Blanket-sittin' weather

The heat here in Florida has just begun to taper back a bit, making the afternoons in the shade bearable. And with just a tiny breeze enjoyable. 

We can't always make it to the park, so we have mini-park dates in our side yard with our best pals, the Chiefs. I lay a blanket out and we just chill with a book or a couple of toys. Often times, we need neither because the outdoors and the pups provide so much to look at and see. 

These mini-park dates make just any old day a perfect day. 

In fact, I really thought nothing of it until a regular afternoon neighborhood walker passed by and commented how sweet we were: McKenna, the boys, and I. She said, "are you a scrapbooker? If you are, this deserves a page in your scrapbook." She was right. She spurred me to snap a few pics of this simple, yet special afternoon. 

The boys were loving just hanging out and feeling the breeze in their fur. Too bad you dan barely make Chief out in the photos lol. 

McKenna was happy. I was happy. The boys were happy. 

I'm so grateful to have a blog in order to put a couple words to these pictures. The simplest of days can be some of the most defining. Enjoy every moment. Let me go wipe a tear from my eye as I try to hopelessly hang on to every single day of this baby's life!! 

Clearly more mini-park days are needed. 

Pumpkin Patch

I can't believe how fast time flies.... I SWORE I posted a blog not a couple of days ago! October through the end of the year is always the busiest and funnest time of year. With a baby, it's already going by THAT much faster.... I've found myself already tucking away Christmas gifts, lining up holiday plans, AND getting ideas for a FIRST birthday party. I really wish time would slow down. Anywhooo....

We went to the Pumpkin Patch a couple of nights ago. People have been posting pumpkin patch pictures on Instagram and Facebook for weeks and I've been itching to get there. It was the perfect little evening, and really our first introduction to Fall activities aside from my nonchalant effort to place Fall decorations promiscuously around the house.

This is her first and only Halloween-themed outfit (aside from her Halloween costume).  I more or less threw it together last minute in hopes to get to the Pumpkin Patch.... purchased the onesie at Kohl's for 50% off, and made the tutu and headband quickly a couple of nights prior.

We also met some friends and McKenna's first official Bestie. It's so cool to have watched them really become interested in one another over the last several months.

They still both don't understand how to be "gentle," and both take their fair share of swats, grabs, and smacks, but watching them interact is priceless.

 

 

Mommies included:

 

 

 

For the record, I had no clue I was holding my child in a manner in which it looked like she was dangling off the edge of a cliff. No wonder my child wouldn't smile.

 

It was a great evening, the weather cooperated, and we got us a 12 pounder to take home!



The Momma Selfie

I must start this post by saying this. If you have formed any sort of positive impression of me (which would be surprising), I suggest you skip this post. You may see a side of me you would not normally witness because my Momma Selfies are typically only shared with a select group of women.

We're all guilty of it. Momma Selfies. 

Def: (n) a picture in which a Momma includes herself to depict a specific feeling in a moment in time. The Momma Selfie can take many forms. Happy moments. Stressful moments. Milestone moments. Boring moments. Moments of need. Moments of excitement. Moments of desperation. The list is endless. Gone are the days where Mom is not present in any childhood photos. She will put herself there. And a Momma's desire to snap a selfie can have many different objectives as well. 

Momma Selfies can be beautiful at times. I know I personally want to document ANY time I have actually applied makeup, have a cute outfit on, or feel reasonably attractive. 

Sometimes they are silly or Just Because. 

Sometimes they are to remember a special Little Moment that normally wouldn't make the "scrapbook". 

 

Other times, Momma Selfies are to share a new carry success (in a wrap or carrier) if you babywear. 

Which is often immediately sent to a friend and responded to with another babywearing moment. 

... because the likelihood of sharing a Momma Selfie with another Momma is 98%.  

Capturing moments while nursing is a big one too. I take nursing selfies on a regular basis. It's just such a beautiful, peaceful moment, I already know I'll miss it when it's over. Unfortunately all of the ones saved on my phone have a little more flesh than I think I'm willing to share. I know, I'm modest. 

HOWEVER. The most typical Momma Selfies are a mechanism in which to make light of an otherwise unfunny or precarious scenario. 

Case in point. I often take Momma Selfies when I am in the midst of a Nap Trap. 

While Nap Traps are no fun, snapping a picture and sharing your predicament with a like-minded individual help to alleviate the severity or desperation of a situation. Often times I will receive a light-hearted response or picture of a very similar situation from the recipient. Here is a Momma Selfie I received yesterday morning from my friend Lia. We had just been discussing successful naps SANS mommy's chest. 

Another Nap Trap Momma Selfie. 

Sometimes you feel no need to even look pleasant in a photo, attempting to depict your feelings through a single facial expression. Car Selfie:

Nevertheless it always make a situation a little more amusing when you get an immediate response from a friend. 

Regardless of whether a Momma Selfie is to capture a happy or desperate moment, they each tell a story written all over Momma's face. 

The Momma Selfies you have witnessed above came from my camera roll. No faking, they were all waiting for a special time to be shared with the world.

Pincer grasp

I would say that one of the most difficult things about Baby Led Weaning (aside from the gagging and fear of choking in the first month or so) is learning to have patience and trust.  "What if they never figure it out?" "What if they don't get the hang of it?" "What if she never learns to eat?" the kicker "What if I have to breastfeed her until she goes to school and is forced to eat [GASP]?"

Aside from what I see in her diaper, I really just don't know what goes from her hands to her belly. I just have to let go and trust that her body and brain are figuring what this whole food thing is all about. It's scary and exciting all at once.

She seems to enjoy food. There's not much that she WON'T put in her mouth. Until the last week or so there hasn't been significant ingestion though. Then her and carrots (always her favorite food) just kinda clicked. She's legitimately been taking bites and swallowing.

Last night was a big milestone though. Dinner included a skillet of several veggies and black beans.  She's never been the type to shove a handful of food in her mouth. She's always loved the sticks of food and ignored everything else. She tasted everything on the tray, she seemed so excited about the variety. She was particularly interested by the Black beans though. And as I watched, she spent several minutes just poking one specific black bean around the tray. She finally cornered it and started wiggling her thumb around too. I was hoping what was about to happen next but she hadn't shown any signs of doing it before now.  Sure enough her thumb and index finger both steadied, grabbed the black bean, and shoved it in her mouth. She smiled so big and let out her excited raspberry/elephant noise that she does when she's overly excited (often sending said food back out into the world).

 

We were both so excited. You could tell by her excitement that she knew she did something new. I called Kevin in there and she smiled and showed him the smooshed up black bean on her tongue.

She picked up 2 more black beans after this.

Little milestones like this are such a huge confidence booster that things are happening the way they should be. She's beginning to figure out that that food on the tray belongs on her belly. Through the ups and downs and gagging freak outs, it's all slowly beginning to piece itself together.

It goes down, down, down.

The crib is officially on the lowest setting!!!

McKenna decided to put her newfound pulling up skills to the test in her crib. Once she conquered that, she decided to try to, get this, climb out! No joke, we were watching her on the monitor lean her head forward and pick her legs up as if to crawl out.

If there had been a bumper, I assure you she would have made some progress. 

Let's just say, I got NO sleep until we just brought her into our bed for the night.

This was earlier that day. I had plopped her in the crib to wash my hands and came back to this. 

Yes, that dress is adorable. A gift from the baby shower. I didn't realize she was already close to growing out of it so we put it on for fun. 

Back to the crib. I got a little advice from one of my mommy groups and learned this about crib settings: when they learn to sit up, lower it a setting. When they learn to pull up, put it all the way down. Then I joke, the first child is the learning child, right? Where as a parent you learn all of the things you should be doing.  (McKenna, if you are reading this I am just kidding! Sort of!). After all, the learning curve with parenting is steep and indefinite. 

As I put her in the new crib setting for the first time it just felt so weird, felt way too old! She shouldn't be this big yet!! Our baby, while still a baby, just feels so "old"!

8 months, oh my!

This little spark plug is 8 months old!! (Well, five days ago)

Let's just say now that she's crawling (and hates being on her back), I got all of 5 pictures that were semi-decent and not blurry. She was up and on the go.

McKenna is such a happy little girl, and such a goofball. She loves blowing raspberries, making farting noises, and squealing when she's really excited. She does silly things to get a reaction out of you... like spit food out and wait for you to laugh.  Same goes with pooping!   She LOVES carrots. I think I can officially dub them her favorite food.  She likes to taste food and place it on the floor, but rarely carrots. She'll shove an entire steamed stick in her mouth.

She pulls up like a champ! She hates being sedentary or on her back. If she had it her way, she would be on her feet with someone holding her hands at all times. She hates being on the changing table... it takes some serious effort trying to distract her while changing her diaper.

 

While she loves exploring and engages in solo playtime, she loves nothing more than her puppies, particularly Chief Osceola (though I call him Boogs with her because that will be easy AND cute for her to say!). She knows when Da-Da is getting home from work: the boys rush to the door, she hears the screen door, and waits impatiently to watch the door open. She's been taking big girl baths by herself and loves splashing water everywhere. She loves scratching and biting mommy, and absolutely loves blowing raspberries on any open area of skin so watch out!

 

With her newly acquired skills, McKenna has been bonking her head quite a bit. She has her rightful reactions, gets a kiss on the head and gets right back at it. She amazes me every day.  I can't help but get all sappy every time I see her stretch just outside her reach, takes a bolder step forward, lets go with one hand while standing, watching the determination in her eyes. Like the saying goes: when she wakes, she will move mountains. I get teary eyed.  Everyday she's that much older. I can't help but think ahead to all of the accomplishments I'll get to witness and be a part of and watch her overcome new obstacles and build new skills. I am blessed to be her mother. I get to watch her move mountains every single day.

We've got a crawler!

It's official. We've got a mover and a shaker. That's right, McKenna is on-the-go!

Now this video is VERY poor quality.... but of course I have to share because it is legit her first time crawling. She even adds in one of her other newest tricks which is waving.

 

It happened Sunday. All day she was getting up on her knees, weeble-wobbling, falling to her belly, and trying to slither. She was "mobile" but only by inadvertent scooting.  In the first video she was crawling straight to Chief Osceola. In the next video where she's really getting the hang of it she had the dog bowl in her site. Let's just say the dog bowls were moved yet again.

I think the BEST part of this milestone is that Daddy was home! It was pretty damn awesome it when Kevin was able to see it, because this is one of those "big" milestones.  This Baby is officially mobile, and I guess it's about time to actually start babyproofing!