Collyns at 9 months

-Weighing in at 15 lb 4 oz and measuring 25.75 inches long. Our petite little thing is still in the 5th percentile for both height and weight... but has recently started growing more!
-Collyns has developed several new talents this month. She gives kisses if you ask her very nicely, although she pretty much just puts her open mouth against your lips. She knows patty cake and gets excited to do it. Sometimes she also will clap if we are clapping and saying "Yay!". Although her clapping consists of her right hand in a fist and the left clapping against it. At some point we'll get the actual thing down ;)
-She LOVES trying to climb the stairs and will go all the way up them if allowed. We have to go with her the whole way, since she still doesn't quite get the concept of going down... or gravity for that matter.
-Collyns zips around on her hands and knees and really is moving around the furniture in the family room. She loves to reach for the remotes that sit on the tray on the ottoman.
-Miss C's eyelashes have grown quite longer and thicker it seems lately and her eyes have settled into a green with blue ring around her iris. Her hair is getting longer and lighter and she is finally starting to gain weight! You can almost see a little chub on her thighs and the beginnings of a double chin ;) This is all thanks to her being a champion little eater. She really will eat most things put in front of her. The prilosec is definitely helping with her reflux also.
-She does not quite have "stranger danger" but can sometimes be shy, depending on her mood. She also sometimes can be quite clingy on Mama. Especially when she's ready for bed or naptime.
-Her new favorite toy is the car keys. She will slyly find ways to snatch them out of your hands. She also loves the dishwasher and fridge when they are open and will get very excited and crawl quickly over if she sees that one of these are open. She then proceeds to try and climb into them.
-One of C's favorite parts of the morning is when Mama brushes her teeth with the electric toothbrush. Maybe it's the noise, maybe the vibration, but either way she wants to hold onto it and "help".
-Collyns has really grown to love the dogs at both of her grandparents houses. Luckily, all are very good sports and let her fascination run its course. Jax and Rusty are actually quite entertained by her as well and let her grasp their hair.

Collyns at 8 months

***Once again, we are beyond late on this post. In fact she's over 9 months old now ha. I'm awful. But luckily the pictures and notes are from when she DID turn 8 months. Just took a month to get it up on the blog. Hopefully I can knock out the 9 month post too before it's a month late as well.

-This little girl is thriving and we have really gotten into a groove. She is sleeping better at night, either waking up once to eat or sleeping through. Her day starts bright and early around 6 am. We play around the house and then head out on a morning walk before breakfast. Still napping twice a day, for about an hour and a half each. We head out and about in the middle of the day for errands, visits to the grandmas, or play dates at the library or park. Bed time is around 7:30-8.

-Collyns loves standing and pulling herself up onto things- the ottoman in the family room, couch, kitchen table and chairs, walls, really anything. 

-She is eating well and has started to really get the hang of solids and finger foods. Still loving her yogurt melts and prunes with apples every morning. Collyns started taking prilosec for her reflux, which has helped immensely.

-Miss C's favorite thing to babble is "Dadada". She started out the month simply saying this randomly, but as the 8 month mark approached, she seems to have associated "Dada" with Chase, often looking at him and saying it when he is talking to her or doing something funny. 

-Collyns has figured out that the stairwell and the loft area right about the stairs echoes if you shout loud enough, so we always pause now to let her get a few shouts out. If she notices that she is in any other big hall or area that will echo outside of our house, she gives us a few little shouts and smiles there too.

-She has developed quite the aversion to getting put into her carseat. Generally, she doesn't mind riding around in it, but the going in part is pretty intense. Arched back, cries, and wiggling to avoid it. Chase sometimes will put on quite the theatrics to keep her distracted while I strap her in. 

-Collyns LOVES books. We read a few together before each nap and bedtime, and she will also play with them during the day, flipping the pages and occasionally chewing on them ;)

Collyns at 7 months

***Now that we're a week away from 8 months I figured it was about time to get the 7 month post up. Luckily the pictures and updates are from the actual 7 month mark, it's just taken me this long to edit them and write it out fully. Also, for any of you that actually read blogs still, I'm impressed you're sticking around amidst all of the baby posts! These are mostly just for me to keep record of. 

-Collyns has become quite the little adventurer in her 7th month. She is even quicker at crawling and has realized that she is now able to get around where she wants to in the house. Her spatial awareness has grown and she has started to explore quite a bit more. She still has yet to venture into the bathroom or our front living room downstairs, which I am grateful for. 

-She is now pulling herself up and standing whenever possible. She'll use anything to pull herself up, including walls. Her crib had to be lowered (sad day for mama) because we were afraid she was ready to fall over the edge. She also has managed to climb a few stairs, but of course has not concept of getting back down, so we are always running to catch her when she starts to head up them. 

-A lot more babbling and talking going on this month. Up until now, it seemed like she was just making certain sounds. Now it's more of a babble of made up "words", like she is chatting and communicating with us. Also, Miss C has learned to make even better use of those lungs of her. When she wants to be, she is LOUD. Loud cries, shouts, squeals, and babbles.

-Loving peek-a-boo even more this month. That game never seems to lose it's charm, especially when played with blankets over our heads. Another fun one is clapping. Really, just watching mama and dada clap. Hilarious, apparently.

-In those fun/excited moments, Collyns has gotten quite bouncy and sometimes will nearly jump out of your arms. Her little legs kick and kick as she does her little squeal laugh.

-Collyns developed this adorable scrunched nose smile this month. She sort of squints her eyes and her nose scrunches up and it is the cutest and funniest little thing. 

-Miss C is loving solids and eating with her own hands. We vary between smaller and softer food that she can eat on her own, store-bought baby food, and food that mama makes in the Baby Bullet. She loves her little rice puffs and yogurt bites. 

-Collyns is developing a fun relationship with Chase. She certainly knows he's the funny one and loves being entertained by him at nights and on the weekends. 

Collyns at 6 months

-Weighing in at 12 lb 12 oz and measuring 24.5 inches... once again the 5th percentile about!
-This little girl is just thriving on a schedule and has grown up right before our eyes in her 6th month.
-She started of this month by doing a half crawl, half bear crawl. In the days after that she began sitting up. She would lean a bit while sitting and sort of prop herself up. After some more practice though, she has mastered sitting up straight.
-Collyns is still not a fan of crawling on her knees, yet manages to zoom around with her bear crawl nevertheless. She has yet to venture onto the wood floor and mostly stays in the family room unless I set her at my feet in the kitchen while cooking.
-C likes to sit up in her crib and pull on the bumper, sometimes pulling herself onto her knees. The crib still has yet to be lowered, so we are watching close for when she figures out how to pull herself up using the railing and stand on her feet. Probably just a matter of time.
-Screeching and yelling are a fun past time, according to Miss Collyns. Much to mama's dismay.
-And if she's mad or frustrated, you can expect that she'll let you know with these shouts and often raspberries she blows. There is no shortage of personality (aka sass) in this tiny thing.
-Collyns gets a kick out of cups and water bottles. She will grab for your cup if you take a drink while holding her. She's figured it out and immediately pulls it up to her mouth for a sip. She then proceeded to figure out that mama's water bottle on morning walks is pretty much like a cup. She loves to just hold it and can even drink up through the spout.
-She is still pretty friendly to strangers, showing off her big smile and squeal if they come in close and talk to her.
-Her eyes are technically still blue, but seem to be showing a little bit of a green tint now, like Mom and Dad.
-She loves her grandmas and particularly FaceTiming with Aunt DD in Washington DC. She gets a kick out of Dad and knows that he is the funny one around here. Yet she wants her mom if she is tired and upset.

Collyns at 5 months

-We've tried to put on a little weight this month, but Collyns is still a tiny little thing. Other babies that are all about her age seem HUGE compared to her. However, her little mannerisms and interactions make her seem so much older.
-Her little personality is starting to come out. She's very friendly and smiley as long as she's well rested. Tired Collyns = cranky Collyns.
-We have a schedule! C is up usually around 6. Aside from an intense heat wave we had, we hit the neighborhood walking paths every morning for a little walk. Then we settle down in her room and read a few stories in her rocking chair. Her favorite is clearly "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." After a few primary songs, she is set down in her crib and she'll generally go down without much of a fight. The length of her first nap is about an hour to an hour and a half. After this we'll often head out to the grocery store or any other errands. Or just to say hi to our Grandmas or Uncle Kade. Naptime again between 11-12. Same routine of books and songs. Her last nap is between 2 and 3:30 and is usually a quick one. Bedtime between 6:30 and 7:30... depending on how tired (aka- cranky) she is.
-Collyns started on rice cereal this month! She was slightly confused by the whole concept of eating from a spoon, and it often made her frustrated. We opted to just give her rice cereal in bottle for the first few weeks. Our intention was mostly to see if it helped her spit up less.
-C definitely reached a peak in the spit up department this month. All. Over. Everything. All day long. Hah. I continued to feed her every time she woke up at night (about every 3 hours), since it was the only time she would keep her food down. Another tiring month in the books for mama. The wake ups are likely out of habit now rather than her needing food. Since she is so teeny tiny though, I still can't quite justify letting her cry out the night wakings.
-We are loving all of the little sounds and habits she is now showing. She makes a fake little coughing noise in her throat when she is frustrated. If she starts to get even more upset she starts making raspberry blows with her lips, yet she'll sometimes do this just for fun too. She has a little squeal that accompanies her smiles. They are borderline almost laughs. She will often "sing" for us. Several times this month I woke up to the sound of her singing in her crib and she also loves singing during bathtime. Must be the acoustics of the room... ;)
-She found her feet this month and whenever she was laying on her back, spent the majority of the time with her feet in her hands and often also pulled to her mouth. Yum!
-C loves FaceTime (unless she's tired/cranky) and especially with her Aunt Daryn. She'll talk back to her and sing, along with smile and squeal.
-Collyns has a few attempts at swimming. The first few times she just cried and cringed when we got her feet wet. As the month went on though, she allowed us to hold her in the hot tub. Not a fan of cold (or anything under 90 degree) water.
-At the very end of the 5th month, Collyns decided she is ready to start crawling soon. She is on her hands and knees all the time and rocks back and forth. She'll scoot backwards, but hasn't figured out moving forwards yet. Often she'll go onto her toes as well as if to bear-crawl.

Collyns at 4 months

-Weighing in at 10 lb 7 oz and measuring a little over 22 inches... only the 5th percentile!

-Collyns turned into a different baby in her fourth month. After the colic faded away and sleep training began, we had a fun and happy little girl on our hands. 

-We started sleeping training at 3 and half months... the very first night she was down by 9:30 after an hour of crying, up once at 11, and then she slept in until nearly 9:30 in the morning! We became instant believers. She now generally only fusses a little bit before passing out. She's found her position- thumb or fingers in her mouth while she lays on her tummy with her little fit tucked under her bum. It's the cutest little sight to see. 

-Bedtime is between 7:30-8 pm. She will wake up once or twice in the night to eat (Being in only the 5th percentile, momma doesn't yet have the heart to make her cry night feedings out). Wake up is usually between 6 and 7, but sometimes we are surprised with either a 5 am wake up call... or 8 am. We prefer the 8 am, obviously.

-Collyns goes down for her first nap about an hour after she first wakes up in the morning. These usually last from 1-2 hours and allow time for momma to get ready for the day. We usually get out in the middle of the day for errands, lunch, or to visit the grandmas. Another 2ish hour nap in the afternoon as well.

-She has grown fondly attached of the Baby Einstein videos. She liked them prior to now, but she is obsessed and would watch all day long probably if she was allowed. Mom tries to limit it to once in the early evening while she's fixing dinner (However, the number of times C has watched Baby Einstein in a day is directly proportional to how rough said day was). 

-On May 7th, a few days after the three month mark, our tiny little thing rolled over. She started from her back to her tummy, trying to reach for one of her little turtle stuffed animals. She does it several more times that afternoon and then next day she was going back and forth both ways. She is a little "rolling fool," zig-zaging across her crib and under her play gym.

-She also is able to easily reach for things- toys hanging from her play gym, car seat, and all around her. She plays a bit with them and then promptly tries to put them into her mouth. 

-She has grown to be so interactive and smiley. She talks quite a bit also. Enjoys going for walks now in the "big girl" attachment instead of the bassinet, so she can look around at the world. 

Memorial Day

We took a few pics today while visiting my Dad's grave. Love these two.