Let me sleep on it.

So.

This one:

is nine months old.

I won't even try to explain how this makes me feel. Because, well...

WAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Let's just say I'm not ready for any permanent forms of birth control and I'm not sure whether that's because I actually want more babies or I just really can't stand the thought of losing the ones I already have.

Probably a little of both, but we're going to sleep on that for a couple of years.

Here are Audie Lou's official nine month stats:

Weight: 19lbs (50th)
Height: 28.75 inches (86th)
Head: 17.75 inches (79th)

And her unofficial ones:

At nine months, Audra is opinionated. And active. And she has crazy hair. I keep trying to put little bows and barrettes and ponytail holders in it but she's super squirmy and her hair is super fine and it's just not working, so we're embracing the crazy.

She's crawling now, and she has four teeth with two more working their way out. I'm hoping the next one to arrive is the other top middle, because right now she has the two bottom middles and a top middle and a top side. Her smile is lopsided, adorable, and just a little redneck.

She loves to eat. She's still nursing, but no more baby food for this girl. She is an independent eater with a taste for carbs, cheese, and avocado (for she is her mother's daughter). Plus anything she finds on the floor. If you try to feed her with a spoon or give her something she doesn't like, she waves both of her arms in front of her face like a crazy person doing karate.

Her mamas and dadas are beginning to sound more purposeful, and she has begun to wave hello and goodbye. She loves playing peekaboo and is starting to take an interest in toys and books...Calvin's mostly. Every morning she wakes up and cries and fusses until we come get her, but it's all for show — the second she sees us she's grinning from ear to ear and reaching out her arms for us to pick her up.

At home, she spends most of her time trying to get to the dog's water bowl. As soon as she turns the corner into the kitchen, one of us will say "Audra..." in a gentle tone and wait. Without fail, she backs up, peeks around the corner at us, and grins. She never gets very far.

She often puts her head down on my shoulder in the sweetest little way, then immediately pops it up like "yeah, just kidding." Audra is not a cuddler. She loves being held and always wants to be near us, but she doesn't like to be snuggled and really prefers to do her own thing.

Luckily, her own thing is pretty darned cute.

Nine months is wonderful. Audra is wonderful. Truth be told, I don't really need to sleep on it. Nate does, but I don't. I would love a house full of Audras.

I'm probably good with just the one Calvin, though. (See next post.)

S is for...

Seven months old!

Smiles...lots of them, suddenly. She has a precious little grin.

Sleep. We sleep trained her this weekend. Took eight minutes. Not kidding.

Second tooth. She has both of her bottom front teeth now and is MUCH happier.

Second foods. Our girl loves to eat. Carrots, beef and vegetable, and mango are her favorites.

Spit. She spits bananas, turkey and sweet potatoes, and all medicines back at us in a violent and messy manner. 

Selective. This one knows what she wants and is quick to turn up her nose when's she's unimpressed by whatever you're offering.

Separation anxiety. Heaven forbid I move outside her line of vision, even for a second.

Sibling love. She stares at Calvin in awe and with adoration.

Stacking. She could play with that Fisher Price ring stacking toy for hours. It's her favorite.

Sophie the giraffe. She's a close second in the favorites department.

Scoot. She is this close to scooting across the floor. I'm scared.

Snort. The Audie snort is still alive and well and it only gets cuter every day. 

Shock of hair. Her hair is getting so long on top that it hangs in her face without a barrette or headband. Unless it's sticking straight up. That happens a lot, too.

Snuggles. We get a few here and there. 

Sounds. She's making so many! My favorite, of course, is mamamamamama. 

Sweetness. It abounds in Audra. It really does. She is the sweetest little thing on earth.

See?

 

S is also for serious overload, which I know this post is, but gosh. It's impossible to pick only a handful of photos when you're working with that face. And that outfit!

Six month roundup.

Oh, Audie. How are you six months old already? Time is passing too quickly, sweets. But it always does. And I take such joy in watching you grow, in seeing your little personality develop.

When I get home from work, your face breaks into an enormous smile and your entire body stiffens out of excitement before you lean your face into mine and grab my cheeks with both hands. This greeting is the happiest part of my day.

Right now you love to snort. You scrunch up that little bulbous nose of yours and sniff and laugh and then sniff again. It's weird and adorable and makes us all laugh.

You've been rolling for a month now, but within the last week or so you've really started to move. I put you to bed on your back in one direction, you wake up on your tummy in the opposite direction. I sit you in your bouncy seat while I make dinner and you end up with your knees on the floor facing it. I leave you on a blanket on the living room rug and within minutes you're howling because you've managed to end up lying face-first on the hardwood.

Sitting independently is a recent achievement, as is being able to hold your own bottle. You chew on everything, but there are still no teeth in sight. [Editor's note: I discovered one of her bottom teeth had broken through about four hours after posting this.]

Calvin is your hero. You watch every move he makes, and he can soothe you faster than Dad and I can. He likes to stick his face right up against yours (which probably accounts for your runny nose) and sing made-up songs about being a big brother and protecting you. Yesterday he made faces at you in the backseat while we were stuck in traffic and you couldn't stop giggling. He adores you, and you him.

In the mornings, you've taken to screeching at the top of your lungs. Joyously. But the rest of the day? You are quiet. Observant. Patient. You go along with whatever we're doing without making a fuss. The only times you cry are when you are injured or scared or someone you don't know is holding you. You REALLY don't like strangers. Or even casual acquaintances. You like Mom and Dad. Grandma is okay, too. But everyone else...yikes.

Eating is one of your very favorite things to do. You are still nursing, although I think you just like to use me as a pacifier at night (I wish you would consider an actual pacifier.). You've taken to solids like a champ. Oddly, you prefer vegetables to fruit. Carrots are your favorite, sweet potatoes a close second. You give me a disgusted look whenever I try to feed you bananas.

You still aren't sleeping through the night. In fact, last night was the first time you've done that in months. But you go to bed easily and independently. I spent hours rocking Calvin to sleep when he was a baby. You, on the other hand, don't like to rock. Or cuddle. At all. You love to be held (not snuggled) during the day, but at bedtime you want to be left alone. Sometimes you fall asleep nursing, but more often than not I put you to bed awake, turn on your little musical soother, and leave you to it.

You are sweet. And happy. And so so so easy. Dad and I must say "she's such a good baby!" to each other a hundred times a day. Because you are. You make parenting look like a breeze, because parenting you IS a breeze — a breeze, a joy, and an honor.

Happy six months, my big girl. We love you so much.

Checking out that monkey over her shoulder.

Classic Audra expression.

Okay, she smiles once in a while.

Or twice in a while.

No, wait. That's not a smile. That's her snort face.

Either that chair is getting smaller or...oh, sad.

Happy baby.

This might be one of my favorites ever.

Serious face made a little less serious with flippy hair.

He's still cute.

I know I haven't posted about Calvin much lately. But don't you worry: He's still cute. And growing. And two.

Oh, heavens, is he ever two.

I love this age. It's challenging on so many levels (mentally, since he can argue with me and asks questions constantly; physically since his tantrums often require me to pick him up and haul him off to the timeout chair; and emotionally, because my love for him becomes more complex and overwhelming every day), but it's really so much fun.

The questions are cute. The faces are cute. The imaginary play is cute. And he loves us right now, so much. All day long there are choruses of "Play a football game wit me, Daddy? Make a track wit me, Mama? I come too, Daddy! I bake witchu, Mama!"

He's so independent, so spirited, so loving. There's no shortage of smiles, giggles, or kisses. There's also no shortage of defiance, disobedience, or tantrums. But, as with every phase, the good seems to outweigh the bad. And the bad really isn't that bad. I don't know whether he's getting more predictable or I'm just getting used to having no control, but these days I feel much more capable of handling whatever he throws my way.

Literally and figuratively.