Two Step

Mikaela has mastered going from a squat to a stand without using something to pull up as long as she has something in her hands (like a toy). Today she took two steps before sitting down. She's falling a little more as she experiments with the walking. We bought her a push toy which is boosting her confidence in walking I think. Pictures to come - I am just exhausted from work and haven't gotten it done! Hopefully this weekend. I know the pictures/videos are the best part.

Baby Steps

Mikaela is beginning to take little steps. She can stand unsupported for several minutes at a time and has been doing so for several weeks now. She will walk with you if you are holding her hands. When cruising along furniture, you can tell she is thinking about letting go and walking to the next furniture item, but has always opted to crawl instead. Today on two separate occasions, she took a tiny step before dropping down to crawl. We've yet to capture it on film but are keeping the camera handy. Stay tuned...

Bath Time Dance

The bath time ritual is for one of us to run the bath water while the other parent gets Mikaela ready for the bath. During this process, Mikaela loves to see herself in the mirror. So this is her nightly bath time dance (shot in two videos for easier download).

Balloon Fun

Mikaela's day care had a birthday party today so she came home with a balloon and other fun party favors.

A Visit to Gran & Papa Bill's

Last weekend we went to visit Gran & Papa Bill in Greenville. We had to make a stop along the way so we took some pictures of Mikaela "driving."

She napped going and coming home so I snapped some pictures.
She actually fell asleep holding her feet.

Playing in the rocker at Gran & Papa Bill's.
Playing chase with Gran:

Recent Photos

Here are some random pictures taken recently.

Mikaela in a cute dress for church. She looked as though she were ready to go play tennis.

Playing with a new toy:

"Reading"
Standing at the fireplace (without holding on)
Discovering the new toys Mommy brought home from work:
A happily fed child:

Note on feeding: She pretty much refuses to be spoon fed anymore. This has been going on for the last month. Sometimes she'll take rice but most other foods she wants to feed herself so we are introducing table food in small doses and she's a pretty happy camper with that.

And... she sleeps from 7:45pm to 7:15am most every night. Waking up in the night is now the exception instead of the rule!!!

And still no top teeth...

Kisses for Daddy

Today when Daddy came home from work, he was holding Mikaela and she leaned in to his nose with her mouth as though trying to give him a kiss. Too cute!

Dinner Anyone?

We have been giving Mikaela bite sized pieces of table food in addition to baby food. We started with Gerber puffs (her favorite) and cheerios and have gradually worked in other foods such as green beans, macaroni, black beans, and chicken. Tonight at dinner she enjoyed feeding herself green beans and macaroni. Here is how everything looked when she was done.

It is also important to note that Cocoa Bean has become a big fan of Mikaela's eating because she gets to inspect the floor for crumbs once everyone has gotten up from the table.

And a note for the scrapbook: Today Mikaela when from a squat to a standing position without using anything to help her pull up. I thought for a second she might try to take a step but instead she sat back down.

Magazine and Baby Don't Mix

Mikaela got a hold of Daddy's magazine that came in the mail.

A Lazy Day

Watching tv while relaxing in the dog bed...

Cowgirl

We've had two empty frames on our mantle for years. Pictures of Mikaela seemed like the best choice to fill them. Someone gave us this dress for Mikaela so we had a mini photo session and here are the best ones:

Summer Fun

Yesterday we attended a pool party for our church. We haven't taken Mikaela to the pool much this summer so she hasn't had many opportunities to swim. We knew we were going to have to take this slow. We entered the big pool in an area that had very few people. She held tight to Mommy for a while as she got used to the water.

She started splashing the water, though we hadn't seen smiles yet.
Later, she was willing to be a little farther from Mom.
Eventually, she would go in her baby float and even began to smile and kick her feet.
After a while, we went to the kiddie pool to hang out with our friends (because most of those there have toddlers or preschoolers) and give Mikaela more to look at. Our friend, Kristian took her around the pool.
Here is Mikaela drying off in her ducky towel when it was time to go:
Little wrinkled feet:

"More"

At lunch on Saturday we worked on signs to help her ask for things that she wants. We got an approximation of "more" when she saw the food item (a puff) and put her hands together. She was promptly rewarded with the food. It literally brought tears to my eyes to see those language connections starting to form. I guess I'm in the right profession...

9 Month Stats & Walking Video

After her 9 month check up, here are her stats:

Weight: 16 lbs, 11 oz (20%)
Length: 28 3/8 (75%)

Still long and lean, though finally not as lean as before. She is out of 6-9 month clothing. She's beginning to wear some 12 month stuff, or 9-12 month. She is still in size 3 diapers. Below is a video of her walking across the living room with Daddy the other morning.

Gran & Papa Bill's

On Sunday we drove out to Greenville after church to visit Gran and Papa Bill and to meet Aunt Paula. She enjoyed exploring their house.

9 Months Old

Mikaela is 9 months old today. She is crawling everywhere and pulling up on anything she can. She can stand for several seconds at a time, without holding onto anything. She walks along furniture, but if you take her hands to have her walk with you, she doesn't really take more than a step or two before she gets down to crawl.

She babbles a lot, screams (excitedly) sometimes, and has discovered a gurgling sound that she does often. "Milk" is still the only sign she has shown.

She has become quite the eater lately, downing 35-40 ounces of formula a day. Solid food has been going well, though in the last couple of days she hasn't really wanted to eat much of it.

Sleep is going better too. She was doing 10 hr stretches, then after a stomach virus, she was down to 7 as we were getting her eating back to normal. But the last couple of nights she's been going from about 8:30 to 6 or 7 without waking to eat. She's also been napping twice a day, for 1-2 hrs at a time.

Her favorite toys are a couple of soft books with puzzle pieces. She has learned how to get the pieces out, and though she can't really get them back in, she seems to know where most of them go. She also likes blocks and her remote control.

I will get her 9 month stats tomorrow at her doctor's appointment.

Here are outtakes in an effort to get her 9 month picture: