Bébé Maybe

Wow, we're so close to one full year of this amazing baby! This month's highlights include- *Magnolia's first Halloween! She was Little Red Riding Hood (with Poppy playing the role of Grandma haha), and of course looked adorable. We drove around to friend's and family's houses to show off their cute costumes. *A big trip out west to Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, St. George, Zion's National Park, and then family time in Orem to meet her great-grandparents. It was a great week and Magnolia was a great travel buddy. She loves people watching and is a very easy-going traveler. *SHE SAID MAMA!! It happened while we were in Utah and it absolutely melted me. She was a bit clingier than normal amid all of the new situations and people and didn't always appreciate when I left the room. One day we thought she said "Ma" when I stepped into the kitchen, and the next day she said a very clear (and sad) "Mama" as I was closing the bathroom door and leavin...

Big news this month- Magnolia said her first word just 2 weeks after turning 9 months!!! At 9 months, I was getting worried that she hadn't babbled at all yet. She made ALL kinds of sounds, but no vowel sounds. Just days after her 9 month appointment she started babbling, and soon after that the first word was said: Dada. I'm only slightly disappointed that it wasn't Mama. ;) I'm so proud of my girl for starting to talk! She loves to visit David in his office during the day, and she said Dada as she was happily crawling down the hall and realized that's where we were headed. Adorable. She has less need to say Mama since I rarely leave her side! Other milestones this month include clapping (she LOVES to do this and will do it on command if I say 'yay'), roaring when seeing animal pictures in books, taking steps while holding onto something, and HUGGING. Tiny Magnolia coming towards me for a hug is the best thing in life. My full-time job now is following this...

After mastering crawling over the last few months, Magnolia's new fascination is standing! She pulls herself up holding onto furniture, Mommy, and her crib bars and really enjoys being upright and able to see and get into things. Speaking of getting into things: nothing is safe anymore! Current favorite: the drawers in David's office. Whenever I sit on the floor, she comes right over to climb on me and it's pretty cute. She had her 9 month visit and has followed her growth curves perfectly to be 19 pounds and 29 inches long. Her schedule hasn't changed much over the last few months. She wakes up between 5-6am (it feels so luxurious when it's 6!). She stays awake for 2-3 hours at a time and still takes about 3 naps/day. At around 6-7 she starts getting tired, goes to bed, and has one more bottle at around 9-10pm before going to sleep for the night. Magnolia is so fun and happy- we love you little girl!

Breaking news: we have started pigtail season. Who would have thought Magnolia could get even cuter? She also looks so much more grown up! All of a sudden she looks like a toddler when her hair is pulled back. It's become a bit of a wrestling match to get her dressed (and do her hair). I can sometimes placate her by giving her something exciting to hold but it's not always enough to distract her from her need to move around.  She's started actually crawling away from me now. I definitely can't just leave her somewhere and expect her to be there when I come back. It's more likely that she crawls towards Mommy, but sometimes Magnolia wants to explore. Happy 8 months to our precious little daughter- you are more delightful, busy, and fun every day. Everywhere we go you are showered with praise by strangers. No one can resist your cute face!

This month's most important update- Magnolia has started to crawl forwards instead of just backwards!!  She does not really stay still for one second while she's awake these days. She is rolling, crawling, and grabbing for everything. She is very curious and loves to study everything that she holds... and usually put it in her mouth. She has two little teeth that are surprisingly sharp- I only know because she's pulled a Poppy and bitten me a few times haha. My favorite moment was when she crawled/dove towards my toes and opened her mouth as wide as possible. Our sweet girl has started to warm up to eating purees a bit more. I think pears are her favorite so far. More fun, more beautiful, and we're more in love every day. I can't believe our Magnolia is creeping closer and closer to 1!

We've had our princess for half of a year! She's grown and changed so much already, but this really feels like the biggest milestone of all. She's closer to her first birthday than to her original birthday! Magnolia had her 6 month appointment and did a little better than at the 4 month one. She was still a very sad little girl and had zero interest in the doctor even looking at her, but I managed to keep the crying at bay besides for the shots. She's grown 6 inches in the last 6 months and has doubled her birthweight. Magnolia is now 15 pounds and 27 inches long. She continues to be around the 90% for height and 25% for weight. The adorable sounds she makes include singing, roaring, screeching, fake coughing (that's my favorite), and more. I'm so excited for her to start talking, but I think we need to hear some babbling/putting sounds together first. She can sit! Mostly, at least. She can sit unassisted very briefly, but is making progress very quickly on that...

Little Magnolia has been rolling from tummy to back since she was 2.5 months old, and at 4.5 months she hit the big milestone of rolling from back to tummy! From the first day she learned this new skill, she now does it constantly every time she's put down. She's already getting better at adjusting herself, but at first she would get stuck all the time and need saving to help adjust her arms. It's been funny to watch her get grumpy when she's stuck, but then when we help her flip back over she immediately re-flips and gets grumpy again. After months of sending pictures and lots of video calls, this month Magnolia met her Mémé and Pépé for the first time. I think they'd agree that seeing her cute face in person was 100% worth making the trip across the ocean. The week before she turned 5 months old, Magnolia went on her first trip. She was a champion throughout the 2 hour drive to the airport, 2 hour flight, hot Texas weather, and long days of sightseeing. She didn...