Nine month stats (P)

Presley is nine months old!

Our little Sweet P turned nine months old yesterday (Tuesday, February 15th). I can't believe how fast time has flown!!!! Slow down, baby girl. Slow down! 

Here is what she's been up to:

- She has two teeth & both are dead center, bottom. They are so so cute and you can really see them when she opens her mouth to CRY!

- Still takes 2 naps, but the morning one has become significantly shorter. Instead of sleeping from 9/9:30-12/12:30, she now will sleep from 9/9:30 until about 10/10:30

- Can pull herself up when laying down on your chest.

- Is talking (babbling) a ton a ton a ton a ton. 

- Sits in the high chair when eating, because let's face it- She can't sit in the bumbo forever. And she kinda outgrew it and could almost pop herself out of it.

- Has started eating those puffy little starts (snacks that dissolve in her mouth), and does GREAT w/them. We bring them to church on Sundays and they keep her VERY entertained. She's good at eating them in her high chair too. You can put a few on her tray and she'll play w/them and grab them, or you can put one in her mouth (or hand), and she does really well w/that too. It's so cute to see her play w/it in her mouth.

- Has recently discovered other babies and thinks they are the COOLEST. I'm not sure if she thinks they're her or what, but either way, it's just the CUTEST!

- She scoots in the bathtub! I usually sit her up, to bathe her, and she'll scoot all the way down to the other end. It is so funny to watch… I even got it on video.

- Even though she's still not mobile, her head is a perfectly round shape and just beautiful. We love her cute little head & her little ears. (She definitely takes after me on that one).

- She's getting more hair on top of her head! It's so so so so cute and it hangs over her ears a bit.

- Has begun picking at her headbands and doesn't really keep them on anymore. Sad day for SURE! I'm at least glad it's taken her THIS long to get to this point; However, I'm still sad because she looks oh so cute and that gold, leather bow, and all the other ones I've made to match all her outfits. (Yes, I still do that). She'll even take off her hoodie! That girl…

- Has become a little more sassy and has that little personality of hers coming out more & more every day.

- Will yell at me if I take too long putting another spoonful in her mouth. No seriously, if I put her food down for a minute (to do something for Jovi, or flip a quesadilla, or get a drink, etc.) she YELLS at me! Ha

- Loves her dadda and gets so so excited to see him.

- Has tried eating & drinking sissy's snacks. Grrrr gotta keep an eye out on those two! (Jovi will sometimes try to sneak goldfish snacks to her sister, and bless her heart for sharing I'll have to fish them out of Presley's mouth. Literally!)

- Will kick and scoot (in the middle of the night, while sleeping), so that when I go into their room in the morning, she'll be clear on the other side of her crib! So now I put some padding at the top, so when she DOES do that, she won't bump her head so much. 

- And weighs 21 pounds (87th percentile), is 29 inches long (92nd percentile), and has a head that's in the 55th percentile (44 cm). Her doctor said her head is just perfect the way it is (which is something we were really worried about since she's not mobile). We just love every ounce and roll of our little Sweet P! She is just the perfect addition to our family and we love love love seeing her interact w/her big sister. They are just SO fun together. 

Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Sticks

Ingredients:

• 1 tube Pillsbury pizza crust
• 40 pepperoni slices
• 10 mozzarella cheese sticks
• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• Optional: marinara sauce for dipping

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Spread pizza dough out on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut the dough into 10 equal size rectangles.
3. Arrange 4 pepperoni slices on each rectangle and top with a mozzarella cheese stick.
4. Roll up the pizza dough, enclosing the cheese stick, pinching the seams closed.
5. Melt the butter and add the garlic powder and dried parsley. Brush the pizza sticks with the butter.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Enjoy warm with a side of marinara sauce for dipping if desired.

Eight month stats (P)

Presley is eight months old!

Our Sweet P turned 8 months old last Friday (01/15). I think to myself, far too often, that it feels LITERALLY like yesterday that we brought her home. She's just growing so much & so fast. Here's the latest & greatest:

- I've come to terms to just accept and move on w/the fact that she can roll (and will, when she wants to), but that it's just not in her personality to constantly be moving, unless she wants to or has to. 

- Has a tooth (bottom left), but it's just kind of there.

- Loves to kicks humans. Ha!

- Takes about 2 naps during the day (one in the morning around 9:30 for about an hour to two hours), and one in the afternoon when her sister goes down @ 1pm (and that nap's usually around 3 hours). She's pretty much dropped her pre-sleep nap, but sometimes she does like to take a little nap before bed time. It's the Papa Joe in her. 

- Really likes chewing on momma and dada's phone cases. I've decided it has nothing to do w/the phone itself. It's the actual case and rubber on the sides. It's almost like her own little teething ring.

- Has really picked up the whole baby food thing. In fact, she still loves squash & sweet potatoes, but has really gotten the hang of the fruits now. She digs apples, pears, and peaches, but struggles w/bananas. Girl, I don't blame you. 

- Still growls. A lot.

- Has started saying Dada. We think. 

- Eats more baby food than formula. We're trying to ween her slowly off formula, so it's not that hard of a transition when she turns 12 months. We just try not to give her as much as often. We still give it to her though. It's good for her at this age still. 

- Sits up and plays in her Pack 'N Play. She can even sit up (on her own) on the floor too. She does so well & has so much fun! It's so cute to see her reach for all her toys. 

- Is pretty close to pulling herself up, from the laying down position. 

- Can almost pop herself out of her Bumbo. I'm thinking it's almost time for the high chair! 

- Does really really well sitting up in the bath tub. She doesn't kick & splash as much as when she's laying down, but it's still fun to see her playing w/the water. And it's easier to clean her back and back of her baby head. 

- Loves facetiming and thinks it's all about her. In fact, she will growl (or make ANY house she can), so we pay attention to her. She's starting to recognize my mom's face and voice and gets really excited when the camera's on her. 

- And got her first cold this winter, but handled it so so well. She was so close to getting RSV but luckily didn't, and only ended up w/a sinus and ear infection and a little bit of wheezing. We did breathing treatments on her every 4 hours, for 2 weeks, but other than that, she did great and didn't ONCE complain. She was just a very cuddly baby. What's new?!?! We love our Sweet P!

Seven month stats (P)

Presley is seven months old!

Our little Miss P June turned 7 months old a whole month ago (Tuesday, December 15th). We love her so much & can't believe how big she's getting.

Here's what she's been up to:

- She still has the ability to roll from front to back & back to front, but why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?!?!

- Still drooling a ton, but no teeth that we know of. 

- Kicks and kicks and kicks and kicks A TON; Especially while on her changing table.

- Loves to wake up at least 30 minutes before Jovi & is thoroughly entertained by her until we come in to get them. 

- Enjoys putting her feet in her mouth. All the time. It's like they taste like chicken or something?

- Does exceptional when it comes to baby food. Squash & sweet potato are her favorites. No fruits yet. Nope.

- Thinks it's rude for us to eat/drink in front of her and will just stare into your soul until acknowledged. 

- Has started this new thing where she smacks her lips. I can't tell if she's mimicking kisses, trying to talk, or hoping to get a tooth in, but either way, it's the cutest thing & she looks like an old lady w/that gummy little smile. 

- Still eats 6 ounces every 3 hours. But now that she's eating baby food some-what well, we try to give her less formula, if she eats an entire container of baby food. She does pretty well w/that idea too. 

- Has a little bit of trouble sitting up on her own, still, but is getting there! Baby steps people.

- Is determined to pull herself up, when being laid down on the changing table or in her car seat. It's like, if you want to move so bad, don't wait until we lay you down girlfriend. Try to move & crawl on your own when you have the chance! Right? Right? Am I right?!?!

- Totally outgrew the Mamaroo swing. That one was bitter sweet for me, but it's gone. All gone. She didn't want to have anything to do w/that anymore. Got bored after the 6 month mark, just like her big sister.

- Really enjoys bath time. And I mean REALLY. She used to SCREAM in the tub; Especially if Jake bathed her (ha!), but now it's like her favorite thing, besides kisses, snuggles, her sister, and of course FOOD. So we can consider bath time on the list of top 5 favorite things to do. You'd think all that kicking would hurt her heels! Nope. Apparently it doesn't.

- She really really (and I mean REALLY) enjoys a good game of Peek-A-Boo w/her big sissy. Peek-A-Boo is really a game for Jovi, but Presley thinks it's for her and I'm quite all right w/that, because that means BOTH girls are happy at the same time. Not that it's a hard thing to accomplish, but ya know how toddler land is- One minute they're happy & the next minute they're not, so yeah. If they both think that game is for them, then SO BE IT. We love Peek-A-Boo!

- Is a very happy, well loved, beautiful, chunky, soft, squishy baby. Really, she's just been through so much since coming into this world, and she handles it ALL like a champ. Only fusses when tired or hungry. Both my babies have been pretty chill like that. Thank goodness!

- 

Albert Family Pictures

While we were in California, we took family pictures on my side of the family. 

We just HAD to since we were all together (for the first time in a long time) during the holidays.

Location: Hart Park in Bakersfield

Here are a few of our favorites:

From left to right

Carlie, Tyler, Austin, Dad, Mom, Kelsey, Courtney, Aubre, Jovi, and Jake

The women. Gorgeous!

The men. Studly!

Special thanks to Jen Wolff Photography

Ten month stats

Jovi is ten months old! 

Holy cow, where does time go, besides out the window?!?! I feel like it just flies right on by!!! We're hittin double digits here folks. DOUBLE DIGITS! I'm no fan. She looks HUGE these days.
Here's what she's been up to:

- She has 8 teeth (4 on top and 4 on bottom), and has 2 more coming in, so pretty soon she'll have 10 total! She'll be ready for a steak and potatoes tomorrow!
- Holds her own bottle now. Sometimes. Only when she wants to :)
- She went to her first amusement park (Knott's Berry Farm), and loved it! She went on her first ride too! Don't worry- It was just the little gold mining ride and Jake held her the whole time. She loved it though, and didn't get scared when it'd get noisy/dark. She also experienced her first show (Snoopy on Ice), while we were there, and she loved that as well!
- She eats baby food three times a day now (both veggies and fruit), and takes EVERYTHING like a champ, still!
- Will "sing" when you sing.
- Loves "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and does the hand motions when it comes to the "out came the sun" part.
- Tries to climb out of the bathtub during her splash time. She doesn't actually want to get OUT of the tub per say, she just wants to climb out because hey- she can, so why not?!?!
- Claps. That's right. This is not the same baby we had when we left for California. We came back w/a completely different girl.
- Has so much more hair now! I was looking back at photos from November & she has like triple the amount.
- Speaking of hair, her's is curly! Just a few curls on top, but it's enough to swoon me!
- Loves to snuggle w/her stuffed animals (Dumbo and Snoop Dawg). They sleep in her crib even.
- Has learned to fall asleep on mom & dad while being bottle fed. She used to do this as an infant, but became SUPER independent and would only go to sleep if she was alone in her crib. But Nana and grandpa liked to snuggle here on our CA trip, so she got kinda used to that, and is okay w/us doing it now too. Don't get me wrong- She'll still lay down in her crib alone, but when needed (or wanted), she'll snuggle and go to sleep on you, while being bottle fed & rocked to sleep. I'm loving it!
- Will walk w/her new walking toy. In fact, she like runs w/it. I fear she'll just let go & take off running one day. Not walking.
- Loves to sit & "read" her books she got for Christmas. I'm so glad I ordered those for her!
- She feeds herself her own puffs now! AH I witnessed it today, on more than one occasion & it was sooooo exciting watching those motor skills come to life.
- She sleeps w/a humidifier in her room & it's amazing! I recommend one for everyone! 
- Will give you loves if you really deserve it & if she's really in the mood. And, her idea of "loves" (lemme just tell ya), is simply her just putting her forehead on yours, and sitting still for a minute. And that's it. 
- And lastly, she claps when she gets really excited to see a familiar face during FaceTime. She'll even throw in a cheesy grin w/it occasionally. 

Nine month stats

Jovi is nine months old!

She turned nine months old almost a whole 30 days ago (BAH! Latest post ever!!!!), so on Saturday (12/13). I'm slacking more & more!!! I blame this last post on the holidays, and pregnancy. Let's see what other excuses I can come up w/next time. HA!

Here's what our little big lady has been up to:

- She pulls herself up on EVERYTHING & uses her kitchen high chair as a walker. Yeah- She pulls it & walks w/it around the kitchen.

- Growls at people… I'm not sure how I feel about this one, as it's not quite socially acceptable. Then again, she's a baby & can get away w/most things adults can't. And really, it's more of like a cat hiss than a growl. It's pretty cute, I must say.

- We like to play this fun game w/her, where we take her pacifier out of her mouth, and put it in ours. She thinks it's HILARIOUS!…. Let me clarify…. We don't put the part that goes in her mouth, in our mouth. We put the handle part in our mouth. Yeah :) She thinks it's SUPER funny though, and will take it out and put it in her own, after she jibber jabbers (almost like she's scolding us for doing something so ridiculous). 

- Loves to see the baby in the mirror. Not "The Man In The Mirror." I often take her in the guest bath (her bathroom), to see "THE BABY!" and she gets so excited seeing her reflection. I'm not sure when she'll finally realize it's her she's seeing, but it's pretty cute to see her reaction at "another baby;" Especially since we'll be having another one this year. It makes me feel good that she gets excited over other little people & isn't afraid.

- Pulls herself up on the oven handle in the kitchen, just so she can see the other baby (or herself) in the reflection. She then bangs on the glass, to tell the other baby hi. I like to think she's telling the "other baby" hi anyhow.

- Is very active in the bathtub now…. Don't get me wrong- She's always been a kicker and a screamer in the water, but now that she can crawl, she crawls in the tub and is IMPOSSIBLE to contain. IMPOSSIBLE I tell ya! She goes nuts. I miss the days when she would just lay there & get excited over the simple things (her kicking the water & splashing). Now, I love to see her move around 'n all, but it was just SO CUTE to see her get so excited over her just moving water w/her legs kicking hahaha Now she's a wild indian in the water & we love it just the same. 

- She now eats Stage 2 for the baby foods, which means the serving sizes are bigger, and a thicker consistency. She still eats everything like a champ & isn't so bothered w/the thicker consistencies anymore. (Remember how she hated her thick rick cereal, so we had to start making it thinner, so she wouldn't gag? Yeah, she got over that & is fine now).

- Has stopped doing spitty bubbles as often and will instead wiggle her tongue back & forth between the two sides of her mouth. It's the cutest noise really! (She still does spitty bubbles, just not AS often. It's more of a couple days a week type thing).

- Will copy you, or try. 

- Is a handful to put to bed, or down for a nap sometimes, but that's really just depending on her energy level. Most days/nights, it's still real easy for me; Especially if I recognize she's tired early on & act upon it, but if I wait too long, and try to put her down when she's OVERLY tired, it aint pretty. And I say it like it's this huge ordeal. It really isn't, compared to SOME stories I've heard w/kids going down for nap/bed time, but for our sweet little Jovi it's a huge ordeal. Getting up and leaving her room over & over 5 or 6 times is NOT something we do regularly. It's not out of the norm for me to just lay her down, walk away, and know she's zonked for the night/hour. Sometimes she has a hard time when Jake puts her down, though. And I think that's just because she likes to play w/him, and he's more of the "fun" parent.

- Goes from toy to toy to toy.

- Is a very very busy bee and goes up down, up down, on any and everything. For no reason at all really. 

- Has two teeth (bottom center) and is SO close to cutting those top two front choppers. They're right there. So close!

- When she gets really excited, she jibber jabbers to herself, in a whisper. I think that's because we would do that to her when we'd get really excited about something w/her. 

- And weighs 19.69 pounds (56th percentile), is 28 inches long (52nd percentile), and has a head that is in the 96th percentile (46 1/2 cm). Her doctor said she's a beautiful girl, is doing great and to keep doing what we're doing.