Better late than never: 9 month pictures

So Big

Audrey is so big this week. She now has 7 teeth through her gums and is working on another one on top. She has started to become more independent and is moving to other rooms of the house by herself (time for daddy to do the eye hooks and cabinet locks that we have been putting off). Audrey's other new trick this week is pulling her self up on the stroller bar so that she can look around-her core is getting so strong. I have been practicing yoga at home and this morning she actually let me finish the second half of the series after her nap.

Walking the trail

Stroller service to and from the trail

Swimming with Aunt Rach and her friends

Fathers Day

Thanks to our friends Lacey, Mike, and Lucy Burberry for helping with Daddy's present. On Fathers day we spent the morning with Daddy before his trip to Cleveland. Then we drove to Breckinridge County to see Pappy and to celebrate Uncle Jacob's Birthday.

10.5 months and Audrey's first fourth of July

Time has gotten away from me recently and I am late with Audrey's 10 month post. Audrey now has 5 teeth and as of this weekend can push her walking toys by herself. She hasn't mastered how to turn her walking toys yet so she still needs some help. She is cruising on the furniture much more and her balance is much improved. She can tell us what sounds a dog (ruff ruff) and cow (mmoo) and can point to our nose and eyes (but not her own). Every time Granny visits Audrey has new tricks to share.  She has taken a major growth spurt over the  last few weeks. We visited Breck and Grayson County to celebrate the fourth of July and then came back for dinner at Grandma's. We had fun despite the torrential rain almost all day on the 4th. The Clemons' Family reunion was moved indoors due to the weather. The family enjoyed meeting/seeing Audrey but she was overwhelmed. She didn't talk or smile the entire 3 hours we were there and wanted to be held by Mama the whole time. As soon we got in the van she started saying all her sounds and hamming it up for Granny!

with Mamma at the Clemons Reunion

Aunt Rach loves me

with Granny and Pappy

I guess these things are ok

hiding out in the basement because fireworks with noise were not okay

Summer is flying by (post written June 14th)

Audrey Jane loves being outside. She will no longer sit in her baby swing in the house and arches her back to fight us about 50% of the time for her carseat but when she sees the stroller she is so excited. A couple of days ago I felt her 2 front teeth that recently broke through her gums. After a week of nursing well she is back to occasionally hurting me with her bottom teeth. Thank goodness it isn't every session but I am still trying to teach her it hurts mommy. At her nine month well check Audrey measured in at 16 pound 8 ounces and 29 inches long. I think they measured her with her foot pointed but if she really is that long it would put her up to the 90th percentile from around the 15th to 25th percentile at 6 months. She is now in the 5th to 10th percentile on the CDC growth chart for weight and the 21st percentile on the WHO growth chart. The WHO chart is a more accurate indication for breastfed babies. She has stayed just below 25 percentile on the weight curve since she was 4 months old. If she continues at the same rate she will be about 23 pounds when she is 2 years old. At her appointment her ear was no longer infection but she still had an effusion. Dr. McKenna suggested that we do 7 to 10 days of Claratin because he thought she may have a grass allergy. She had a daily dose of 1.25 to 1.5ml  for a week and her congestion was much improved. She didn't get a dose yesterday so I am watching her closely to see if she needs it. This week Audrey and Mommy went to the zoo and Audrey actually enjoyed the splash park (she didn't want anything to do with the water when I took her to a different park a few week ago). We have also been working on a Father's Day surprise for daddy. Shhhh. It's a secret.

Water Drops

Crawling and putting her face in the water

Add the splash park with Beth and Anna

We are going to have so much fun pool sitting in 2 weeks

Splashing on the steps in Dennis's pool

Our new water sling

sleeping in the boba air at Ashley and Bailey's baby shower

Audrey at the splash park a month ago, this was as close as she wanted to get to the water

9 months old

Audrey Jane started cruising on furniture and milk crates a few days ago. This morning she was crawling over me to Stuart in bed saying D D da D D. She has started crawling up the stairs (see the picture below). Audrey is starting to have some separation anxiety when Stuart or I leave the room. This past weekend in Breck County she mostly wanted me or granny to hold her but was happy playing with other people while being held by us. Pappy could hold her as long as she couldn't see me or mom. Audrey is now scared of loud noises and when she pulls herself up she was cry for help getting back to the ground. She still has a snotty nose after completing a round of amoxicllin. She has been congested for 3 weeks now and today her snot is yellow again...we sure hope her illness isn't repeating itself. She has her 9 month well check on Wednesday and we pray her ears will be clear.

Baby Girl is Sick

Audrey Jane made almost 9 months without having more than a sniffle of sickness. But as of yesterday she is on her first bottle of amoxicillin for a right ear infection and moxifloxacin eye drops for a double eye infection. She had a runny nose starting on the 11th but her snot was clear and we were sure it was from teething. She was and is chewing on everything. By the end of the week she had less snot but it had a yellow tint. I went to work Saturday night and she was fine. Daddy texted me asking if I had been cleaning any "eye boogers" out of her eye. I hadn't but just assumed she had a little crusty.  Praise the Lord that I was sent home from work at midnight for low census. In that short about of time her poor eyes were both oozing yellow gunk. We started putting breastmilk drops in them and being meticulous with the snot sucker. By midafternoon on Sunday the swelling around her eyes was better and she had very little gunk but the skin around her eyes was still red. She did well Sunday night and seemed happy Monday but by early afternoon her eyes starting oozing gunk again so I made a doctors appointment. Her highest fever was 100.2 and I having a sneaky suspicion her infection is viral but the doctor prescribed antibiotics. The oral medicine and probiotics were easier to get down by her second dose this morning but the eye drops are horrible. We can tell they hurt her eyes and she fights us and clamps her eyes down. I don't know how single moms do it because eye drops are a 2 person job!

Audrey Jane will be 9 months old this weekend. She may have said her first word last week after spending the day with Cole at Gradma's house. Ball--which is quite fitting since Cole spends the day delivering balls to her! She said it multiple times in the right context but then it became her favorite word to babble as well so who knows. She isn't saying dada much these days. Stuart thinks she has said and m word a few times when she is hungry but it could mean mamma or milk since she gets the majority of her milk from me. Since she has been sick she hasn't been talking much. She has been taking bottles easier when I am away. She is old enough to recognize that the bottle has milk and that if she is hungry and I am not around that is the way to get it. She had already eating 7 ounces before midnight on Saturday and that is more than she has been taking the whole night when I work.

At her sick visit Audrey was 16.8 pounds with her clothes and diaper on so I think she is probably about 16 pounds 8 ounces. We will have an official weight check the beginning of June. Audrey is pulling up on everything and will sometimes take a few steps when we are holding both of her hands. She is a pro at putting very small things in her mouth and is mesmerized by crumbs and threads on the floor. She still takes the majority of her naps in her swing of by falling asleep in the stroller during walks. She really enjoys playing with toys these days and has been playing without us even these last few days while she has been sick (in between numerous cuddles).

Daddy has a conference to attend at the end of the week and Audrey and I are going to visit Granny and Pappy for a few days. We are sad that Uncle Jake and Aunt Brittany are going to be gone on vacation for most of our visit.

8 months old

 Audrey Jane is 8 months old. She is eating most foods mommy and daddy eat for lunch and dinner. She has been having more solid bowel movements for a few weeks and actually had a fully formed but still soft stool over the weekend. (I'm sure she's going to love the fact that I blogged about this in about 15 years, but this blog is serving as a diary for when she hits certain milestones and I consider this worth documenting.) Audrey has been taking bottles easier when I work but she still takes much less than what I think she eats when we are together. She has become a very distracted nurser during the day and continues to eat more frequently in the evenings and overnight. The exception to this is the day after I work where she wants to cuddle and eat frequently. Audrey began "army crawling" April 3th and by the time she was officially 8 months old on the 25th she has became much more mobile and sometimes even crawls on her hands and knees. However, she is still distracted very easily so she isn't into everything yet. By mid month she was was able to push herself from the floor into a sitting position. She loves standing with assistance (and is getting stronger and stronger) and climbing on us in bed. About a week ago she started to pull up to her knees and earlier today she was playing with her activity table in the middle of the floor and used it to pull up unassisted by us. She is started to mimic sounds but she still uses various cries as her preferred method of communication. She lets her preferences be known with vocalization and facial expressions.We finished a four week session of sing and sign classes over the weekend and look forward to her being able to communicate with signs or words in the not so distant future. Twice in the last couple of days she has "said" da da at the appropriate time but it is one of her favorite noises so she uses it at inappropriate times as well. Momma isn't quite ready to give her credit yet. Audrey loves playing with her toys, being outside in the grass, and interacting with her cousin Cole at grandma's house. Her daddy and I love watching her change and grow.

Easter