Gwyneth Eden: 11 months

11 months... DANG!  We are so close to a year.  It is amazing how different she looks and acts each month.  Her quirks and funny personality are so fun. In the pictures you will see some of them :)  

Gwen's "Firsts": Taking steps while holding our hands, sleeping through the night consistently, wearing leg warmers.  All kinds of great things!

High of the Month: Gwen's waving.  She waves to people she knows, doesn't know, dogs, cats, inanimate objects... everything!  I get her up from her nap and the first thing she does is wave.  I think she has some what made the connection to when I tell her, "Wave hi!", she normally will wave!  It is super cute.

Low of the Month: Teething.  It just keeps going on and on and on. I am looking forward to a break from it.  She gets very clingy, naps cease to exist, and I lose my mind.  The one has popped through so the end is near!  Hylands teething tablets have been the only thing that seems to make a difference.

Her favorite teething toy: the monitor

Something I Learned: Gwen has had a cough for over a month.  After 2 doctors visits, antibiotics, and allergy medicine, the doctor diagnosed her with bronchiolitis. There is nothing you can do for it and you just have to ride it out.  I am at least happy we know what it is!

Facts for the Month: 

New foods: guacamole, refried beans, greek yogurt
Teeth: 2 on the bottom and 2 more coming in on top
Weight: My dad tried to weigh her on the scale at home and it said 16.2 pounds
Crawling: no
Walking: no

And here are your monthly pictures:

I love her sleepy eyes and mo hawk in this picture

Our new game is playing with a flat ball on the porch.

"Hold on guys, I have to put on my make up first."

Holding on tight with her pinkies.

Keeping the toys contained.

More shopping cart adventures.

For when your child is fussy...

Gwen has been a mess tonight.

Really, for awhile.

She is cutting teeth and has had the swollen gums for about a month.  I have no idea how long babies are in pain for with this whole teething thing, but I think we are almost through this round of it.

She has did not get much sleep last night because of her relentless cough, a fever, more teething woes, etc. This makes for a CRABBY child and crabby parents :)

We decided to put her down for bed early, so I went on my phone to look up the temperatures overnight to decide what kind of pajamas to put her in.  That is when I had an idea.  What would happen if I let Siri listen to Gwen's crying?

It was entertaining for me. Try it. It at least will amuse you for a little while and hopefully make you laugh in the midst of pure agony.

Gwyneth Eden: 10 months

Gwen is 10 months!  SHE IS SO BIG!  Actually, I know a 3 month old that weighs more than she does, but still, she has come a long way!  This month has been a great month.  Her personality is awesome and developing even more.

Gwen's "Firsts": Lots of talking and babbling.  She is more interested in chatting it up than moving.  Who would have thought my daughter would love socializing so much? :) She gets it from her mama!

She has started consistently sleeping through the night and by consistent I mean that I haven't fed her in the middle of the night for 3 days in a row!  I am hoping next month I can officially declare that she sleeps through the night with ease.  Last night she slept from 8:00 to 6:30!  Praise the Lord!

She went to her first music class with Stella.  It was adorable.  Jess and I probably had more fun than they did, but it was great! Gwen could hit her two sticks together when the teacher did.  I think she is a music prodigy.

High of the Month: Her nose scrunching, also known as her stinker face, had been taken to a whole new level this month.  David also calls it "the face that gives Mommy baby fever" face.  So true.  It is so cute!  When we were out shopping, she looked at someone we didn't know and gave them her mischievous grin.  The unfortunate part is that it is near impossible to catch on camera.

Low of the Month: This has been a great month overall, but maybe that Gwen has been constipated?  You know when that is the best I can come up with that it has been a good month!

Something I Learned: The whole reason why with the Ferber method you check on them.  This made all the difference!  We used to just let her wail for as long as needed without checking on her.  We thought she got more mad when we went in and did not want to make the process take longer.  Once a friend explained why the checks work, she started sleeping through the night.  It feels way more loving this way and I understand now that it reassures her that we haven't left her for forever, but it is time to sleep and all she is going to get from us is a quick check.  Cut the crying time down significantly!

Facts for the Month: 

New foods: I let her have a piece of sugar cookie :)
Words: dada, mama, lala... lots of talking!
Teeth: 2 on the bottom!  So cute!
Moving: still staying in one spot!
Weight: Our little 10 month old weighs 14 lbs. Back to the 1st percentile!


And here are your monthly pictures:

The new background on my phone

First time wearing shoes!

Feel free to judge me... I use a shopping cart cover.

Opening Day parade!

Gwyneth Eden: 9 months

Gwen is 9 months old!  This month was a little confusing for when to declare she was 9 months since her birthday is on the 31st, but February only has 28 days.  I can only imagine how those poor Leap Year people feel.  This month had lots of fun firsts and we can really see her personality developing.  Adorable!

Gwen's "Firsts": Lots of things!  She can now clap, give high-fives, and somewhat wave.  My favorite is when she is playing by herself and I see her from across the room clapping.

She also is showing some interest in being mobile. She rolls onto her belly, pushes her arms straight, and starts scrunching her whole body.  She has maybe only moved an inch.

Gwen stayed overnight with her grandma and grandpa for two nights in a row for the first time!  She did great and so did we!

Last, she has been eating finger foods!  Well, one of two things happen.  Either I feed her the finger foods or she picks them up, forgets that she picked it up, and then drops it on the floor.  Her other favorite tactic is to pick them up, squish them, and move onto the next piece.

High of the Month: My favorite moment from this whole month was our family dance party to every amazing Disney song.  It was fun for David and I to reminisce our childhood and to see Gwen giggle as we danced with her.  As she has gotten older, it is fun being able to do things all together and she her also enjoy it.  In the early months it was also David and I having fun and Gwen had no idea what was happening.  I can only imagine this gets more exciting!

Low of the Month: Gwen is officially afraid of men with beards.  She has never cried when anyone looked at her until now.  Three of our good friends have facial hair and as soon as she sees them is hysterical.  She is definitely going through some separation anxiety so maybe there is a correlation?  Dad has no beard and these men do, therefore I will not trust them.  Don't be offended, some day she will come to realize that beards aren't so bad.

Something I Learned: I think I have finally grasped the idea of phases.  In the past I constantly freaked out when Gwen started eating or sleeping differently... normally when it was for the worse.  Now, I may actually understand that sometimes babies sleep worse for a period of time and that's just part of being a baby.  There are growth spurts, teething, illness, milestones, and a thousand more things that affect how babies act.  Sometimes you just can't fix it.  Its good for my type A personality to go with the flow :)

Facts for the Month: 

New foods: strawberries, chicken, cottage cheese
Words: just saying babababa
Teeth: one is coming in... though this process is going on 2 weeks now!
Weight: we find out next Wednesday
Favorite book: ones I let her try and eat
Cloth diapering: still going strong
Breastfeeding: also still going strong!

And here are your monthly pictures:

I love putting her in animal print!

This completely defeats the purpose of a bumper.

Thursday play date with Stella!

Just like Dad :)  Playing with computer gear.

Gwyneth Eden: 8 Months

My favorite Instagram pic of the month.

8 months!  I think she gets more fun with every month.  She giggles, laughs, and understands more every day.  When someone has not seen her in a week or two, their first response is, "She has gotten so big!"  I can't wait to see at our 9 month appointment how long she is and how much she weighs.  It is surreal to me that we are very quickly approaching the 1 year mark.  I probably say this in every monthly update, but she still seems like a baby to me, so imagining her as a 1 year old is just crazy!  I remember going through all the clothes that were given to us and as I hit the 12 month box thinking, "No way will I ever have a baby that fits in these,"  This was especially true when looking at my 4 lb. baby!

Gwen's "Firsts": Co-slept for the first time!  While David was out of town for a couple days, I did not feel like getting out of bed every single time in the middle of the night.  We normally share the night time duties, so it was much easier to just have her in bed with me!  It was kind of fun, but I am also glad she is back in her own bed :)

She also played dress up for the first time.  Pirate Gwen made an appearance.  Time with cousins is always fun!

High of the Month: She is starting to mimic us (I think).  Honestly, most of the time I don't know if she is mimicking me or if I am mimicking her!  Regardless, it cracks me up and she is cute.  My favorite is when she blows raspberries or when she sounds like Darth Vader.  Who thought a baby sounding like Darth Vader would be cute?  It is adorable.

Low of the Month: Gwen got sick for the first time.  After a long day of running around, her forehead felt warm.  I took her temperature and it was at 102!  No wonder!  After a couple days she was back to normal, but the congestion and runny nose linger.

Something I Learned: If you are a mom already I am sure you know this, but I had no idea that doctors don't worry about a baby's temperature until it reaches 105 or over!  Dang!  I was all concerned about the 102 mark and started (mildly) panicking that this meant the emergency room.... I know.  I never voiced this drastic assumption, but she is little and I know I feel horrible when my temperature reaches 102.  I love that the pediatrician I talked with was able to make me laugh, explain everything thoroughly, and didn't make me feel like an idiot.  Thanks, Doc!

Facts for the Month: 

Newest friend: Naomi Haven!
Favorite way to sleep: On her belly

Things she loves:
     -Being held
     -Reading books
     -Bath time
     -"Talking"

Things she hates:
     -Getting her face cleaned
     -The Nose Frida
     -When we leave the room


And here are your monthly pictures:

Gwen tried to eat the sign for her new friend

This outfit lasted 36 hours.  New record.

Baby Food Making Party!

Since I am a stay at home mom (with the exception of the 4 hours a week I work), I don't bring in a whole lot of money!  While this is true, I feel like one of my responsibilities is to be wise with the money David makes and find ways to save money.  It almost becomes a game at times because, believe it or not, it can be fun to go way under budget on groceries knowing it was because I figured out a way to make that happen.

Most months we don't go way under budget.  Normally, its over :)  Add in baby items and that doesn't help anything!  One solution is cloth diapers which is a whole other topic!  The other is making my own baby food.  Let's be honest though, I am lazy.  I don't want to make baby food from scratch multiple times a day.

When a friend of mine suggested getting together and having a baby food making party, I thought it was brilliant.  It would accomplish so many things.  I would make all the baby food I would need in one night, hang out with friends, drink wine, and be "off" baby duty.

Here is how we did it.

Erin a.k.a Baby Food Making Pro, sent out an email with all the types of foods we would need:

-carrots
-butternut squash
-pears
-asparagus
-sweet potatoes
-zucchini
-blueberries (or blackberries)
-apples
-green beans
-plums
-apricots
-peas
-mangoes
-tofu

We divided the list among the three of us and bought our food.  Our guideline was the equivalent of 10 sweet potatoes, 2 big bag of carrots, etc.  We each just used our best judgement.

We picked a cooking night, met up, and got to work.

Some items, like green beans and peas, simply could be put in a steamer basket and go right on the stove.

Others needed to be pealed and chopped up like apples, pears, and plums.

To know exactly how to cook each item we used the book, Super Baby Food.

 Once they were super soft, in the blender and food processor they went!

We all brought as many containers as possible to transfer the food from Erin's to our own houses.  I brought every jar, glass container, and Tupperware I could find!  As the food was ready, it was divided between the three of us.

We kept working until all the food was done!  I think we stopped around 11:30 pm.  I was wore out.  Who knew making baby food was so hard?

If you are curious what you do with the tofu, you mix it with the blueberries or blackberries.  It turns out very pretty and purple in the end :)

Here is our final baby food loot:

I got home around 1:00 am, put my food in the refrigerator, and crashed.

The next few days, I slowly transferred the baby food into ice cube trays to freeze.  Once frozen, I popped 'em out and put them in Ziploc bags.  Make sure to label them :)  Carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes all look very similar!

Yay!  That's the whole process. Oh, and then thaw them out as needed and feed your baby!  I love saving money and knowing exactly what Gwen is eating.  It is great.

Gwyneth Eden: 7 months

We are at 7 months!  That means she is closer to being a year old than when she was born.  Man...  She is so sweet and fun!  This month brought lots of great things including Gwen's first Christmas.  With 6 days of parties in a row, she was a champ.

Gwen's "Firsts": This has been a big month for her!  We have been trying out lots of new foods and she is doing much better.  It almost seems like she enjoys it now!

Gwen also can officially row from back to belly!  One day I put her on her back and walked out of the room.  When I came back, she was on her belly!  She has been rolling over consistently ever since!

Shortly after leaning how to roll over, she began sitting up unassisted.  It happened over night.  I still put pillows around her since face plants regularly happen, but she can sit up for long periods of time.

Luckily for us, she is still very immobile.  I am 100% alright with this.  One day we looked around the apartment and I had sewing needles and pins scattered on the floor... we are not ready for crawling.

High of the Month: Watching her open Christmas gifts.  She obviously had no idea what was going on, but it was so cute watching her tear apart the wrapping paper.  I was way more excited about all of this than she was.

Low of the Month: I bet you can guess... sleep!!!! Her schedule has been so off since Christmas which is a lot of our problem.  She probably sleeps better than what I make it sound, but I have way too high of expectations.  In my world, I want a solid 12 hours without having to do anything in between bedtime and wake up time.  We will start the Ferber method soon to help things along, but finding a good time with our crazy schedules has been difficult.

Something I Learned: I will keep this vague and brief.  Baby food poop.... YUCK!

Facts for the Month: 

Favorite activity: Sitting up and playing with her new giraffe toy
Favorite food: Anything sweet
Favorite objects to grab: Christmas tree, poinsettia flower, my hair

Rolling over? Yes!
Sitting up? Yes!


And here are your monthly pictures:

Standing up!

Hanging out with Uncle Dillon on NYE.

Ornaments we made for family!