thirteen months

This month, Allie Faye:

*says "Mama", "Dada", "Bye-bye", and "Dog"
*waves "Bye-bye" to me everyday when I drop her off at daycare
*grabs a book and backs herself into our laps for us to read to her
*pushes her shopping cart around the house
*puts things away
*loves balloons
*loves playing on the couch
*climbs on everything
*eats everything quickly
*loves to be outside
*bear crawls everywhere
*wears 18-24 month clothes and size 3 diapers

twelve months

On July 10, our little lady turned one!  We've had so much fun with Allie over the past couple of months.  Carson and I have been reflecting a lot on this past year and we both agree that the first 3 months of Allie's life were by far some of the most difficult months for us as parents and individually.  Being first time parents has been so incredibly hard but so rewarding.  As soon as we have something totally figured out, everything changes.  Now we're tackling toddler-hood and it is already very different.  Our quiet, curious little baby has started to test the boundaries of her vocal cords.  We always knew it was coming but man, it happens overnight.  Either way, we often find ourselves asking "Are other kids this fun?"  We love this little baby so much.

The weeks before Allie turned one, she became more and more vocal.  We can tell she's really trying to communicate with us and every now and then it sounds like she's saying 'Hempi' or 'Buddha'.  She mastered 'uh-oh', 'mama' and 'dada' and calls most things 'ba-da'.  She also learned how to clap and is totally done with bottles and sippy cups now.

Aside from the communication, everything else has been very steady.  Allie still has the same bedtime routine and still wakes up at the same time.  She's still taking 3 naps a day on the weekends and 2 naps a day at daycare (sometimes she catnaps on the way home) but at daycare in August, they're going to try to transition her to 1 nap a day.  She hasn't started to stand or walk yet but she LOVES to climb everything.  She can climb onto the small chairs that we have in her room and she likes to climb inside the cabinets.  She loves to get inside the dogs kennels (gross, we know) and open and close the doors.  She has recently started to hand us things and she's gotten really good at putting things back...like putting her blocks back inside her bucket and putting her books back on the shelf.  Every morning when I wake her up, she hands me her Eeyore and Pooh and she thinks it's just the greatest thing ever.  I'm hoping this means she'll be good at sharing, haha.

Her first reaction to her birthday presents:  "Can I climb on this?"

Other things she's been loving lately are our phones, the remotes, the dog toys, and my old American Girl doll.  We got her a water table for her birthday and she loves splashing around in that.  I think she starting to really like being outside.  She doesn't mind being in the grass anymore but she does still bear crawl.

A new baby started a daycare and Allie had a really hard time adjusting.  She was incredibly needy at home and at daycare.  Normally, I can sit on the floor while she plays, but that week, if I was sitting Allie was in my lap clinging to my neck.  She cried more than normal and was just out of sorts.  Thankfully, it did only last a week and now she's back to normal.  As the baby gets older, I think it's getting easier on Allie.  She's becoming more of a playmate than someone who steals the attention from Allie.

Allie has still been wearing a mix of 12-18 and 18-24 month clothes.  She's still in size 3 diapers.  She weighed 22.4 pounds at her checkup on her birthday.  She was also anemic, so we have a follow up appointment in a few weeks to see if a few changes in her diet have helped the situation.  We ran out of formula on her birthday and started her on organic whole milk.  It's probably the thickest thing she's ever had to drink, so sometimes I think it's hard for her to finish all of it.

For Allie's birthday, we were able to spend a few days in Long Beach with Carson's parents.  Allie enjoyed her first pool party at the hotel and we were able to take the ferry to Catalina Island for a day.  It was a wonderful, relaxing trip and we were so thankful that Allie was able to spend her birthday with her grandparents.

In other news, the past couple weeks have been a whirlwind for all of us.  Carson found out at the end of June that a position was open with his company in Houston.  He has since applied, interviewed, and been offered said position so he will officially be starting on September 29!

eleven months

Allie Faye turned eleven months old a couple of days ago!  She has learned so much over the past month.   She started dancing and if she likes something that she's eating or if she hears any kind of music, she starts bobbing her head.  She learned how to press the button that opens and closes the garage door--now after she gets it, she does a little jig every time.  It's pretty darn precious.  She's still not walking but every day she seems more confident as she walks around holding on to things.  She has stood on her own a FEW times but isn't comfortable standing without at least balancing her elbows on a ledge or an open drawer.  She still loves sorting through things.  She opens every drawer and cabinet she can reach and will pull out the things she doesn't think belong in there.

She wakes up every morning between 6-7.  On the weekends, she is still taking 3 naps.  Usually the morning nap is the longest.  She goes to bed between 7-8 every night.  The way she sleeps has changed a lot this last month.  She's like a little Mexican jumping bean throughout the night.  She's on her belly, then on her back, then on her side, then on her back, and so on and so forth throughout the night.  She's gotten snuggly with her blankets lately too.  Usually they're tucked under her but truly, I never know how I'm going to find her in the morning.  She's really good at entertaining herself in her crib when she wakes up.  She picks her sound on the Sleep Sheep and reads her book to her friend.  (She has a lot of friends in her crib.)  It's wonderful when I'm alone in the mornings getting ready for work.  I try not to leave her too long but for 15 minutes or so, she's totally cool with it.

It's becoming more and more difficult to get Allie to sit still long enough to finish her bottles.  Usually on the weekends she gets 4-6 ounce bottles but she almost never eats everything.  We give her breakfast, lunch, and dinner so I'm not too worried that she's not finishing the formula.  This month she's been eating lots of sweet potatoes, blueberries, edemame and apples.  She also typically gets some of whatever we're eating.

She's now wearing 12-18 or 18-24 month clothes.  She's still wearing size 3 diapers.  We put her in a plain white onesie every night for bed since it's so hot here now.  We've been sending her to daycare in plain white onesies mostly now because of how often she was coming home with stains in her clothes.  Hopefully that's just a phase??  (Veteran moms will probably laugh at that.)

This past month, we finally bit the bullet and turned our dining room into a faux playroom.  It's nice to be able to keep her contained in a large area and know she can't get into anything she's not supposed to.  It looks like a Toys-R-Us exploded in there, but better that it's all in one spot rather than everywhere in the house, right?

Carson and I were able to sneak away for a few days to visit Portland with some friends.  On one hand, we REALLLLLY missed her.  We thought about her and talked about her constantly.  On the other hand, it was SOOO nice to be able to travel just like we used to.  While we were gone, Carson's parents were able to teach Allie how to drink from a straw.  I don't know how they did it, but I'm so glad she knows now!

I absolutely adore this little baby and I love watching her grow and learn.  I can't believe in just a few short weeks, she will be a year old!

ten months

Our precious little baby is 10 months old today!  This past month has been all about exploring.  Allie hardly plays with her toys when she's at home.  She would rather eat the dirt in the potted plants or open and close the fireplace doors or crawl underneath the chairs.  We often just watch her from a distance and let her do her own thing.  It's so much fun to watch her figure things out.

She's really vocal and likes to attempt to repeat the things we say to her.  I try to make a point to name whatever she's holding or pointing at so that it will click sooner rather than later.  This past month she started waving and playing with her tongue.  One day as she was eating, she randomly started sticking her tongue out and hasn't stopped since.  Now, when we least expect it, she'll start jutting her tongue out.  Waving is hit or miss, but when she gets it right, it's absolutely adorable.

Allie eats almost everything we eat now.  I still think this has been the best age by far to take her out to restaurants with us.  She is independent enough to keep herself entertained.  She eats from our plates or we ask for an avocado or some fruit and she snacks on that while we eat.  We're trying to introduce her to as much as we can...in hopes that in a couple of months she won't be a picky eater.  The only thing we've given her that she didn't seem too sure of was tomatoes.  She ate them, but we got lots of these faces...

She's also 100% on formula now.  It's really convenient in some ways and completely inconvenient in other ways.  We were able to transition to sippy cups, which has been WONDERFUL...though I've had a really hard time finding ones that we liked.  I bought some of the Nuk Trainer Cups (and she now gets 6 oz. of formula 5 times a day).  I really like that they still show the measurements on the side and have a soft spout.  But I find them in the bottle section, which makes me think they're not true "sippy" cups. Allie is always interested in what I'm drinking so I'm hoping I can get her to use a straw sooner or later.  Another super helpful thing that we bought is this snack and formula dispenser.  It's nice to be able to carry around just what we would need for 1 or 2 bottles, as opposed to carrying around the whole container or buying those single serve packets.  We've tried both Enfamil and Similac.  I haven't noticed much of a difference in Allie between the two but I like Enfamil better just because I find it's easier to mix together.

We've had a tough time in the teething department this month.  She really didn't have any issues at all with her first 4, but this 5th one really bothered her.  There were a few days that he teeth were so swollen it looked like she had Chiclets in her gums.  We could tell she wasn't feeling great.  She was still active and interested in things, but just didn't react the way she normally does.  Thankfully after about 2 or 3 rough days, her top left incisor popped through.  The right side was swollen in this picture as well but it hasn't seemed to start bothering her yet.  I'm guessing it will happen soon.

Summer is almost here in Bakersfield.  A lot of Allie's 6-12 month clothes were pants and long-sleeved onesies, so I moved her up to her summer 12-18 month clothes.  She's still in size 3 diapers.  She wears size 3 or 9-12 month shoes if the occasion calls for it.

She is still saying "Dada" and has recently added "Mama" "Rara"  "Bada" to her "vocabulary" over the past couple of weeks.  She's still super flexible and has always been so easy to travel with.  We went to San Luis Obispo the weekend before Easter and had the chance to hike a little and use our backpack again.  She's a lot heavier than she was back in January!

We also were able to fly home to visit family and friends for Easter.  During our trip, we took Allie to the Houston Zoo (our membership to the local "zoo" got us in for free!).  It was great to see Allie experiencing the zoo just like we had as kids.

While we were in Texas, we were able to take the obligatory bluebonnet photos and Allie enjoyed her first Easter Egg hunt. All in all, it was the perfect trip.  We came back a little bit tanner and a lot more homesick.

No signs of walking yet but we'll see how much things change in the next month!

nine months

Allie Faye is nine months old!  I think this past month has been the most challenging one for me yet.  Not because Allie is a difficult baby.  Things are just changing and I had gotten really comfortable with the newborn/survival phase.  Now we're venturing into the exploring/learning phase and I don't feel prepared.

At her 9 month appointment today, Allie weighed 19.7 pounds and was 27 inches long.  We've definitely noticed that she's quite a bit longer and leaner these days.  She's constantly on the go and I think that's really caused her to slim down.  In the past day or so, her front top left tooth has finally pushed through.  It's been REALLY close for about a week now and we were just able to feel it today.  Her two little bottom teeth are getting bigger and are so adorable, if teeth can be such a thing.

She's wearing a mix of 6-12 and 12-18 month clothes.  It's getting warmer, so we're not putting her in pjs at night any more.  She can wear size 2 or 3 diapers.  

Last week, we started giving Allie formula.  I'm still attempting to nurse once in the morning and once at night but I'm not sure how long that will last.  I was pulling from my freezer stash every day in addition to pumping 5 times a day just to get enough milk to send with Allie to daycare.  I drank the tea, ate more food than I thought was possible, drank more water than I thought was possible, and in the end, it just wasn't enough.  I have so many mixed emotions about formula.  I don't know how much to give her and I don't know what kind to buy.  Allie doesn't seem to mind one bit but I can't help but feel like my body failed me.  Pregnancy, labor and recovery were such a breeze for me.  I didn't think I would struggle with nursing once I got the hang of it.  I never said it, but I always hoped I could make it to at least a year.  Maybe I didn't try everything and I'm sure that will bother me for a while.  Maybe I can do better the second time around.  Either way, a part of me is glad to be done with the pump.  Now we can move on to tackling sippy cups since I'm no longer cautious about wasting milk.

As far as solid food goes, Allie is over purees.  She loves using her hands to feed herself and I'll admit, there have been days that I've let her do it with mashed potatoes.  About 2 weeks ago, she just really started turning her nose up at a spoon.  It has completely thrown me for a loop.  Again, I feel like I really got purees.  They were easy.  We could cook the veggies, puree them, and toss them in the freezer for a later day.  Now I feel like I need to plan Allie's meals.  There have been a few times that we've gotten caught with really nothing to feed her.  Also, I have no clue how MUCH to feed her.  From what I read you're supposed to just listen to the baby's cues.  I've never seen Allie refuse food.  If it's in front of her, she'll eat it.  I don't want to overfeed her but I don't know how much is enough.

Allie hates grass but loves playing with the dirt in the house plant pots.  She loves playing with the dogs tails and if you act like you're interested in something, she wants to know what it is immediately.  She took a hiatus from saying 'da-da' almost all month but just in the past couple of days started saying it again.  She seems to understand when she's not supposed to do something/touch something/eat something because as soon as we start coming towards her, she "sprints" (crawls quickly) away.  She can pull herself up on almost anything with ease these days.  This month she also figured herself how to lower back down to the ground.  She doesn't seem interested in walking yet and actually she even seems less interested in standing lately.  She has gotten really, really good at crawling though.  This month, she also learned how to transition from being on her belly to sitting up.  Once she was able to pull herself up, one day she just sat backwards a little further and found herself sitting up!  Needless to say, naptime is a lot different now.  But she's a lot more pleasant when she wakes up from naps now because she just plays and entertains herself.

This past month, Allie was able to spend time with all 4 grandparents!  Who knows that will happen again, so it was a pretty special month.  We're getting ready to spend Easter in Texas in a couple of days and Allie will get to meet the rest of Carson's family.  I'm a little nervous of flying with her again.  We haven't done it since she was 2 months old and I know it will be a completely different experience this time.  I'm really excited to see everyone though and for Allie to experience Texas for the first time!  Hopefully there are bluebonnets left so we can take some pictures!

eight months

Our little lady is 8 months old today!  It feels like she changed so much lately. This month we had to lower her crib to the lowest setting, she learned how to blow raspberries (she mimics us when we do it), and she sings along to her favorite nursery rhyme toy.  She's pulling herself up on everything, crawls half-standing, says 'da-da', and is just an absolute joy each and every day.

I'm happy to report that after 5 days of an inhaler and medicine for RSV at the beginning of the month, Allie has been perfectly healthy this month. She officially has 2 bottom teeth and she's constantly gnawing on something so I don't think it will be long before more push through.

Allie is wearing 6-12 month onesies and pants.  Size 3 diapers.  9 month PJs.  A couple of days ago, we both agreed that she has gotten leaner lately.  I think being so active is making her lose some baby pudge. 

Allie's beloved teething toy has gone missing but I luckily found a very similar silicone toy in San Francisco that seems to suffice.  (Update: I found the toy under the bed in a certain dog's mouth.  A replacement has been ordered.)

She loves sorting through things like our laundry, the magazine basket, her shoes and her toy bucket.  She'll be entertained for 15-20 minutes at a time...just sitting there...pulling things out, pulling things apart, trying to eat things...  She also is loving the spring door stops around the house.  I can sneak away for a quick second and know she's still in the same spot because the sound reverberates through the house.

Carson's mom stayed with us for a week and helped Allie recover from RSV.  I think it was really good for Allie to be at home that week and get 100% better and we are so thankful that Laurie was able to come stay with us.  

At daycare, they're trying to phase her out of her 3rd nap of the day.  She typically takes a short catnap and I really don't want her to drop it just yet.  If she doesn't take it, by the time I get her home and fed, she's absolutely exhausted and I don't get to spend hardly any time with her.  If she does take that 3rd nap, she still has enough energy to play around with us for about an hour after we get home.  Her schedule didn't change much from last month.  She is in bed every night by 7 and she wakes up between 6-7.  She nurses 4-5 times each day during the weekend and gets 2-3 meals.  We just recently introduced her to puffs and started giving her more of our food, like crackers and yogurt.

I almost ran completely out of milk in the freezer earlier this month when Allie was sick.  Around that same time, I got sick and everything just tanked.  I started eating steel cut oats every morning and had mother's milk tea for a couple of nights and noticed a big difference.  After our weekend in San Francisco, I still haven't gotten back up to where I was.  I'm hoping I can continue adding to the freezer stash these next couple of weeks so that I won't have to introduce formula when Carson and I are in Portland in May.

Lately I'm realize that I need to work on how I ask things and how I approach different situations especially when talking to/dealing with other mothers.  Sometimes genuine curiosity seems to come out as thought I think my child is better.  Nobody wants to be that person.

roadtrip (with baby) essentials

Preparing for travel with a baby is different every time.  If we went somewhere else next weekend, we would probably need different things than we did for this trip.  The things that entertain her, appease her, and comfort her change so quickly and often.  The trip to San Francisco is about 4 hours so we had to stop once each way to feed Allie.  These are some notable things that helped us out on the trip when she was 7 months old:

Regular Stroller--Though not great with hills, our regular stroller was great for walking around the city.  We knew we were better at breaking down the regular stroller quickly so hopping on a bus or a trolley was no big deal.

Jogging Stroller--Okay, I supposed two different types of strollers would be considered an essential but you definitely need at least one.  We knew wanted to run across the Golden Gate Bridge at some point on our trip so taking both of our strollers was necessary for our trip.  Our jogging stroller doesn't have nearly the coverage with its canopy as our regular stroller does.  Since we knew it was going to rain, we wanted to have both so we could keep Allie dry when we weren't doing anything super active.

Puffs--The day before we left town, our daycare provided suggested we started getting Allie to eat more finger foods.  When we arrived in town, one of our first stops was a baby boutique and they happened to have some puffs.  We bought an organic brand...I feel like there's a lot of controversy about the nutritional content of puffs but in my mind they're more for developing the proper movement of her hands and fingers rather than providing her nutrients.  

Plum Food Pouches with Spoon--These pouches are great for feeding solids when you're not at home.  I had no idea the screw-on spoon even existed until Carson and Laurie picked up some when we were en route to Santa Barbara one day.

Toys--Allie must be working on pushing through more teeth because she is constantly gnawing on something.  She especially loves these silicone teething toys.

San Francisco Weekend

Two weekends ago, Carson and I decided on a whim that we wanted to spend our anniversary weekend in San Francisco.  We packed up the car, took the day off of work, and headed to the bay!  There were very few things we felt like we HAD to see since we had already hit most of the major tourist spots on our trip two years ago. We spent our weekend bouncing around from place to place and had a wonderful time!

Our first stop when we arrived on Friday was the Palace of Fine Arts.  Pictures of this place just don't do it justice.  It really is beautiful and huge.  Fun fact: it's one of the few remaining structures from the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.  We had to look it up because we had no idea what it was.  On our way back to the hotel, we walked down Union Street and stopped in some shops.  My favorite baby stores were Giggle and Sprout.  California baby boutiques are all full of green toys and gadgets and extremely overpriced strollers and cribs.  I could spend hours perusing.  We like to try to find the most outrageous items in the stores...one time Carson found a car push toy that could fit in your palm for about $60.  For dinner that night, we split some tapas, paella and a pitcher of sangria at a Spanish restaurant by our hotel.  

Saturday morning we woke up and rode the trolley to the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market.  It was hands down the best farmer's market we've ever been to.  We probably should have bought breakfast but instead we started the day with an Aztec Spiced Chocolate Macaron from Tout Sweet and it was literally one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted.  I wish we would have gotten a dozen to snack on for the rest of the trip...or day.  The produce for sale looked wonderful and all of the food smelled delicious.  The next vendor that caught our attention was Little Apple Granola.  Seriously the best granola I've ever had...and the caramels they make are so so so good.  Be prepared family...there's a chance you'll get some of this for Christmas.

After the Farmer's Market, we headed to the Exploratorium at Pier 15.  I would not recommend the Exploratorium unless you have small children.  We actually got a discount when we mentioned we were visiting for our anniversary, but we still didn't particularly enjoy it.  It was PACKED with children and strollers but the concept was kind of cool.  All of the exhibits are made by people who are trying to make science very visual, hands on and easy to understand for children.  Carson probably enjoyed it more than I did because that's what he's into science-y/engineer-y gadgets and whatnot.  I did enjoy the light exhibits.  If you do go, make sure you pack snacks because granola bars cost $3.  Learned that one the hard way.  

Next stop was Union Square to do some shopping.  It was packed and we had a difficult time maneuvering around with the stroller.  Shopping with a stroller means lots of elevators and lots of time spent searching for elevators.  We eventually hopped on a bus and headed to The Mission District...a very "transitional" neighborhood.  There was a lot more activity and a lot less tourists in that part of town.  The restaurants and bars we passed were packed and it was mid-afternoon.  If we didn't have Allie, we probably would have hung out a bit longer and had a beer.  Instead we got some boba tea and started heading back.  We made a quick pit stop at the Boudin by Fisherman's Wharf and split a clam chowder bread bowl.  They totally charge more if you eat in the restaurant rather than the downstairs cafe.

Sunday morning, we left the hotel at 7 AM and began the 3 mile walk to the Golden Gate Bridge (it didn't cross our minds to drive).  We ran across the bridge through the wind and rain and then walked all the way back to the hotel.  It was drizzling at least a little bit the whole time and after 3 hours of those conditions, we were drenched.  We ran/walked over 9 miles that morning and I'm still feeling it days later.  When we got back to the hotel, we all took warm showers--even little Allie Faye.

It was so good to get away for a little bit.  Sometimes I wonder if I could handle living in a big city like that.  It definitely has a certain appeal to it...but weekend trips to experience it is totally fine by me for now.  I would say the only thing that we did differently because we had Allie was less walking through neighborhoods (because pushing the strollers through the hills did not sound appealing) and obviously much less alcohol.

Tips for San Francisco:

• Wear comfy shoes! I'm finally figuring this out. I wore tennis shoes the whole weekend and still ended up with blisters just because of the amount of walking we did.  It never fails.  But, I was much better off than I was in Seattle last year.
• Just buy a rain jacket if you think it might rain.  It will.  And you might as well be prepared.
• Beware of the homeless people-- they're a lot bolder in San Francisco.  I heard one woman blatantly ask a man to buy her some food in Union Square.  One morning, I walked out of the hotel lobby with an extra donut on my plate and a homeless man very nicely asked for it. I let him have it...otherwise I would have felt like a fatty.  In Chipotle we saw a petite Asian man throw a homeless man out who walked in, grabbed a cup out of the trash, and started filling it up with soda from the fountain.
• Fisherman's Wharf is overrated.  Go explore the neighborhoods!
• Walk/Run/Drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.  SOOO many people offered to take our picture for us!  They were so nice on the bridge.  
• Dress in layers.  The weather can be nuts.  Saturday was our craziest day.  Overcast and chilly in the morning, sunny and hot at noon, rainy mid-afternoon.  We typically had Allie in 3 layers but we still got judge-y looks from passersby.  Whatevs...
• Buy a pass for public transit.  It's not terribly sketchy and it's good to use to see more of the city if you're pressed for time.  

seven months

Allie Faye is seven months old!  This month she started pulling herself into a standing position and repeating syllables.  She's crawling all over the place...quickly, I might add.  She loves getting into things she's not supposed to and she grew hair and teeth this month like it was her job.

We're pretty sure she has allergies pretty bad.  She had a cough and a runny nose the entire month.  Carson took her to the doctor at one point and demanded antibiotics but they refused to give her anything since she wasn't running a fever.  About a week ago, her runny nose got significantly worse and when we took her to the doctor, she was diagnosed with RSV.  Carson and I have been working half days to stay home with her since we can't put her in daycare.  Carson has been working in the mornings and I have been working in the afternoons.  I'm definitely thankful that we both work in flexible environments that allow us to come and go.

A couple of days ago, Allie forced my finger in her mouth and I felt a tooth!  Just the very top of the tooth but I have no clue when it first pushed through.  Since she has been so sick with RSV, we never noticed any separate teething pain.

We moved Allie into her convertible car seat at the beginning of the month.  I think she loves being able to see out of the window, but it is harder for her to sleep comfortably.  I can finally see her in the mirror that I have set up on the headrest and I love seeing her look around.  We quit using the little sling in the bathtub and Allie sits up by herself in the bath.  It's difficult to say whether she enjoys sitting up by herself more or floating around on her belly chasing her toys more, but either way, bath time is always a very pleasant experience.

The only thing that Allie really seems to dislike lately is diaper changes and having her face wiped.  She has started to arch her back really badly and tries to scoot away.  I've almost completely given up trying to change her on the changing table and almost always change her on the floor.

This month, Allie slept through the night every night until she got really sick.  I am so so so thankful that she has always been a pretty good sleeper and that she continues to do so well.  It's amazing how quickly your body gets used to sleeping through the night again.  The past couple of nights when Allie has woken up, I'm a zombie the next day.  A typical weekend looks something like this:

7:00 wake up and eat
7:15 breakfast: 1 oz. breastmilk mixed with oatmeal
8:30-10:30 sleep
10:45 eat
11:00 lunch: pureed carrots or sweet potatoes or butternut squash (poor kid must think all food is orange)
12:00-2:45 sleep
3:00 eat
4:00-5:00 sleep
5:15 eat
7:00 bedtime

Since Allie started sleeping through the night, I pump 5 times a day on weekdays.  6:30, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, and between 8-9 before I go to bed.  On the weekends I still pump in the mornings and at night.  I'm FINALLY not pulling from the freezer every day and we're making an effort to stay in town and to not give Allie bottles on the weekends so that I can pull ahead a little each weekend.  I've really made an effort to drink a lot more water each day and I truly do think it has made a big difference.  I went from getting about 5 ounces during my 3 pumping sessions at work to getting about 9.  I try to drink 16 ounces of water every 1-2 hours.  I've tried the Mother's Milk Tea, drinking a beer at night, and pumping both sides but this is really the first time I've noticed a change.

Allie is wearing 6-12 month onesies and pants.  She's swimming in them right now but she'll grow into them soon.  She's wearing 9 month pjs if they have footies and 6 month pjs if they're footless.  She's still in size 3 diapers.

Her little personality is starting to really shine and we love seeing what new things she's learning every day.  Even though she's been sick lately, it's been nice to be able to spend more time with her at home.