Quick Easter post

Somewhere in the craziness of the last month Easter came and went! We had a nice time visiting with family, and even made it through an entire church service with G :)

8 months old

8 months?!? How can my little sweet pea be 2/3 of a year old already? I know I say it every time, but she's growing up way. Too. Fast!
About 2 weeks ago, during Easter break, Grace figured out how to crawl. She's been on the move ever since and shes super fast. She's into EVERYTHING. We've gone into baby proofing overdrive. In fact, I need to buy another gate tomorrow. Between the crawling and pulling up on any and everything, she is feeling less like a baby and more like a toddler these days! She's even figured out how to stand in place without holding onto anything. When she tries to walk, she falls, but she's very persistent and I'm sure it won't be long until she has the hang of it. She can already climb the stairs with ease...yikes.

one of her favorite toys

mmmm! Spatula!

petting the kitty cat


licking the glass door that seperates the breakfast room from the sunroom.

almost got him!
Grace still LOVES bathtime, though she doesn't like to sit down :) We may be done with the infant tub very soon.

hi there!
Recently we've taken more trips to the playground both in our village, and in the neighboring town. She absolutely loves it. She's technically too small for most of the stuff but that certainly doesn't stop her from enjoying herself!





I love going to the playground, too!

coffee break
I've been making baby food for Grace and slowly introducing her to fruits and veggies. So far the only thing she likes is butternut squash. That's just fine by me. I'm in no rush to get her off the breast and onto table foods. It's just fun to let her experiment with new tastes.

banana? No, thanks...

lovin' that squash!
I have to say, these days life is so, so fun. Grace's little personality is really emerging and she's just a ball of energy! She loves to laugh and be tickled, when she's playing on the floor she takes breaks to come hug me, and when her dad gets home from works her little face (complete with a smile with SIX TEETH!) just lights up. I love how feisty and smart she is, and I love watching her explore her world. It just gets better and better all the time!

7 months

Our little girl is closer to 1 than she is to 0! That's amazing. She is definitely seeming more like a toddler and less like a baby these days. She is on the move from sun up to sun down, and some days (like today), she wears me out!

Grace is very mobile these days. She pulls up to standing, and can cruise the furniture a little bit, too. When she falls, she falls hard, and I have to admit I'm glad she's wearing the helmet at this stage in her life!

New favorite toy: the laundry basket.

She is also beginning to crawl. She's been able to move herself around be rolling/scooting for a while now, but now she's going from a sitting position onto all fours and rocking back and forth. I hear this is what happens right before a baby really takes off :)

Exploring under the dining room table.

Getting ready to crawl.

Grace also likes to CLIMB. That's a little scary. I really can't turn away from her for 2 seconds because she'll be into some new thing she shouldn't be :) Let the babyproofing commence!

Recently we've had a run of really nice weather, and this means we've been outside a ton, visiting friends and relatives. We go for daily, if not twice daily walks in the neighborhood in the stroller. It's great.

Hanging out with her good buddy, Nate.

St. Patrick's Day party with Great-Grandpa.

Visiting Aunt Kay in Ithaca.

We also recently let Grace try her first solid food! She's only ever had breastmilk. We gave her some mushed up avocado/. She was NOT a fan. I'll post the video another time. It was pretty darned funny, to be honest!

"What is this slimy stuff?"

Happy 7th monthday to my beautiful, bright, happy, loving girl!

Teeth!

Grace has two little teeth and my goodness they sure are cute (and sharp)!

see my teeth?

See also has super cool shades. Just 'cause :)

being goofy in the laundry basket

Pulling up to standing

On Sunday my baby began pulling herself up to standing. And she hasn't stopped doing it since!

http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b402/ericatoyama/dd1b6bae.mp4

6 months old!

Happy Half-Birthday, baby girl! I can't believe you've been in our lives for 6 whole months. As usual I am left wondering where the time has gone. And as usual I am writing this post about 1.5 weeks late. Better late than never :)

Where to begin? You have grown up so much on the past month. Suddenly you are into anything and everything, grabbing whatever you can reach and putting it in your mouth. It's amazing to see how much dexterity you've gained. I swear your fine motor skills improve every day.

Perhaps the most exciting news is that you now sit independently! And you can do it for as long as you like, which is awesome. You began doing thus out of the blue on 2/20 and the rest is history.

playing with toys in the living room.

You're really getting to be on the move and roll with ease now. You are trying like crazy to crawl, and can scoot along, but you don't get far. That's fine because we have a lot of baby proofing to do, and I don't that once you start moving you'll be hard to catch! Your new favorite toy is the laundry basket. You like to play inside it and pull it over on yourself.

You still LOVE baths and enjoying splashing and eating your washcloth.

om nom nom

Speaking of eating, you have two little teeth now! Your lower front right tooth broke through on Valentine's day, and your lower front left made it's appearance on 2/27. They super cute abd I'm still trying to get a picture of them. So far you're been pretty good about not biting me when you're nursing.

Yesterday you had your 6 month well baby visit. You are 14lbs and 25.25". Still somewhere between the 20th and 25th percentile. Your head is now in the 45th percentile but this is mostly due to the fact that the shape is changing due to the helmet. At your appointment with Hanger last week you'd gone from 13mm of asymmetry to 8mm. It's working - hooray!

You continue to be a very vocal child and your new favorite think is shrieking at the top of your lungs. It's VERY loud! I can tell you really want to talk and I can't wait until you do.

Grace, it's unbelievably fun and rewarding being your momma. I love watching you grow into your own little person. You're my whole world and your dad and I love you more than you'll ever know.

Valentine's Day

We had such a nice Valentine's Day yesterday! Grace's Great-Grandpa came for a visit in the afternoon and brought her a Valentine gift: candy, which I'll be eating, of course. She gave him a nice card and some of the double chocolate cupcakes I baked.

Mr. E came home from work early bearing wine and roses for me and even a teeny bouquet of flowers for G. So cute. I cooked us a steak/potato/asparagus dinner, and we enjoyed the cupcakes for dessert.

Grace surprised us yesterday by cutting her first tooth! It's the lower right front tooth - hooray! She even went to bed nice and early last night so her parents could have some time alone. How thoughtful of her :)

Here are some iPhone pics from yesterday:

I love this jumper. It has little chocolates embroidered on it :)

Ready for bed! Wearing Valentine PJs from Nana.