Baby Love!: Allison's 9 and 10 month update!

Yikes! I forgot to post Allison's 9 month update, so I'm just going to "lump" months 9 and 10 together. Poor, second child. ;-)

9 months old (6-11-14)

10 months old (7-11-14)

Alli is a thriving, happy baby. The last two months have been a blur, as it seems that she learns a new "skill" every week! She is crawling now, and is a little busybody- always wanting to get into big brother Andrew's toys. He's mastering the art of quickly grabbing toys out of his sister's hands before she gets the toy into her mouth.

About to eat Andrew's puzzle :)

Andrew and Allison ADORE each other. I love the rare moments that they both just stop what they are doing and giggle with each other. Best sound in the world. I always wanted a big brother, so my hope is that Andrew grows into Alli's protector and that Alli learns from and trusts her big brother. Andrew loves going into Alli's room to get her up every morning, stating "I'm going to get my baby Alli, mama!" and Alli's face lights up the moment she sees him. Pure bliss!

Besides being on the move, Alli has learned to wave "hi" and "bye-bye" and will say "mamamama" and "dadada". We like to think she says it with meaning, but I'm sure that will come soon enough. Alli loves "talking" to anyone who will converse with her, especially during car rides. She'll make a noise, we "copy" her noise, she echoes back, and so the game continues.

Waving "hi"

It has been so nice to get both kids outside into the fresh, summer air. They love being outside, and Alli loves to watch Andrew blow bubbles or watch him play tball. They both LOVE water, so it's been fun to play in the kiddie pool on warm afternoons. Alli splashes and squeals and just enjoys being in the water so much.

First time in the baby pool (6-27-14)

First time swinging at the park (6-28-14)

Fun in the sun!

Drying off in her sun-shade tent

We're still playing it safe with food. I'm really nervous to give her anything with grains, in fear that she will not be able to stomach it. Luckily, we have a doctor's appointment later this month, and I'll be interested to see what her pediatrician thinks. I've tried to give her small pieces of whatever we're eating, but she still has a gag reflex and so I'm just paranoid that she's going to empty her stomach every time she gags. She still loves all her pureed fruits and veggies (she's not really a fan of the green veggies), and loves yogurt, too. She likes cheese and has tried cottage cheese (the jury is still out on that one). She really seems interested in everything we're eating, so that's good. Now, I just need her to get some teeth so she can try some of the chunkier stuff! Those teeth are taking their sweet time!

Alli continues to be a great sleeper. Bedtime is usually between 6:45-7:15pm and she will sleep a solid 12 hours before waking. She takes two naps, one morning nap for about 1-2 hours and an afternoon nap, again about 1-2 hours. We're pretty lucky to have a great sleeper. I've got it timed to where Andrew takes his afternoon nap the same time as his sister so that this mama can have a little peace and quiet (which usually means washing bottles, folding laundry, and hoping to get in a quick nap myself before it starts all over again!) I'm definitely a big proponent of keeping kids on a schedule, which can stink sometimes when trying to make plans with people who don't really understand my obsessiveness with a sleep schedule.

Sound sleeper

Bill and I always marvel at what a good baby Alli is. People in restaurants will even stop by our table to tell us how good she is. She's just so mellow and mild-mannered. She is curious and observant and has such a happy personality. She's the perfect completion to our little family. :)