Bébé Maybe

 Dear Rosalie, I think that's who you are. I hope that's who you are. We love you so much already! I'm so thankful for the beautiful two lines that I saw on the test yesterday. I can't believe that we have a chance to have you and bring you home in 9 months. How amazing.  Please keep growing and be healthy. Your mom, dad, sister, grandparents, and more are so excited to meet you and we hope we get the chance to.

Excited and terrified. Hopeful and pessimistic. Looking forward to it and dreading it. I feel so many conflicting emotions as trying IVF again gets closer. I'm not sure how the timing will work out, but it's possible that I could be going back to the clinic to get the process started for another transfer in 3 weeks or less. I'm in such a happy bubble with my precious Magnolia that I don't think I clearly remember all of the awful parts about IVF and pregnancy. The needles, the invasive procedures, the nausea... but above all, the extreme stress wondering if my baby will make it. ... The day is here! I've been back to the clinic for a hysteroscopy, baseline scan, and then a final lining check. My ultrasounds and blood work have looked good, and I started meds a few weeks ago. Today is the day of our fourth embryo transfer. I feel so ready for another sweet baby, but I don't think I could ever feel fully ready for the stress that comes with attempting to get pregn...

There is absolutely no competition- 2022 was the best year of our lives. We brought home our precious baby on January 1st, and every day since then has been full of love, happiness, and gratitude to have this amazing little person. Everything she does is cute. We delight in being her parents and we feel incredibly lucky. It was so, so hard to have a baby. It was a very stressful, years long battle. And then... we were blessed with the perfect child.  Magnolia is so smart, beautiful, funny, and happy.  At 12 months old, Magnolia is starting to talk more and more. Her most said words are Mama, no, and uh oh. There is also lots of adorable baby talk babbling. She's not walking on her own yet, but I can tell she's getting very close!  One of her favorite things to do is clapping. She likes to clap for herself and will join in if she sees anyone else clap. She just learned how to wave on our recent Paris trip (from people waving at her on the metro), and now likes to wave hell...

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!