Nine Months

Another month has flown by and as of last week Keira is NINE MONTHS! She is as cute as can be and soooo much fun! She's sooo funny and sweet, and just an absolute joy! It's so cute watching her crawl around, learn new sounds, explore new things, smile, laugh, stand up in her crib making cute noises and talking, keeping herself entertained, and crawling into the next room looking for me saying mamamamama or something.

My baby girl at nine months.

Jason and Keira are going to be best buds!

She is getting so big! Here's a picture of her two days old- so tini.

Now so big!

So now it is time for a new car seat that fits her a little better.

This was Keira's first time standing in her crib. Whew, that's a whole different post...

I think eating is going a little better. She loves finger foods! Her favorite foods are cheese and yogurt melts. She gets so excited when I open a piece of cheese. She's so cute, if I give her a Cheerio, puff, and yogurt melt, she will choose the yogurt melt every time. And if I give her one large and one small yogurt melt she will always choose the larger one after examining them closely. She finally caught the hang of a sippy cup without chewing on it the whole time.

Being outside must be Keira's favorite thing. She is so good and has so much fun! I usually place her on a blanket close to wear I'll be working for up to a couple of hours to clean the yard and mow the lawns. And that whole time she is just as happy as can be playing, talking, and watching me. It's the cutest thing! Don't get my wrong, we do take little play breaks.

Keira loves to explore. She's very observant and notices when things are out of place or are different and loves to examine things. She loves to have things she can't have and usually cries if we take something away from her. I am now starting to see why some parents let their kids have anything, cell phones, car keys, purses, etc. Sometimes it's just so much easier and it makes them happy.

She loves crawling! And still does it with her left knee and right foot. It is so cute to see her scooting along and she's getting quite fast. I love how she will come looking for me in a different room or follow my voice. Especially when she says "mama" while doing it! We haven't quite decided if she's purposeful with her talking yet. If she's not already there, she's awfully close! And her favorite word is "mamamamamom"! Oh yeah! :o) She's also pulling herself up on everything and loves standing. She enjoys us to help support herself while she raises up and down. But she's also getting good at gently lowering herself.

She HATES laying on her back. Which makes changing and naps pretty difficult and sometimes a little frustrating.

Keira is a tremendous blessing and I'm so thankful to have her in my life. I can't imagine it without her. And these last nine months have been the happiest ever! I love you so much Cutie Pie!

Santa Cruz

A couple of weeks ago we went to Santa Cruz, CA to see Keira's Grandpa and Grandma Long and Uncle Jeremy. It was so much fun! Keira LOVED her grandparents and uncle! And they loved her too!

Keira loved hearing Jeremy play the guitar. He is SUPER good! She wanted to try it out herself.

We went to the beach a couple of times but it was freezing. Well not freezing per se, but it was in the low 60s there and about 15 degrees warmer in Denver! It wasn't really beach weather. Plus there were sand flies all over. Keira didn't seem to mind though.

The Longs are quite a musically talented family. Chris was singing to "Peaceful, Easy Feeling", his Dad on the harmonica, and his brother on the guitar.

Grandpa and Keira love each other!

Uncle Jer is such a great uncle and read to Keira!

Keira had so much fun with Grandma!

Keira loves her Uncle Jeremy!

Daddy, Keira, Grandpa, and Uncle Jer

Keira was soooooooooo good the entire time, and so cute! She was the perfect baby girl. I think the key to her heart is constant attention from Mommy as well as grandparents, an uncle, and Daddy.

The guys got to spend A LOT of time bonding in the "man cave" ie. garage. We did get to visit In-N-Out right after we landed and I stocked up as much as I could at Trader Joe's also. YUM! We also enjoyed two of the most delicious BBQ dinners we have ever eaten! We truly wish we lived closer to our wonderful families!

Poor Laurie

My poor sister. She was simply looking for golf balls hit off the coarse in Tuscon and got bit by a rattlesnake. Not once, but twice on her right wrist. Many hours in the emergency room, four days in the intensive care unit, two days on a medical floor, and over $100,000 in bills, and her swelling is gone and she almost has full function of her hand.

I love you Laurie. I wish I could've been there to take care of you. :-(

Keira does too.

Vegetarian?

I think I'm going to have to become a vegetarian during my next pregnancy. Hopefully that way I won't have such a hard time getting my baby to eat fruits and veggies. We're going to do a vegetable crop share this year with another couple. We'll get locally owned fresh organic vegetables for a great price. And hopefully it will get me to start liking veggies, or else I'm going to have a rough pregnancy as a vegetarian. ;-)

Pulling Up

Keira is not only crawling, she's also pulling herself up to standing. And she loves it! This was her very first time.

"Look Mom, one handed!"

Everyone says she looks just like Chris. Someone today even said she looks like a Cabbage Patch Doll. Whoever/whatever it may be, she's a cutie!

My First Mother's Day

Well I think Mother's Day is my new favorite holiday. (Especially if next year Chris tells me or gives me a card or something that says he thinks I'm a great mom. ;-) ) I had such a wonderful day! I truly believe that being a mom is the most important, fun, rewarding, and best job I could ever have. And I am so thankful to have that opportunity. I'm also so thankful to be a full time mom and only have to work part time. And although it's been a little challenging financially and for me to have all of the responsibilities of a stay at home mom in addition to working part time, the choice to work part time is something I will never regret. I LOVE being a mom!!!

Keira LOVES crawling and is alllll over now! And into everything! She can keep herself entertained for much longer, however you have to watch her like a hawk to make sure it's baby appropriate things. She's much more interested in anything but her toys.

Giving herself kisses. ;-)

On Mother's Day Chris came home from work in the morning with flowers. And then I got home from church and he had made delicious crepes and bacon. Yum!

The next day he took me on a Mother's Day date. It was great! We went to a Japanese restaurant and had delicious sushi. And then went to Cold Stone for dessert. Yum! What a wonderful celebration!

Crawling!

Well today is the official day that Keira started crawling! Her cute little body scooting along is the cutest thing! She was getting awfully close last night, but it was made official when Daddy came home from work and she surprised him by crawling across her room. It really is the cutest thing ever! I hope I can actually consider it crawling. She's only on one knee and one foot. Probably because she knows it's more efficient. ;-) She really got it down quickly.

Click here to see a YouTube video of her this morning. I wish I would have taken some photos also.

She is SOOOO happy! Actually, I think part of the reason she has been a little "high maintenance" is because she was bored and frustrated. Now she's as happy as can be!