Watch Me Grow Zane: Five- Nine Months

My little Zane is growing so fast, and I realized it's been a loooonng time since I did an update about him. Like really long, like the last time he was three months old and now he's almost ten months. 

He's growing so fast, and honestly this whole second kid thing has gone by like a blur. It's a good thing I'm writing things down or I would probably forget them since I feel like as soon as he hits one milestone he's onto the next.

He's already got seven teeth! He started getting teeth at 5 months old and now has seven. 

He's currently wearing size 3 diapers, and wears 9 month clothing some 9-12 month stuff too. We were so generously given many boy baby clothes by one of my husband's co-workers that I haven't had to buy him much of anything till now. I've gotten him a few special outfits here and there for events such as his baptism back in May. 

At his 9 month well baby visit he weighed 27.5 pounds. 

He's always been very active from the beginning. Rolling over from tummy to back at just a month and a half old. Crawling at six months, and now just this past week at 9 months he started WALKING! Walking I tell ya, it's crazy. Ava didn't walk until just a week after her first birthday. So it's quite the difference with Zane. But, I should not be surprised by this because he has been almost exactly different than her in almost every area.

He's eating really well and still breast feeding. I've been able to breast feed him longer already than I did with Ava, and I'm thankful that I'm able to produce still when I wasn't with my first. 

 This glider chair is so very special to me. I remember when I was pregnant with Ava I thought that I didn't "need" a rocker/glider. So I didn't register for one and I didn't buy one. A month before she was born I decided that I wanted one, so I bought one in the most neutral color that I could afford at the time and I'm so glad I did. 

It's become the back drop for these "Watch Me Grow" monthly pictures for both my babies. I've spent many nights already with Zane in this chair rocking, and nursing him. I don't think that I can ever let it go once they are bigger. It's so special to me. It probably doesn't go anywhere else in my house besides a nursery but I think I'll keep it forever. 

Watch Me Grow: 21 Months

Ava turned 21 months old on Christmas Eve. Each month is always a little bittersweet for this Mama, but this one is probably extra bittersweet because that means she'll be 2 in just three months. Where has the time gone, seriously?!


I love seeing how she's growing and changing. Right now she's in a phase of repeating everything we say. It's so cute, and sometimes we just throw out words just to see if she'll repeat them back to us. 


Hello, Homogenize. 

She still loves Yo- Gabba Gabba, coloring, music and dancing. Singing songs with us and Elmo. 

Lately we've been having lots of issues with sleeping through the night. We've never had an issue with her sleeping through the night, but ever since we took away the binki she's been sleeping and then 
waking up in the middle of the night screaming from her crib. 


We've tried a lot of different things during this time. Right now rocking her completely to sleep at night is the only thing that's helping her sleep, but she's still waking up in the middle of the night and crying. 


If you have any tips for this tired Mama, I'd love to hear them. 

She loved being at home this Christmas. It was so fun to see her interact with family, play with her cousins and laugh with them. She loves them, and it's so sweet to see. 

Here's some stats about Miss Ava;

She's wearing a size 5/6 shoe. Size 5 diapers. Size 24 month- 2T clothing. 

She weighs about 25 pounds. 

Some of her favorite foods include: milk, apples, oranges, bananas and gold fish. 

We recently turned her car seat forward facing. 

Her New Year's resolutions this year are:

- sleep in my own bed through the night again!

- transition to a toddler bed.

- start potty training.

We're so in love with this little girl! We feel truly blessed to call her ours. I'm deep in the planning process of a magical and fun second birthday party for her. I hate to see her get bigger, but I love watching her grow, change and learn new things. 

Love you baby girl! 

Watch Me Grow: 17 Months

We interrupt Our Happy Home Organizational Series to bring you this post about Ava.

Specifically, how fast she's growing! Baby girl is 17 months old, almost 18 months old. I thought we'd better record this before she turns another month older.

Seriously, my growing toddler is bittersweet for me. Do any other Moms/Parents feel this way? I love that she's growing, changing and learning. But, I'm sad that everyday she shows more and more signs that she's not a baby anymore.

Now, you might think this would make me want to have another one but alas I am not ready to. We're not ready for #2. So for all that have asked there's our answer. As I told my friend Cody recently, ask me again after Christmas. We're revisiting {baby making} at that time.

But, enough about me. Let's talk about Ava for a bit.

Everyday I'm trying to teach her new and different words. Just yesterday she said the word yellow. She now says; "gabba-gabba." Which means she wants to watch Yo-Gabba-Gabba. She's obsessed, it's nuts. I might add that it's pretty cute to watch her dance and jump around to the music. I'm not so secretly trying to get my Husband to dress up like DJ Lance for Halloween. {I'll let you know how that goes.}



Some fun stories:

Recently she's been running around the house in her bath towel after she's had a bath. You take her out of the tub and she's starts running, screaming/laughing around the house. It's literally the cutest thing, and we enjoy this new habit as part of our nightly routine.



She's also been quite the traveler this month too, at the end of August we traveled to Iowa just her and I to visit family. She was great on the plane. Last weekend we took a mini family road trip as Hubby & baby came with me on a photography job. So thankful that I could have them with me the entire weekend even though I was busy most of the time shooting an event.



We cheered on our Hawks even though they lost to Iowa State we still love them! Every time I visit Iowa I make sure to pick up some Hawkeye gear for us. I got Ava this cute little tank on our last trip.

She's also become quite fond of this baby bouncer, she really can no longer fit in it but I see her dragging it across the living room floor to sit in it which watching Yo Gabba-Gabba. It's pretty cute as well.



There you have it, a quick little up date about how our girl is doing. We're looking forward to celebrating 18 months soon with her. And, every month that goes by I still can't believe how fast it's gone. How big she's getting, I don't think I'll ever get used to it. For now though, I will treasure it and take in as much as I truly can. 

{images via Instagram}

Watch Me Grow: 16 Months

Not much has changed with Ava since our last monthly update, but there were a few things that I wanted to write down and document about her progress. She's the most amazing little thing, we just love her so much.

Crazy thing is that her little feet are growing like crazy since last month she's now needing a new size shoe. So we've been shoe shopping, and putting away all the size 3 and 4 shoes.

She's become quite the little dare devil lately. She's been pushing her little dinosaur walker/rider over to tables and standing on it so she can reach what's on the table or counter. She'll also stand on it and clap her hands. Adorable.



Another thing that she's been talking  A LOT! It's so fun to hear her say new words, and attempt new ones. Here's a little list of words on any given day you might hear her say;

mine (this is a big one, she says it about everything)
daddy
momma
more
please
red
boy
let's go
bye
hi
ok
one
puppy
baby
blue



So that's our little re cap on our girl! Tomorrow, she's finally getting dedicated at church. We're so excited. And just a few days after that she'll turn 17 months. Time is going by to fast for this Momma. By December comes she'll be 20 months old, and then just four short months after that she'll be turning two! Ahhh, I can't think about it.

I just need time to slow down a bit, I don't want her to get bigger or older.

Mmmkay?!! You hear that, Ava?

Mommy says stop growing!

Watch Me Grow: 15 Months

This post is a little over due, Ava has been doing so much this last month! She's keeping us on our toes and making us smile and smile everyday.

When we took her in for her 15 Month Well Baby Check up, the Doctor was really please with her growth. She is still small for her age but growing steadily every month. She's right where they want her to be, which is awesome to hear especially since we had that growth scare at about six months. The smallest part about her is her height. She has small parents, and probably isn't going to be very tall. To us though, she's the cutest! Here's her stats:

Weight: 20.8 oz. 50%
Height: 30 in. 50%
Head Cir: 18.5 in 50%



She's currently wearing all 18 month clothing. I just packed up the last of the 12 month clothing the other day, it's all to snug. She's wearing a size 3 shoe, but grown almost out of them. We're going to have to go shoe shopping soon.

We finally have made it another size up in diapers, she's now wearing a size 4. We want to start the potty training process at 18 months and see how she does with it.



Some of her favorite past times are digging into the pantry to take out all of the plastic containers to play with them. Chasing Bentley around the house. We've taught her how to throw his toys and she likes to run after him. She also really loves her books, and can be found "reading" quite often. We love to listen to her jibber jabber.



Speaking of running, watching her learn to run is so cute. She's got these tiny legs, and sometimes they get caught up but she works it out and his having fun going all over the apartment. She's into everything these days, we really have to keep and eye on her.

We enjoy dance parties at night, bath time with her. She's now trying to climb out of the tub and definetely let's us know when she's ready to get out. She no longer sits in the tub but rather stands the whole time.

Some other experiences that have happened this month, she got bit at daycare by another kid. We had to get blood drawn again to test her iron levels. It was a horrible experience for all involved but I'm happy she's at normal levels again and we don't have to continue the suppliments.

As usual time is going by to fast. And, if you're a Parent I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say sometimes I just want time to stop. I got Ava's first year photo album in the mail this week and it made me tear up a little looking at all her pictures from the first year. Here's a few videos of Ava that make us smile.

I like to call this one: Mall Walking

And, this one: I heart Apple Pie

Watch Me Grow: 14 Months

Ava is now 14 months old! A full fledged toddler on our hands, a big girl if you will! I thought it was time to give you an update on our girl. She's now become a confident walker, and into anything and everything.



She now weighs about 20 pounds, still kinda small for her age but her Doctor is pleased. She's been discovering lots of things these days. We let her walk on her own as much as possible, one of my favorite things to do with her is taking her to the park and letting her just walk around and discover the outside as much as possible.

She's been trying all sorts of new foods lately too. We've discovered she doesn't like blue berries, but she loves strawberries, bananas and apple sauce! She's a pretty good eater with almost everything but she still loves cheese and milk a lot!



She moved up into the toddler room at daycare, and is now bringing home pictures and paintings. We hang them all on the fridge proudly. It's so fun watching her play with Bentley, they are pretty cute together.

She mimics when we sing the ABC's to her making the same sounds too. She says "uh-oh", and we're working on "thank you" as well. It's fun listening to her try to talk.



She's wearing size 3 diapers and size 3 shoes. We tried Target brand diapers this month but she broke out into a horrible rash so back to Pampers sensitive it was. She's got terribly sensitive skin.

She has 4 molars coming in, which brings her tooth count to 12! She's been pretty sick the last couple months so we're trying to get her healthy and keep her that way! She had pink eye and an ear infection in the last couple months.



Every day she does something new, and I'm loving this stage that she's in right now.

Watch Me Grow: 12 Months

My baby girl is twelve months old already!! Just one week ago we celebrated, she had not 1 birthday party but 3, she's so special to us.

Yesterday, we had her twelve month well baby check up. We haven't seen her doctor since her nine month appointment, I don't usually like doctors or going but this time I was excited to go and have her see how Ava has developed. All she learned since she last saw her, and was wishing and hoping her weight would be where it needed to be. She's been eating more and more, I guessed she was right around 20 pounds. 

This time at the doctors office Ava was all over the place, wanting to get down and walk. It was a little tricky filling out new paperwork with her crawling around. 

Height: 27 1/2 inches 10% {she's so small and little, but her parents are small so we'll give her a break}

Weight: 20 pounds 50%

She's right where I thought she'd be. Her doctor says that she's healthy and where she needs to be. So that makes me so very happy. 

The doctor told us she'd like to see Ava weaned from the bottle and paci by 15 months, when she sees her next. We're treading into uncharted territory here, but I'm confident that she'll do well. We've already had two days of no bottle and just drinking milk from a sippy cup. She's doing well with it. 

Here's some things that are happening with Ava this month:

She loves cheese, yogurt, turkey deli meat, puffs, strawberries, and mash potatoes. 

She's wearing size 3 diapers. Size 2 shoes and twelve month clothing some 18 month clothing too. 

She's walking now! It's so crazy, like she just woke up one day and decided it was time. She's still a little wobbly but getting the hang of it more and more everyday. It's so cute. 

She's really into her toys these days, playing a lot more with them. It's so fun to watch her become increasingly more aware of herself and what she's going. She's into throwing things on the floor and having us pick them up. It's a really fun game. 

She throws food over her high chair for Bentley to pick up. And she feeds him her puffs. It's kinda cute the relationship they have. I can't wait till she can run and chase after him. 

She is getting more vocal too. The other day she held her play phone up to her hear and started jibber jabbering. So cute. 

She amazes me daily. The way she smiles, how she giggles. It melts my heart. 

Watch Me Grow: 11 Months

Did you read that title? Yup, 11 months! I think I'll never get over how fast this time has gone since she was born. But, as each month goes by it gets more and more exciting as she grows. There's been so many changes that has happened in the last couple weeks. 

She's going to a new day care now and she's transitioned really well. She's such an easy going baby that it has made it a breeze for us. She's now wearing size 3 diapers, she weighs about 20 pounds, and is eating every 3-4 hours. Speaking of food, she's been trying lots of new foods these days including scrambled eggs, corn, potatoes, and chicken. We try new things with her daily, sometimes it hit and miss. But she does love her oatmeal and yogurt in the mornings. She also loves her squash, carrots and peas still.

Size 9-12 months clothing.

Size 3 shoe

She waves and claps. A couple times in church we've caught her raising her hands during worship. It's the cutest thing, even though she has no idea what she's doing. 

She flew for the second time on an air plane when we went and visited family. She was a trooper this time, and did great. 

One of the funniest things about this month, is that she's attached herself to her first "security" item. And that is a stuffed cat that Grandma gave her. My Mom gave her this kitty when we got off the plane in Iowa and she's been attached to it ever since. It goes every where with us, she sleeps with it, and she affectionately calls it her "baby." 

As you can see from the picture, it made an appearance in the photo. I tried to take it away from her for the picture and she cried and screamed till I gave it back to her. But, I think it's a good representation of where she is right now. Take a look; 

She's so cute!! 

She's not quite walking yet, but pulling herself up and holding onto things and "walking" around them. She's still napping 1 to 2 times a day. Sometimes only once at daycare, and twice when she's home with me. 

She's been trying to say more "words" lately making more and more noises and sounds. She also has learned and tested her limits with the word "no." It's amazing how much they understand at this age and push their limits at this age. I'm sure this is only the beginning, but it's so interesting to me. 

We are loving the stage where she is now, and we're looking forward to celebrating with her at the end of this month her 1st Birthday! 

Watch Me Grow: 10 Months

Ten Months. Let's just pause for a second. A moment of silence if you will. 

Mmm'kay. 

I can hardly believe that she's ten months old. She'll be a year soon. But, for now I want to relish in her ten month glory. A lot has been happening in her life. As each month goes by she becomes more and more active. This month she's been really getting into playing more with her toys and discovering them. 

She's been eating lots and lots. She has a bottle still every two hours, I don't know her exact weight but I would guess she's up a couple pounds since her last visit. I'm going to guess she weighs around 19-20 pounds. 

She smiles so much, and claps a lot. She's becoming more vocal too. Which is really fun to see. I can't wait hear her speak sentences and talk. She is still napping twice a day. 

I am really loving her at this age, she's a lot of fun even though she's into everything. I love to watch her explore and see her personality come out each day as she discovers new things. 

Another thing she's been doing a lot is spontaneously laughing. It's pretty cute to see her burst into laughter. 

She's been fighting her first real cold these past few days. It's been so hard to watch her so sick. I'm hoping she gets better soon, I hate seeing her so sick. 

It's getting harder to take pictures of her, and keep her still. She wants to move everywhere, and the fact that we take these months pics on the glider in her room thinking back it wasn't the best idea to do baby pictures on a moving chair. But, we're always safe. I always have someone to help me and be close while I make a complete fool of myself and get her to smile and laugh. 

I had to include this picture, it's the first one I took that day when we were documenting her 10th month. It pretty much sums up her personality and how much fun she is. Take a look:

Big thanks to Aunt Jess & Uncle Sam for this adorable outfit. Her headband is from Banner Boutique. 

Watch Me Grow: 9 Months

Ava turned 9 Months old yesterday on Christmas Eve! We sure love this girl, she's the best gift ever! I can't believe she's already 9 months old, it's crazy how fast this time has flown by. It's getting harder and harder to take these monthly photos on a chair, a glider that is.....what was I thinking?! Luckily I had Daddy there to spot her and keep her attention. 

Little Miss goes to the doctor on Wednesday, can't wait to see her progress! 

Watch Me Grow: 8 Months

Look who's already 8 months old!! Seriously, time is going by way to fast. This time last year I was pregnant and thinking about spending our first Thanksgiving with her and now that it's here I can't believe how fast a year has come and gone. 

Ava is doing so much these days, she's so active and into everything. Ever since she started crawling everything is different, she's busy, very busy. SO curious about things, wanting to check them out and find out for herself. 

She's pulling herself up now. She's got some pretty cute new expressions. She has learned to spit her food, which she thinks is funny. She's eating more and more now. She eats every 2 hours, and has baby food twice a day now. 

Lately she tried some "puffs" and was a little weary about them at first but now, she likes them. I love watching her grasp them and put them in her mouth. 

She weighs 13 lbs. 14 oz. and she's 25 1/4 inches long. 

This next month I'm looking forward to more new things and experiences that she'll have. The Christmas season coming up, and watching her open gifts and having her there with us. 

Watch Me Grow: 7 Months

Seven months is already here! I can't believe how BIG she's getting and how fast it's going. I think I will say that every single month. But, it really is going by too fast! She started crawling just 1 day she of seven months. 

I can't wait to see what she does this month, how she grows and changes. We have a doctors appointment in two weeks I hope to see some growth from her last visit. 

Now, that she's more mobile I really have to keep an eye on her. I can't just put her in her Bumbo or her bouncing chair anymore, she tries to break free. She's keeping me on my toes! 

I love looking at these monthly photos and really seeing her changes and how she's growing.

Enjoy! 

Watch Me Grow: 6 Months

Friday, Ava turned six months old! I can hardly believe how fast these last six months have gone by. Orion and I are both trying to treasure each and every day we have with our beautiful daughter as we know this time is flying by so fast. 

She will go to the doctor next Wednesday for her 6th month appointment. I'm excited to see her progress, not excited for shots at all! 

Enjoy this photo! :) 

Watch Me Grow: 5 Months

Wow! Five months already?!! I can't believe we're almost half way through her first year. It's a little crazy, scary, but very exciting. This picture really captures who she is right now. Even though her little foot is blurry cause she was kicking it the entire time I was trying to take this picture, it's totally her. She's a mover, and a shaker, she doesn't like to be still. Her smile is so infectious, and she's so happy and truly content all the time. 

Can't wait to see what this next month brings us! 

Watch Me Grow: 4 Months

Watch Me Grow: 3 Months

She's already three months old, growing so fast and changing everyday! 

She brings so much joy to our lives, she's pretty amazing to watch. I get excited everyday to see what new things she'll do. 

Watch Me Grow: 2 Months

She's getting such a personality, and it's so fun to watch. More after tomorrow's doctors appointment! She's getting shots, pray for her...... pray for ME more!

Watch Me Grow: 1 Month

Jitter bug. Little Lady. Sweetie Pie. Love Bug. Sweet Pea. Princess.

These are just a few of the names that we affectionately call our girl. She's already one month old I can hardly believe how fast this first month has gone by. It's been so much fun watching her and having her in our world these last few weeks, our little family of three. 

In one month, she's sleeping now about 4 hours and then waking up to nurse at night. She's weighing in at 7 lbs. 14 oz. She's been known to hold her head up for 10 seconds at a time, she's a strong girl already. She smiled real smiles for the first time this week. She's moving her arms and legs like crazy. Very active. 

She's been on her first road trip this month. Took her on walks in the park on numerous occasions. Spit up on Mommy lots and pooped on Daddy even more. 

I can't wait to watch her grow [and of coarse document it] over the next twelve months. 

We love you so much Ava- Mommy & Daddy.