You're So Vain

Heidi, like all babies, loves to see herself in the mirror. She always gives herself a joyful smile and a wild wave whenever we pass a mirror. Her new thing lately is to put her face right on the mirror and give herself a nice, big sloppy kiss. Needless to say, every mirror in our house needs a good cleaning at least twice a day.

Heidi also loves to read...not just a little bit. There was a time when she would just grab the book, but now, she cries when the book is over. She just sits and listens and smiles at each and every page. We went to the library to get a load of new books because we were pretty tired of our board books. We got one called, "Peek-a Who" and she can't get enough. There is a page with a ghost, which is her favorite page. She starts laughing when she sees the ghost. But her second favorite page is the last page that says, "Peek-a You" and has a mirror. She pulls it right smack up to her and starts kissing herself...she must take after her dad...ha ha ha ha.

Heidi also loves it when we dance around, well she loves it when I dance around and make a fool of myself. BUT, for some reason she seriously, and I mean seriously, loves the Carly Simon song we all know and love, "You're So Vain." When I put that song on she starts grinning and bouncing. The second we start dancing around she is all giggles. She really is vain, but we think she has every reason to be!

It's a Beautiful Day...

Oh how I wish every day were just like today. Not only was it absolutely perfect weather in every way, but Jeff was also home getting off his graveyard shift. He slept a few hours in the morning and then we spent the rest of the day outside. The day was full of yard work, pruning trees, planting peppers, and of course a park. We have never been to this little jumpy park and it did not disappoint. Every time we stopped jumping on the little trampoline thing Heidi would start bouncing in our arms. It was quite funny.



We absolutely love how many parks there are in town and have been enjoying trying a new one each time the weather is nice. There are so many benefits to living in a small town...we love being able to have the park to ourselves more often than not! Could it please, please, pretty please with sugar on top be this perfect of weather for the next three months?? Please don't start the scorching hot weather any time in the near future, and please do not go back to cold either!

Nine Whole Months

Seriously? Seriously? The last nine months have just flown by. Nine months felt like an eternity when this little gal was growing in my belly (which seems so weird because I really don't remember that at all...thankfully). So far 0-3 months was the hardest part and things have just gotten so much better from there. Every month I think, "this is my favorite age"...then the next month comes and then it becomes my favorite. I am amazed at how much she can do compared to just a month ago.


*Crawling all over the place...oh my. She does not look big enough to be crawling so it is all the more adorable. She mostly likes to crawl wherever we go. I can always count on having a little shadow.
*Pulls herself up onto EVERYTHING...but her favorite is mom or dad's leg. This has resulted in a few spills...ouch.
*Has both bottom teeth and has been working on FOUR top teeth...what an over achiever. She has both of her "fangs" and the front two are SO close to the surface. If only they would just poke through so she could have some peace! The top have definitely been more difficult than the bottom two.
*Generally sleeps from about 7pm-6/6:15am. Thankfully she seems to have given up the 5:30am wake up, but that could change at any moment.
*Takes two naps...not too consistent on how long they last. Sometimes 30 min., sometimes 2.5 hrs. I think her teeth have caused quite a disturbance here. Of course now that she stands up in her crib, that doesn't help either! Luckily, as long as she gets a little snooze she will be quite happy and last forever. As long as she is happy, I don't care if she's awake or asleep!

*Waves...especially to herself in the mirror.
*I don't have her 9-month check up for a couple of weeks, but I am guessing she is somewhere between 15-16lbs. Straight formula has helped plump this little one up...but she seems to hold most of it in her cheeks.
*When I tell people how old she is, the first question is generally, "Is she small for her age?" She wears mostly 6 month clothing, some 6-9 months, and can even fit in some 3-6 months.
*She loves her dad...especially when he crawls around on the floor with her. I never knew she could laugh so hard.
*Favorite toy: a magazine or pile of papers.
*Starting to like, or at least tolerate, her bath.
*Sticks her tongue out when she's concentrating.
*Separation anxiety is getting worse.
*Likes to go places to look around.
*Doesn't like to be alone. Even if you are in the same room as her, she wants you right smack next to her. This creates her perfect climbing wall.
*Loves, loves, loves to fake cough. She always gets a reaction so she will do it over and over and if you fake cough, she will start to imitate. It is too funny.

We are so smitten with this little face and can't wait to see what she does next!

Normal?

So, you know how when it is your first time having a child you never know if what your child does is normal? Like how they sleep, the faces and sounds they make, their overall development, etc. Well, there has always been something I have wondered about Heidi. She was born in the summer and I would try to take her for walks all of the time and she would, well, scream. I would usually end up carrying her in one arm and pushing the stroller with the other mid-walk. I took my nephews for lots and lots of walks and I do not ever remember them doing anything other than sitting there quietly enjoying the free ride. I told myself that as Heidi got older she would love walking. She definitely tolerates it much better now, but I still wonder if she's normal. If it were up to me we would be walking 2 hours or more on these lovely days. She will last about 45 min-1 hour. She also does not sit in her stroller the "normal" way. She always tries to flip herself around or even hang off of the side. It is actually quite funny to watch. I keep telling myself that it's normal since she is at the "figure out how your body moves stage". But my question is, is it really normal for an almost 9- month old to not sit still in the stroller? Were my nephews just abnormal for sitting and enjoying the ride? Perhaps with even more time she will just sit and enjoy the ride? Who knows.

In other news Heidi is crawling around like a pro and we are simply in heaven with this beautiful weather we are taking advantage of every opportunity we can get to be outside! Any time Heidi is not asleep, we find excuses to be outside. The house has been a bit neglected the past few days and dinner has not been ready for Jeff when he gets home, but we could live with this weather from now until next May. Seriously. Do you think this is what heaven feels like? I do.

Today?

What? Did you say daddy is coming home today?

HOORAY!!

Can't get enough...

I realize that I post a lot...and I mean a lot, but I just can't get enough of this little face and I don't want to forget anything about this little girl as she grows! These aren't the best pictures, but J-diddy wants some updates on home while he's away. With all the wiggling, it is very hard to get a non-fuzzy picture! Anyway, we are still working on getting the crawl down to an art.

Heidi makes the funniest faces, my two favorites are the tongue out of mouth, and the other when she gets a look of sheer determination. She is most motivated to practice her moves if I dangle something she knows she shouldn't have...namely my cell phone.

We have caught her looking at us out of the corner of her eye a lot lately and it is so funny. The best part is when she realizes you see her and she breaks out in a HUGE grin. The other funny thing she has been doing lately is when we start laughing she starts slapping her leg like it's the funniest thing she has ever heard. It is too much. She has moments of pure trouble, but we just can't get enough of this little girl.