to keep her out of trouble for a few minutes - like when I take a shower, or cook dinner.

The Ergo still goes with us to all events and Callie still loves to hang out in it, strapped to our chests.  Sometimes she's just chill and looks around, sometimes she falls asleep.

And we go on long walks nearly every day, so the Bob stroller is getting some serious use, and is still a super smooth ride.

Nicknames:  Baby Girl, Callie Bug, Goo Goo, Boo Boo, Caleesi (GoT reference).

Favorite Songs/Lullabies:"Dancing Queen" sung every time I'm holding her up and she does her Lord of the Dance jig. 

Milestones/Firsts: 

We saw the entire progression of learning to crawl this month.  First, she started rolling from her back to her tummy and sitting up.  Then she was leaning forward and getting back on her stomach, bringing her knees up, but not quite getting on top of her knees.  She would mostly inchworm and propel herself with her hands backward and forward.  Then she got up on her hands and knees, but couldn't quite figure out how to coordinate her hands and her legs to move forward, so she would just kind of reach forward and fall on her face.  Then, on Mother's Day, she figured it out and crawled across the floor - a good 6 foot distance - in pursuit of my hard cider.

She's also learned to pull herself up into a standing position.  She can only do it with things at her level, like window sills, mommy's knees, coffee tables, and most recently using the bars of her crib, but she's sooooo proud of herself when she pulls herself up.  There's nothing else in the world that makes me so happy as the look on her face when she's discovered a new skill.  

Callie also started sleeping on her stomach during naps and at night.  Once she figured out how to sit up and crawl around, she wasn't interested in going straight to sleep anymore.  Sometimes she'll flip herself over, and crawl around her crib for awhile before passing out on her face.  But mostly, she sleeps on her stomach, sometimes with her butt straight up in the air!

This month, Callie also spent her first weekend away from home with Grandma Lainey!  Bryann and I drove down to Klamath and dropped Callie off at my parents house, and then spent the weekend (our 3-year anniversary weekend) in Ashland.  More on this adventure here.  

Likes:  Bath time, moving, crawling, getting into things, chewing on new things.  She also squeals with delight whenever I come to pick her up from Katee's, or when Bryann gets home from work.  She doesn't mind being dropped off with others (yet) and she LOVES it when she sees either of us after a bit of an absence. 

Dislikes:  Having something she's not supposed to have taken away from her, or being picked up and redirected away from the super interesting computer cords/shoes/floor vents/trash cans.  She'll cry for a few seconds, but she's usually redirected pretty quickly.

Things I Don't Want to Forget:

Nap times got WAY more interesting this month.  With her new found mobility and independence, baby girl decided it would be much more fun if she spent the first 20 minutes of her nap flipping herself over, crawling around her crib getting her leg stuck in the slats and crying, making mommy come back in her room and place her back on her back several times before finally falling asleep.  She figured it out eventually, and stopped getting stuck in the crib slats, but we spent a good 4 days doing this routine.

Not sleeping...

One time I had put her down for a nap and Bryann and I were watching the monitor, laughing at her moving around. She grabbed the crib slats and started to pull herself up. We looked at each other and said "Welp, guess that means we need to lower the crib now!" and ran upstairs, lowered the crib mattress all the way down, and moved the monitor off the crib edge. 

When I feed her at night, and she's done eating, she cuddles up to me and falls back to sleep, completely content in my arms.  It's soooo hard for me to put her back in her crib.  Sometimes I sit there rocking and kissing her forehead for a few extra minutes.

This month has been so much fun watching her develop and become mobile and interested in the world around her.  She's so expressive and seems to just LOVE life.  She must have gotten her mommy and daddy's good humor.  :-)  

Mother's Day

All the mothers with their daughters on Mother's Day

Callie flirting with her daddy

She's so adorable when she naps!

Having a ball in front of the mirror at her 9-month check up

Morning cuddle time with Daddy!

First time she pulled herself up in her crib

Dinner date with BFF Hannah!