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. 

Christmas in Cali

We made a last minute decision to go to California for Christmas.

And boy was it a hectic one.

We did all our last minute Christmas shopping in about two days.

Did some maintenance on the car (oil change, tire rotation, etc.).

And then we hit the road.

We left on Friday, December 19th mid afternoon and got to my parent's around 2am.

Jovi did great (as usual), and was SO excited to see my mom when we got there.

Photo taken on my iPhone 

Saturday, December 20th Jake caught up on sleep and I ran some last minute errands/Christmas shopping.

We also went to my parent's ward Christmas party later that evening.

It was so fun running into old friends!

Sunday, December 21st, we went to church at my parent's ward and had Sunday dinner w/the fam afterwards.

The fam, meaning everyone but my brother & his wife, and my sister.

Monday, December 22nd, Jake and I headed up to Kernville to spend the evening and a few nights there.

Jovi had a lot of fun w/her cousin (Ryder), who is 3 months younger.

Photo taken on my iPhone

Tuesday, December 23rd, I caught up on sleep, while Jake went fishing w/his dad & brother.

His Aunt Bonnie & Uncle Dan (and their daughter-in-law, Tracey, and her two kids Martin & Allison), came over later that evening for dinner. 

It was nice to sit & visit w/them during the busy time of the year.

Wednesday, December 24th, we celebrated Christmas Eve at Aunt Bonnie's w/all the other cousins & Jovi got to see everyone again!

It was so much fun getting everyone together, and seeing Jovi open her first Christmas present. 

We then went back to Jake's parents & did Christmas there w/them and his immediate family.

Later that evening, we headed back down to my parents for the remainder of the holidays. 

Thursday, December 25th, CHRISTMAS DAY!!! The biggest day yet! (Other than getting married & having Jovi, of course).

I guess Santa thought she deserved a good first Christmas.

In her stocking she got her own Disney princess chapstick (since she's obsessed w/my Burts Bees), a pink sparkly ball, rubber duckies, measuring cups, and a pink tutu.

She was pretty excited, as you can tell:

She went for the chapstick right away. Great thinkin, Santa!

NOISE MAKERS! That's what those are. Not measuring cups.

Bath toys, anyone?

First present from mom & dad: Foam letters & numbers. We believe in education. 

After we finished opening @ my parent's, we headed to my grandma's house, to open w/my mom's side of the family.

Jovi had to get a picture w/her aunties, since they gave her that ADORABLE Minnie Mouse outfit.

And yes, she she wore that on Christmas day :)

Four generation picture:

My mom's mom, my mom, Jovi, and meeeee

Jovi also got to meet Gabbie (Great Auntie Kel) for the first time!

Friday, December 26th, we headed back to my parent's and got ready for a busy weekend.

Saturday, December 27th, we went to Glendora to celebrate Christmas w/my dad's side of the family. They always get together the Saturday AFTER Christmas.

It was nice for everyone to meet Jovi for the first time :)

She met my Uncle Steve & Aunt Leslie, and my dad's mom over the summer, but other than that- That's it, so there was a lot for her to see. 

Sunday, December 28th, we all went to church together as a family and celebrated my younger brother's Eagle Court of Honor later that night.

We're so proud of you, Austin! Another eagle in the family. YEAH!

Monday, December 29th, we all went to Knott's MERRY Farm as a family, and the grandmas came along.

It was SO much fun and we had beautiful weather all day! (63)

It didn't get chilly until the sun went down.

We enjoyed watching Jovi's reactions, as this was her first amusement park, as was mine.

Oh, and we got photo bombed. Bah!

Left to right. Top to bottom:

Jake, Tyler (my brother), Carlie (his wife), Courtney (my sister), and my dad.

Me, Austin (my youngest brother), Grandma Bailey (dad's mom), G'ma Smith (mom's mom), Kelsey (my sister), and my mom.

Tuesday, December 30th, we took family pictures w/the whole fam since we were all together.

Jake and I went out to dinner later that night. BJs is a must hit when in CA

Wednesday, December 31st New Year's Eve we left California.

We originally weren't planning on leaving until the following day (New Year's Day), but since Jovi was teething really bad & not feeling well, and I caught some sort of sinus infection, Jake and I both decided to just leave and drive home that day. 

We left around 12 noon and got home around 1am.

It was a crazy couple of weeks in California. Not a dull moment & full of traveling.

We definitely took advantage of the cheap gas prices!

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. 

Jovi's 1st Christmas

We set up our Christmas tree last night and Jovi was fascinated!

I wish every Christmas was a baby's first Christmas.

I'm sure some baby somewhere, will be celebrating their first Christmas next year, or the year after that…

But I want my baby to have her first Christmas be every Christmas.

It was just so magical watching her see everything.

Between the lights & the ornaments- She was entertained.

And so were we!

Here are a few favorites…

When I say a few, I probably mean like 15

Eight month stats

Jovi is eight months old!

She turned eight months old last Thursday (11/13). I think there's only been maaaaaybeeee one time I've posted EXACTLY on time. Suck!

Here's what our chuncky's been up to:

- She crawls everywhere (started just before she turned eight months), and is pretty fast.

- Gets super excited to see her dada, and nana on FaceTime. Those are the two we FaceTime with on the daily, and she LOVES them!

- Still trying to get those top center chompers to come in. They're SO close and I can see AND feel them. They're just stubborn and don't wanna come down. Urgh!

- Has realized she has legs and wants to do more w/them than just crawl. Yeah, she only crawled for about two weeks before she was pulling herself up on things. She first started w/pulling herself up on me (while sitting on the floor playing w/her). But now it's anything really. Her swing, the couch, the wall- You name it, she pulls up on it.

- Loves to crawl over to the kitchen floor and drool, then play in her drool. Gross, I know. 

- Loves to poke and play w/our faces. She especially loves to pull on daddy's ear, grab at his nose, and touch his face; Especially when he has whiskers and hasn't shaved in awhile. As for me, she loves to pat my face, and stick her fingers in mouth. I dunno what it is about faces, but it's the cutest thing.

- Eats all her baby food all gone now! She eats one fruit in the morning (followed by a bottle of diluted apple juice), and she'll eat one vegetable in the afternoon. She likes them all. Definitely has her favorites (apples, peaches, squash, and sweet potatoes), but will eat all her food ALL gone, even if she's not too fond of it. We have an EXCELLENT eater!

- Speaking of baby food, it doesn't have to be warmed up anymore. We stopped spoiling her, and give it to her straight out of our pantry. The only time we had to warm it up before, was when we'd refrigerate it, but now she eats all her baby food in one setting, so that's no longer needed :)

- She gets SUPER excited to see her BFF Hayden. As mentioned in my previous post, Hayden lives just two houses over from us and they play often during the week. Hayden's family sat in front of us @ church the other day, and she got SO excited to see her, and was trying to get at her the entire time. Kinda disruptive, yeah, but still super cute.

- We've lowered her crib! It doesn't look like a little baby crib (to me), anymore. She's lowered as low as it can go 'cuz heck- Why not. We'll just have to keep lowering it, so why not just do it all at once?!?! And that we did. She didn't like it at first. The first night, I think she felt really far away from things (ie- her mobile and the baby monitor), but she's adjusted to it now, and so have our backs :)

- She (lately) has been pulling out her pacificer just to talk to us, then will put it back in when she's done babbling. Don't worry- I speak baby fluently and TOTALLY understand everything she says… Not really…

- Has started giving kisses. I kiss just right under her chin and she slobbers on my forehead, like she's kissing me back. She'll slobber on Jake's head, when he's down on the floor playing w/her and it's THE cutest thing you've ever seen. She also gave Hayden kisses the other day, when she was on the floor getting changed. I didn't realize she understood and realized what kisses were, but BOY DOES SHE!

- She thinks knows it's the best time of the day when her dada comes home from work! She demands for him to get on the floor and play w/her RIGHT AWAY. No, not even a bathroom break is okay. She'll scream at him until he pays FULL attention to her. She really likes climbing on him, patting his head, pulling at his face, and getting tickles. Can we say daddy's girl?!?

- I don't have the exact height & weight for her, since she hasn't had an appointment since her last visit… BUT… I can tell you that she's growing out of her footies SUPER fast. She is currently wearing 12 month footie pajamas, and I fear she'll outgrow them next week. Stop growing baby girl. Can't you just be our little baby forever?!?! Between you crawling & wanting to stand up all the time- There's just too much goin on for our little (big) eight month old girl. 

Seven month stats

Jovi is seven months old!

She turned seven months old exactly a week ago today, so last Monday (10/13). I'm such a failure, slacker, bad mom, for not posting on time. UGH! Get with it!

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

- She sits up now, completely on her own.

- Loves to FaceTime (mainly so she can see herself, but really she just thinks she's seeing another baby & doesn't QUITE realize it's her yet).

- Is teething like cuh-razy, trying to get those top suckers to come in. Poor baby. Drooly, slobbery mess. 

- Has discovered how to pull the blanket over her head & hide. I'm not sure if she thinks she's invisible (kinda like the whole "I can't see you, so you can't see me" type deal), but she really gets enjoyment out of it & has been doing it for awhile. She's so calm when she's in her own little place, and I love watching her do it.

- Has realized her love for the tile by the front door entry way. She will roll over there as fast as she can, and will just kick and play. You'd think bonking her head, or slamming her feet on the tile would hurt. Nope, not our baby. She's got a tough (and big) head, and I'm convinced those heels of hers are made of steel.

- Thinks it's funny to try & escape when I turn around for 2.5 seconds (while on the changing table).

- Likes to put her big toe in her mouth & it's the cutest and grossest thing all at the same time. 

- Likes to pat and touch Papa Bear's face ALL the time now. I think she likes the feel of his whiskers, but only with her hands. The whiskers aren't so forgiving on her tummy.

- Has gotten all her bottle feedings to just 5 ounces every time.

- Eats baby food once to twice a day. We've only had her on one (squash) for the last week now. We want her to finish all those containers, before we move to another flavor, which will be sweet potatoes. Yum! Those will be tasty for her; Although, she does quite well w/the squash. She didn't at first, but she's gotten the hang of it now (and no, we don't mix it w/anything).

- While eating her baby food, it has to be warm. At first, we were thinking it was a texture thing (I'm super texture sensitive, so we thought she inherited that horrible trait from me), but no- She's just spoiled and used to having really warm bottles, so that's how she likes ALL her food to be. A little gross if you ask me, but oh well- The kid's happy and she eats it all. I see no harm in it.

- She now drinks apple juice once a day. It's 100% apple juice w/just natural sugars in it. We still dilute it w/water, but she does quite well w/it and all this fiber is so good for her.

- Still eats rice cereal at night, before bed time. She now knows it's part of her routine and gets really excited. It's so cute.

- She's recently changed the way she smiles. She sticks her tongue out and kinda scrunches her nose. It's so adorable and I just love seeing her do it. 

- Speaking of smile… She's such a happy baby and loves to laugh. She really will smile and giggle at anyone, as long as they're paying attention to her. It's real easy to get her to smile and or laugh. 

- She has a best friend! I don't know if I'd get them BFF bracelets QUITE yet, but she sure does love our neighbor. They live two doors to the east of us, and have a baby girl who is EXACTLY two months younger than Jovi. Her name is Hayden, and we love play dates & walks w/her. Jovi loves to touch Baby Hayden and giggles at her constantly. We're working on her manners.

- Tries to catch her baby mobile hanging from her swing. You can't really pull it down, but boy oh boy does she try! It's so cute to see her interact and play w/it, and other things too.

- She knows how to pull her pacifier out of her mouth, and can also put it back in. She likes to hold the string and pull it in & out of her mouth, just lightly sucking on it. I don't know if she thinks it's a game, or if she's just proud of herself for being able to do it, but it cracks me up.

- She is super talented and can suck on her thumb AND pacifier at the same time.

- Sometimes she'll gag herself because she'll stick her thumb so far into her mouth. I'm not such a fan of that.

- She tries to grab her little toy butterfly that hangs from her carseat. She's SO determined to get it in her mouth (and sometimes she can). I'll go to get her out of the car, and it'll just be soaking wet. Disgusting.

- Which leads me to my next point… She smiles SO big when you open her side of the car door. She knows someone is coming to get her out of the car. Though she loves car rides, and does super good in her car seat, she's always just super excited to see someone there for her. And hey, let's face it- She knows she's getting kisses. This girl LOVES kisses.

- If you put your lips together and make a lip smacking noise, she thinks you're layin one on her and will open her mouth for a kiss. She giggles and smiles at the very thought.

- She talks constantly and stares intensely at us, while in the kitchen.

- And weighs 17.3 pounds (67th percentile), is 26.25 inches long (57th percentile), and has a head that is in the 91st percentile (44.5 cm). Her doctor says she's doing great and that we should keep doing what we're doing.

Six month stats

Jovi is six months old!

She turned six months on Saturday (09/13). AH! Halfway to a year already. You better BELIEVE I've already started planning her first birthday.

Here's what our chunky monkey has been up to:

- She rolls around like cuh-razy. Both ways too!

- Has two teeth. Both in the bottom front and we THINK another one is coming in up top.

- When playing on the floor, she scoots as close to the living room window as possible, and plays w/the curtains. That just means one thing guys- Her love for Target already. 

- Tries to roll over when we change her diaper now. It's getting pretty difficult to change her these days. 

- Holds both her feet and grabs at ALL things.

- Enjoys pinching and grabbing at our faces. It's pretty cute. The pinching thing? Not so much, but the grabbing at our faces? Oh yeah.

- She still starts out at eating 5 ounces, but will easily down 6 in the morning when she first wakes up.

- Has started eating a little bit of rice cereal at night before she goes to bed. It's the cutest thing to see her licking the spoon like a puppy dog.

- Is trying SO SO hard to sit up on her own. She comes close, but not quite. Soon guys, soon.

- LOVES seeing her Papa Bear pull in the drive way. She seriously gets so excited & tenses up. It's the cutest thing EVER.

- Enjoys a good game of Peek-A-Boo and often jumps when we "scare" her. She's such a jumpy baby.

- Has recently started this new thing, where she'll look away from me & smile, but won't look right at me and smile. Pretty sure she knows what she's doing too. That little stink.

- She really really likes her stroller and will look around at everything, while on our afternoon walks.

- Likes other babies but looks at them like they're NUTS when they cry.

- Has become smarter and smarter w/knowing who people are. She has voice and face recognition when we FaceTime w/family now.

- Speaking of FaceTime, she really likes FaceTiming w/Papa Bear, while he's at work. 

- She likes to look at herself in the mirror. I'm not sure if she thinks she's seeing another baby, or if she just really likes looking at herself, but she smiles so big and thinks she is just the coolest.

- Enjoys looking at photos of herself. She recently watched a video of herself giggling (on my iPhone), and was drooling over it. She seriously couldn't take her eyes off it and thought she was pretty neat.

- And she smiles SO big, when we go in to get her in the morning, or after any nap. It just melts my little heart, and I could die happy seeing that little one smile. Her sweet face lights up a whole room and just makes my entire day.