12 months (a better late than never post!)

Dear Mayson Pearl,

We made it!!! You are officially 12 months old! The big O-N-E!

 

You weigh 20 lbs and are 29 1/4 inches tall.

You wear both 9 and 12 month size clothes.

And just like last month your diaper size and show size still match; both are size 3.

You sleep close to 12 hours at night and you are back to taking two naps a day.

You no longer eat any baby food and you are officially off all bottles!

We refer to you as "our little garbage disposal" because you will eat almost anything.

You have a lot to say now, even though we only understand about ten percent of it!!! But you clearly say... Mama, Dada, Gaga (grandma), Kiki (kitty), Bye-bye, Baba (bottle), Hey, All Done, No, Zat (what's that) and Doggie.

 

What all were you up to the month before you became a toddler?

 

You took your third plane trip, complete with your first ever layover.

 

Made your first ever batch of homemade playdough with mommy.

 

Finally got to sport your Eagles gear and watch football with daddy.

 

We cheered on daddy's softball team (as they lost yet again!!!)

 

and

You started going to your own class on Thursday's while mommy goes to her own hour long bible study class. You aren't so sure of this one yet... and while it breaks mommy's heart for you to cry when she drops you off I know its good for you to develop some independence.  

You loved...

little people and princesses

rolling balls back and forth

books

playing hide and seek

your doggy Atlas and kitties Cameron and Minnie

singing and helping act out songs - your faves are "Clap your Hands" and "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed"

going out to eat

opening and closing things

anything with buttons

playing outside

swinging

playing chase with daddy

taking things out just to put them back again

being silly and laughing

"talking" to dada and gaga on the phone

and

brushing your teeth

 

You Hated...

diaper changes

getting dressed and undressed

not being allowed to play in the dog's bowls

when mommy or daddy leaves

and

if we try to make you walk on your own; you usually refuse because you still want someone's hand to hold

 

my little lefty?

"Don't mind me mom, I'm only one, but I'm hard at work completing my first masterpiece! Please don't erase it when I'm done!"

 

 



Celebrating our first birthday cowgirl style!

This past Saturday we celebrated "Western style" for Mayson Pearl's first birthday. I was so busy setting everything up, and then partying it up with my little cowgirl, that I didn't take a single picture. Thankfully I was able to piece together some pretty good photos of the event (aka thanks grandpa, Amber, Brittany and Ashley for taking photos of Mayson's big day!)

 

some of the decorations...

the food...

and the cake...

(I'm not a baker, nor have I ever used fondant before so you'll have to excuse the lumps and the fact that the cow spots actually slid down the cake! The actual cake itself turned out rather tasty; it was a chocolate cheerwine cake.)

 

And Mayson actually stayed interested through most of the presents...

 

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate Mayson's big day with us. We had a blast!!!

 

I still can't believe my baby is one!!!

 

 

Eleven months

My sweet Mayson Pearl,

(Here is yet another monthly letter posted over a month late! In my defense I would rather spend time with you and your daddy instead of on the computer. I need to learn to like typing on the iPad but I cant help but feel like I need a "real" keyboard. But putting all rambling aside here is what u were up to before u turned 11 months.)

 

You weigh 19 lbs and are 29 inches long.

You wear almost exclusively 9 month sized clothes, but have some 12 month shirts that don't look too terribly big on you.

Your diaper and show size is still the same; a three in both.

You sleep 11 to 12 hours at night and lately have been only wanting one long nap a day.

You have officially left all baby food behind and are eating regular food for breakfast, lunch, dinner and your snacks.

You still only drink formula and water but its almost always out of a sippy cup. You only take one bottle a day now, right before bed.

So what all were you up to during your tenth month...

You took your first unassisted steps.

Went to the zoo with mom, dad and grandma.

We celebrated your daddy's 27th birthday.

You attended your first baseball game - the Jacksonville Suns

You now have eight teeth

And are saying "mama", "dada", "bye bye", "baba" (bottle) and "kiki cat" (kitty cat) 

You loved...

Opening and closing cabinets; as well as pulling things out 

Little people and princesses

Walking/running around- u still want a hand to hold

Store discount cards, old ID cards, hotel room cards etc.

Daddy's tools

Dragging your purse around

Printer, Xbox, cable box, ie anything with buttons

Your doggie and kitty cats

Stacking/nesting cups

Books

Learning to color/ eating crayons!

Taking things out of baskets, buckets, your diaper bag and then putting them back in

Bath time

Your laugh and learn puppy

Waving

And

Clapping

You hated...

Diaper changes

Getting dressed

Not being allowed to play in the Doggie's food or water bowl

Long car rides

Ten Months

Sweet and spunky Mayson Pearl,

Guess what? 

You are technically 11 months old now but mommy is just now getting around to doing your ten month post. Better late than never right?

 

No definite measurements but I'd guess you weigh about 18 lbs and are 27 to 28 inches long.

I've officially packed all of your 6 month stuff away because you are wearing almost exclusively 9 month sizes.

Your diapers are still size three.

Which is funny because your shoe size is three as well!

At the beginning of the month you were still taking three naps but you've pretty much transitioned from three to only two naps a day and of course you still sleep through the night and wake up super early.

And you still love to eat! You eat three meals a day, plus snacks and you're beginning to prefer eating what mommy and daddy eat instead of baby food. Along with slowly phasing out baby food we are slowly phasing out bottles too. You are down to only three bottles a day, which is fine by you because you love your sippy cups with straws.

Here's some of the things that you were up to last month...

 

Your daddy got his post deployment leave and we went on vacation to NC and Philly.

 

You flew on an airplane for the second time and you did amazing.

 

You were reunited with your doggy, Atlas.

You got to go to your first children's museum in Philadelphia.

 

You love to greet everyone with that silly toothy grin of yours. You have two bottom teeth and two top teeth except your top teeth aren't the front two! We like to say you either have the smile of a redneck, hillbilly or one of a hockey player. 

 

Attended your first parade,

 

Your first firework show.

 

And went to your first amusement park- Hershey Park.

 

Plus your grandma came to Florida to visit.

 

And the most exciting thing (to your mommy, at least) - you said your first words, "mama", "dada" and "bye bye."

 

Things that you loved...

walking/running everywhere (still holding onto our hand of course!)

playing with remotes, phones, sunglasses and any other non-toy items you could get your hands on

swinging
"dancing" to music
carrying things around (your go to items- dishtowels, little people princesses, and a shovel)

playing peek-a-boo

clapping

opening and closing doors, cabinets, etc.

petting the cats and your doggy

flushing the potty

brushing your teeth
playing in your pool or with your splash pad
and

painting

 

Things you hated...

getting dressed

bath time (you used to love it)

putting on sunscreen and bathing suits
and

pureed baby food

As each month flies by and we get closer and closer to the one year mark my little baby Mayson Pearl is slowly but surely fading away and being replaced by a feisty and independent toddler!

Nine months

The hubby came home from deployment and as a result blogging fell by the wayside. We've been busy moving, vacationing and simply spending time as a family of three. Hopefully I can catch back up with the things that I've missed...

 Starting with Mayson's nine month letter.

 

My Maysie-Moo-Hoo,

On July 24th you officially became 3/4 of a year old!

You haven't had your nine month check up but I'd guess you are about 17 pounds or so.

You still fit into a few of your 6 month outfits but you are mainly wearing 6 or 6-9 month sizes now.

Depending on the shoe you wear a size 2 or 3

And you're still wearing a size 3 diaper.

You take either two or three naps a day and usually sleep 10-11 hours straight at night!! The only downside to this is that you are an early bird and are almost always up around 6:30.

You LOVE to eat and to try new foods. You still have 4 or 5 bottles a day and usually eat three meals. Some of your favorite foods so far seem to be pancakes, french toast sticks, fries, sweet potatoes, any type of melon, bananas and your ultimate fave - ice cream! I let you help me eat a vanilla ice cream cone and you cried when it was all gone!!

 

What all where you up to during your eighth month?

 

You finally started crawling more.

Moved back to Florida.

 

 

And into your new house.

You loved getting to swim in a big pool for the first time.

 

 

But most importantly your daddy finally came home from deployment!!!!!!

 

 

What you loved...

Walking, walking and walking. (You only need a finger to hold now.)

playing with your dollhouse

reading (and eating!) books

swinging

opening doors, cabinets, etc.

turning on faucets and lights

being held up high or upside down

laughing when you hear someone else laugh

letting go and standing on your own (only for a minute or so)

babbling - some of your favorite sounds to make or words to repeat are baba, bye-bye, gaga, hi, huh-uh, mama, dada, hello, no, geegee (so far I'm not counting any as words because I don't think you are actively associating the word with the meaning yet)

crawling after the cats

singing opera with grandma

and

playing with daddy :)

 

What you hated...

all the long car rides you had to endure

when you wanna walk and no one is willing to lend you a hand

crawling on a hard surface

being in your jumperoo for more than 5 minutes

using your walker/push toy

and

you still hate getting dressed; mainly putting your arms into sleeves

 

Overall this past month will always be remembered as the one that reunited your daddy with his little girl. While you won't remember your first reunion, the smile on your dad's face and the tears in his eyes will forever be etched in my memory.
 You're only nine months old but you already have your daddy wrapped around your little finger!

 

Eight months (already?!)

Oh-so-feisty Mayson Pearl,

On May 24th you officially turned 8 months old.
(and yes I realize I am only posting this 1 day before you turn nine months but we've had quite the busy month!)

I would guess that you weigh somewhere between 16 and 17 pounds.

You wear a combo of 3-6 and 6-9 month sizes,

 and are still in a size 2 shoe.

I'm finishing up your last pack of size two diapers and plan to bump you up to threes when we run out!

You drink 4-5 bottles a day,

plus have three "real" meals- fruit for breakfast, puffs or some other finger food for lunch/snack, and a veggie for dinner!

You usually take two short cat naps earlier in the day and one longer nap late in the afternoon;

But what you do best is sleep at night- 10 to 11 hours straight through to morning!

(my only complaint is that according to you morning equals 6 o'clock!) 

You learned and experienced so many new things last month.

You've slowly been trying some "real" food. So far you've had bananas, strawberries, a french fry, oranges, cantaloupe, sweet potato, hash browns, and a pickle. You liked everything but the pickle!

You've been finger painting more and you LOVE it!

You've learned to "walk" and want us to help you "walk" constantly. Along with us helping you to walk you are starting to cruise holding on to furniture and have begun to figure out how to pull yourself up to standing.

You don't have much interest in crawling and so far the only crawling you do is backwards, which makes you mad!

Grandma and I took you on your first trip to Dan Nicolas Park.

 You've been enjoying splashing around in your baby pool.

Absolutely love your doll house.

 And helped me celebrate my very first mother's day!

Throughout your seventh month you loved...
standing and "walking"- both require you to hold on to something
puffs
trying new foods
shaking and banging toys
nodding yes
mirrors
books with flaps or different textures to feel
opening cabinets
being outside
bubbles
your jumperoo and activity table
and
listening to the duck song

you disliked...
being in your carseat
crawling
if someone wouldn't walk you around when you wanted them to
your V-Tech move and crawl ball
and
getting dressed 

Your personality is emerging more and more everyday; and while you are a totally fun and entertaining baby I do have a feeling that you are going to be a handful!!! At least for the next eighteen months I won't have to tackle the job of raising you alone. Your daddy will finally be here to watch you learn and grow... not to mention I'll finally have someone else to help "walk" you around!