"Minnie" photo sesh

I got a little carried away with my iPhone last Friday.  When Persephone woke up, she was in such a good mood I decided to do a spontaneous photo session.  They're kind of repetitive which is why I made a separate post just for these...enjoy the cuteness!

This one is more of an outtake, but I still like it

I can't wait to take her pictures at Disney!!

9 months old!

Look who's 9 months old!

In just three months our baby will be 1...one....uno...HOW and WHEN did this happen?

Persephone is doing wonderful.  She has her 9mo check up next Friday, so I won't have her height/weight until then, but I know she's getting heavier because I'm out of shape and have to switch arms often when I hold her.  Guess I shouldn't brag on myself like that eh?

-Meals-

Drinking 7.25oz of formula 4-5 times a day.  Doing great with baby led weaning.  I think one of the easiest things for her to eat is watermelon.  Some other favorites are cantelope, avocado, strawberries, pineapple, potato, tortilla, meat (so far any kind we've offered is enjoyed).  If we're out an about we'll also offer her Gerber Puff's and/or Lil' Crunchies...by the way did you know a serving of the Banana puffs is like 72 pieces?!?  Ha ha I just thought that was crazy, but I guess it's not.  She hasn't totally grasped how to hold a sippy cup to give herself water, but she will drink out of it if we help hold it for her.  We've also given her water through a straw if we're eating out and she seems to enjoy that.  Hardy let her try a little bite of an ice pop the other night and even though there's no teeth you could hear her crunch down - such a weird sound.

-Motor skills-

She loves to stand, whether using us as props, holding our hands or holding onto a toy and/or the couch.  Right now she will walk up and down the length of the couch for what seems like hours.  She'll play in her walker as long as you're up and moving with her.  I kind of hate that we have such limited hard floor space, our foyer is hardwood and our kitchen is too, but our living room is carpet and it's inbetween the foyer and kitchen.  My mom suggested we get her some shoes and take her outside so she can move out there.  Her Aunt Kristin and Uncle Michael bought her a music toy that she can push/walk behind and it plays music while it moves, really cute.  Right now we just have to watch her close because she'll faceplant if not.  She's gotten the hang of clapping and saying "yayyy".  She also really enjoys slapping, I'm not sure where she picked that up, but it's not fun.  I know she's not doing it intentionally to hurt you, so it's hard not to laugh at her.  When she's not scaling the couch she's climbing all over us.  I think I have a few shirts with stretched necks now thanks to her pulling herself up.  Every one says she'll be walking soon - we shall see!

-Vocalization-

Her favorite sound to make is still "da da da da", but recently she's started flicking her tongue so she'll mix in an occasional "olie olie olie".  We've also caught her screaming several times...especially when we play "I'm gonna get you" with her.  I'm still trying to get "ma ma ma" out of her, but I suppose she'll say that when she feels like it.  She's definitely paying more attention to us when we talk because you can she stares at your mouth.  I try to annunciate certain "every day" words hoping it helps her learn.

-Play time-

For she most part she has no issue occupying herself.  She's had her needy moments, but it's usually if she's hungry/tired.  We have a megasaucer, but lately she would rather walk around the outside of it and play with the toys rather than sit inside and bounce.  Of course we have to be right there with her since the bottom of the saucer is round and she can easily slip/fall.  She prefers to play with the TV remotes, our cell phones and basically anything that isn't an actual toy.

-Sleep-

Not perfect.  She falls asleep most nights between 7:30-8:30 and then we take her to bed.  Maybe we should just start putting her in her crib awake??  I don't know.  She sleeps soundly for approx 4-5hrs then usually loses her nini (that's what we call the pacifier) then she starts stirring/fussing.  I've learned to keep an extra nini or two in our bedroom because it's like a damn scavenger hunt to try and find it in the dark without waking her up.  The last week and a half has been rough.  She's been wide awake at times as early as 3:30, 4:45.  I tried the cry it out approach, but she just kept on and it drove me nuts so Hardy took her downstairs two of those nights and got her back to sleep by laying on the couch.  Of course we would love to sleep later than 5am, but when you think about it...if she's been asleep since 7:30, waking up at 4:30am would be 8-9hrs of sleep.  So maybe we should start going to bed when she does?!?

-Teeth-

Her bottom gums are almost completely white, she's chewing and gnawing on stuff constantly so I assume we'll see something soon, but then again I've been saying this for three months now.  I keep joking she'll wake up one day with a mouthfull of teeth.  I wonder too if this is a cause of her sleep disturbance?

Renaissance Festival

Back on June 1st King GREEN offered to take their employees to the Renaissance Festival free of charge!  I haven't been since like 1995 so I was excited to check it out when I could actually remember things.  Hardy had never been at all so it was a win-win.  It wasn't too terribly hot that day and Persephone was a good baby.

We watched one of their shows when we first got there, then ate some turkey legs and PEOPLE WATCHED.  OMG.  If anything, please just attend RenFest to look at people.  I knew we would see folks in costume, but I was NOT expecting to see so many people trying to squeeze into small costumes.  From men in tights to women wearing corsets with no support for their boobs - just picture a corset with boob hammocks instead of a bra top because that's exactly what we saw, gross.  Also saw a lot of back fat.  Now I'm no string bean by any means, but I keep my parts clothed.

I had my friend Megan take some family photos for us.  It's been so long since we've actually attempted a good photo of us as a family, let alone the two of us.  I really need to do some professional photos soon before Persephone turns 5.

So enjoy these...

I've got killer quads!

Check out that man in tights...he had a "murse" covering his bulge hahahaha.  

He was selling roses and giving hugs away for free..

Swimming

Persephone has officially been swimming 3 times now!  We have a pool in our neighborhood and luckily if you go early enough in the day, you don't have to worry with crowding.

She's in a Minnie Mouse bathing suit she rec'd at my baby shower from Tabitha and Ashley (two of my BFF's).  She has a little white hat and some sunglasses to complete her ensemble.  The glasses are shortlived and really only there for my enjoyment since she could care less about them.  The hat will stay on as long as you can preoccupy her with something else when you put it on.

Her first trip to the pool was on Memorial Day...the water was a little cool, but she seemed to love it - for approx 20mins.  She loves bath time, so we assumed she would probably enjoy this too.  I will comment, it's amazing how much lighter she feels in water hahaha.  I bought her a $3 float from the cheap isle at Target...it was in the shape of a car and I thought it would be convenient...well it wasn't.  When we sat her in it the float became top heavy and any way she leaned it leaned with her.  So unless we want to use it for an arm rest, it's useless.

The second trip - her Uncle Michael and Aunt Kristin took her one morning while we were at work.  My brother, Michael watches her every day - truly a BLESSING!  They were sweet enough to buy a better float, one complete with a little awning to keep the sun off her.  She thinks she's cool.

This past weekend Hardy and I took her again on Saturday morning.  She had a much longer dip this time.  We only took her out because she started pruning.  We had a "puffs" snack and then swam for a few more minutes before heading back home.  One great thing about our pool/playground is that we can walk out our back door and in less than 2mins you're there.  Maybe that will be a good selling point if/when that's ever an option.

I absolutely LOVE this picture of Hardy and Persephone

I can't wait to keep taking her back, I love that she enjoys it so much!  Sometimes I hate being behind the camera because I'm rarely in the photos!