TWELVE Months

ONE YEAR!!! I know, I know, I can't believe it either. 12months has now come & gone & in a flash she is already 13months! Your guess is as good as mine as to how in the world it has already been a whole year. I handled it pretty well I think. I did cry the night before her birthday though. I always rock her a little before laying her down at night. As I was rocking her that night it literally felt like yesterday I was holding her in the hospital. You don't realize how fast a year goes by until you see it through your child. It happens soo fast! I came into the living room that night already weepy & Stephen asked what I was going to do when she starts school if I'm already crying over her bday. Well, that was the wrong thing to say because I boo-hooed even worse, haha! I told him, "don't ever say that to me" lol I can't even imagine sending her to school right now, baby steps ok!
She is just as entertaining as ever & we love it! She challenges us everyday & is so strong willed. I keep saying we're are going to end up on an episode of Nanny 911, haha! Now don't get me wrong she is an excellent baby but she is just so determined to do it her way, all the time. She still REFUSES to say Da-da. I don't get it, I really don't. Her list of words so far consist of Mama, Nana, mine, night-night(for bedtime obviously), & mimi..which is what she says for Minnie or Mickey Mouse. She loves her some Minnie Mouse!

At her 1yr checkup she weighed 21lb 12oz & was 29in long. She is starting to get a little picky about what she will eat but I guess that just comes with the age. She loves Ritz crackers & would live off them if we would let her. Her other faves now are green beans & grilled cheese sandwiches. By the end of the month we had switched her to whole milk & completely taken the bottle away. Before then I would still give her a bottle before bed even though she didn't really need it. It was just her time to wind down before bedtime so I was worried about taking that away but she never fussed about it being gone. I still rock her for a few min before laying her down though, I'll be doing that until she won't let me anymore:)

ELEVEN Months

I swear I need to start writing these post sooner because my memory is horrible! I know I'll probably end up leaving a lot out from month 11, oh well. Let me start by saying that if you have been around Jayden you know 1st hand that she refuses & I mean refuses to say, "dada". It's become like a game to her...every time you ask her to say dada she says momma instead. Every time! Trust me we have been trying to get her to say it since she was 7 or 8 months old. Now, she obviously knows exactly who Daddy is & will even point to him but she just will not say it. It's become a running joke around here. I swear she is doing it on purpose, totally just messing with us. This month she added "Nana" (which is what she calls my Mom) to her vocabulary. Stubborn, just stubborn because we all know she can say dada she just won't.
She now has almost 10 teeth! I checked her mouth one evening & discovered she was cutting 6 teeth at once:( We had no idea because she had been so good about it & wasn't acting like they bothered her. I think 3 or 4 of the 6 have already made it all the way through & the others are still trying. I had no clue a kid could cut that many at once.
She has started pulling up more & has started to scoot along the couch. She thinks she is hot stuff when she stands holding the couch. She always smiles & looks at one of us like ok you can clap now, haha! She is obsessed with phones so I found an old one that we don't use anymore & gave it to her to keep as her very own. Seriously, I should have got her on camera because her reaction was hilarious. Her eyes got huge & she just held then phone up & laughed. I guess she was amazed because I never let her play with ours so it was the best thing ever to her. I told her to say hello into the phone & she held it up to her ear...smarted kid ever ;) Of course I thought it was the greatest thing because we didn't teach her that...it's funny the things kids pick up on just by watching you.
Ok don't judge this next part but we thought it would be hilarious to put a wig on Jayden...& let me tell you it was hilarious! She looked awesome, haha!

 We had her birthday party technically while she was still 11 months old because her bday fell in the middle of the week on a Wednesday. My sister, Mom, & niece all helped with the party & it wasn't stressful at all....sarcasm? A lot of ideas we got from Pinterest & I think it turned out to be a great party. Jayden loved it & had a blast & that's all that matters. She had the cutest outfits...one lace romper for before cake & another smocked dress for after. If you're reading this & you were there THANK YOU for coming & celebrating her big day:) It was a lot of people but I enjoyed it & I hope everyone else did too.

 She also got a pink play phone & pink car at her party:)

I love this sweet lil dress on her!

TEN Months

Jayden turned 10 months old the day we left for the beach. Her very first beach trip, how exciting! Let me just say I thought I packed a lot when it was just me..umm no..it's nothing compared to everything you need for a baby. My Mom went with us and we four barely fit in my little Mazda with everything we took! I will admit that Stephen & I were both thinking it would be a rather difficult or should I say exhausting trip. BUT let me tell you Jayden did ahhh-mazing! She never fussed the entire car ride nor did she ever cry or get fussy when we were out & about or at a restaurant. The only time she ever cried was when we would get back to the condo & she would be exhausted & ready for bed or a nap. So far this kid has been exceptionally easy on us...that should continue into "toddler-hood" right?  Right??? I almost forgot to mention we got her an airbrush shirt...oh my word it's the cutest thing ever. Sadly I don't have a pic of her wearing it yet because the smallest they had was a 2T & it's rather big. However, Mom bought her a shirt that said "cute & crabby" with Destin across the bottom & it's also is a 2T but way smaller. Weird.

Jayden is definitely a water baby! She was weary of the pool at first but quickly got comfortable in it. She loved sitting on the steps with me or her Nana & on the side of the pool splashing. As far as the beach goes she did well with it but it was just too hot for her. We had gotten her a baby beach tent(best $25 ever spent!) & would go to the beach @5pm but after about an hour her lil cheeks would be bright red & she would be getting restless. We even had a battery operated fan for her AND this was at the end of May so I can't imagine taking her mid summer. We would just pack up & take her to the pool to cool off.

This month we switched Jayden to a big girl carseat which she loves. She is up higher & can see better out all the windows & I'm sure it's a lot more comfortable than her infant seat. She also had a 6month check up with her ears...which was a 10 minute visit with a $60 copay for them to tell me she can hear. Yeah, kind of knew that already. She for the first time ever threw a small fit while at the doctor because I wouldn't let her down in the floor. Stephen worked that day so I was by myself and she was kicking my booty! She is a nonstop ball of energy! When I didn't put her down she while yelling "momma" slapped me! Mmhmm you read that right...ol girl up & slapped her Momma! She's young so I know it's not like when a toddler slaps but still she did it out of frustration because she didn't get her way. So, the only thought I had was, " omg, what are we going to do when she's two" haha! She is a ball of energy & attitude. On another note she is hilarious!! I know, I know, every parent thinks their kid is the funniest thing ever but we can't help it. She keeps us laughing. It looks like she got my crazy gene, poor kid. She's loud, she makes funny faces ALL the time & she constantly comes up with her own funny way to do things. I assure you she was not mad in the pic below...I would make a face at her & this is the face she would make back at me, haha!

 I love her little personality & we can't wait until she starts talking more. We've been working with her on naming her body parts & she can now tell you where her hands, toes, nose, & belly are. Though for the nose she grabs mine since she can't see hers. It's funny how the smallest things they do can make you the happiest & proudest. Her Nanny(my mom-in-law) has taught her how to "gripe" at people/things. She will wave her hand up & down at you or point while waving. It was cute until she did it to me one night after I told her no...ok it was still cute even then. She started crawling the other night (June 21st) though it seems she would still rather army crawl everywhere. What ever way she wants to do it is fine by me. I now regret having zero carpet in the house because I know it hurts her little knees. Plus, I'm going to need a never ending supply of xanax when she starts trying to walk! I've already tossed around the idea of putting bubble wrap on her but that might be a tad bit too overprotective...just a tad.
Stephen got to celebrate his 1st Father's Day & I know if you asked him he would say he had a great day. This pic is from that day & it's not hard to tell these two adore eachother!

Here are some various pics from 10 months:)



NINE Months

Nine months came with 2 new teeth for Jayden. She cut her upper front teeth within two weeks. This go around seemed to be a lot more painful for her as we had many, MANY sleepless nights. I was a walking zombie for a week straight. I felt so bad for her knowing she was in pain, she would wake up @ 6 times a night screaming. Sometimes for 5 minutes & sometimes for 45min.  She cut the 1st top on April 30th then the 2nd one came in on May 8th. After that she was back to her normal self & she looks adorable with her 4 little teeth!
She had her 9 month check-up to which she weighed 20lbs and was 26 1/2 inches tall. He said we were doing a great job & that she was perfect! Finally he didn't say she was too skinny or too chubby just perfect. She was 9 months old and still not crawling & I was surprised he never even asked if she was. When I brought it up he said it was completely normal & that girls take longer than boys & also the 1st born can take longer to crawl or walk. I don't know if she will ever crawl because she rolls & scoots herself to wherever she needs to be. She does get up on all fours and rocks but then drops down and scoots or rolls. She does what she wants to get the job done & that's fine with us. I read a blog once where the mom of 4 kids was saying she regretted pushing her 1st born to do so much before he was ready just because she felt that's what she was suppose to do. I never want to push her before shes ready..I'm actually enjoying her taking longer to crawl because that means she stays my little baby a while longer. Honestly, I don't think we're ready for her to be mobile yet...we're already exhausted haha!
I got to celebrate my 1st Mother's Day in May. Usually I'm not a fan of holidays like that because there's so much pressure for it to be "perfect" & that always annoys me but it was a really great day spent with family & having Jayden actually did make it "perfect".
Here are some pics from 9 months...

Happy Mother's Day!

      Haha!!                  

                                   

  One of my fav pics!

        

     So sassy!       

EIGHT months

I barely finished writing about her 7th month & now I'm back again writing about month 8:( Sigh! For month 8 we started working more on giving her table food & not just baby food. She loves sweet potatoes so I started with that. However, she hated it! I mashed it but didn't puree it into baby food & she just did not care for the texture at all. She does well with crackers & teething biscuits though. Her doc told us a lot of babies don't like new textures because they don't know whether to chew it or swallow it. She's getting use to some new things though.
Welllll Jayden got her 1st black eye:( It was actually right under her eye on her cheekbone. She was laying in the floor on her tummy playing with a toy & when she went to put her face down she hit her eye on her toy. It instantly knotted up & bruised. I thought I was going to pass out! I've really got to get it under control before she gets older. I know I can't freak out when things happen to her because it will only make it worse for her. Nobody wants their baby to get hurt though. This pic was a few days after but you can still see the bruise. We put an ice pack on it for about 10min & it helped a lot.

She also celebrated her 1st Easter & looked absolutely adorable in her little smocked dress! She was not interested in her basket at all...well, I should say not interested in what was IN the basket but did want to eat the ribbon that was on it:) We didn't have her pic made with the Easter Bunny...honestly those bunny suits creep me out. She obvisouly is too young to hunt eggs so I'm definitely looking forward to next Easter when she will be running around and able to do more.

At the end of the month we decided to try getting her to sleep in her crib. When we tried this before we had decided to move her crib into our room but it still was a disaster. However, I can happily report that she is currently sleeping in HER crib every night & taking naps in her crib. It has been way easier than we thought since the 1st try was horrible. She knows I'm still in there with her & before I don't think she understood that part. So to everyone that said it can't be done that she will still be in our bed in 5yrs...sorry but it can & was done! I have to note that she has a new sleeping position that she only started in her crib...sleeping on her tummy face planted into the mattress! I told my Mom that she was doing it to punish us for kicking her out of our bed lol It's terrifying to walk in & see your child face down in the bed! I let her fall sleep that way then I always turn her to her side.
Until next time...here are some more pics from 8 months:)

I forgot to mention that for Easter her Nana(my Mom) got her this pretty blue dress & bunny ears that have a crown on them. So we decided to take some pics in the field.

SEVEN months

I usually try & write at the end of the month about that previous month but I forgot to post this one until now!
7 months, wow! It felt like she was 7 months for a week & now she's halfway through month 8:( Have Moms found out a way to slow down time yet? I wish the annoying saying about "enjoy it while you can because it flies by" weren't true...but it is. She is still not crawling though I guess she sees no need for it. If there is something she wants she scoots, rolls, & manuevers her way until she gets it. She has a huge array of facial expressions to keep you laughing. I love when she learns something new that she can do because she does it constantly for a week or more. She now scrunches up her nose & snorts at you...especially if you stick a camera in her face. She is proving to be a strong willed stubborn little bit. We shall see how this works out as we are working on "no". She not suprisingly has Stephen wrapped around her chubby little finger! She even dictates how he holds her while he carries her around.She twist until he holds her infront of him like she's sitting on her throne being carried around lol He has held her like this since she was born so she could look around & because of that she only does it with him. Spoiled rotten! She loves it when she gets her way too, her legs(which NEVER stop moving) kick into high gear:)
She is offically saying, "Momma" She has said it before but now she says it all the time & I LOVE it. We are still working on "Da Da".
Here are some pics from 7 months.

SIX months

Time is seriously flying by! Six months has almost came and gone, in a mere 5months Jayden will be turning a year old! Tonight I saw an adorable pic of a baby playing in the kitchen sink & it hit me how precious babies are. I mean obviously I already knew babies were/are precious but it hit me how sweet this time is...the time when they are actually babies. I stopped & thought how amazing & adorable Jayden is. How quickly this "baby stage" flies by & that's why it is soo precious because it's gone in a flash! You get to watch them discover everything for the very 1st time, watch them accomplish their very 1st words & 1st steps. Try baby food for the 1st time & discover their feet for the 1st time! It makes moments like lastnight for example when Jayden cried for 2 hrs seem like a walk in the park because those hard times pale in comparison to the sheer joy they bring to your life. How thankful I am that God chose me to be her mother & what an honor to help her become the young lady God has already set forth for her to be. Yeah, I'm a wee bit sentimental tonight all thanks to a picture of a baby playing in the sink. I'll stop being sappy now and move on:)


As in my last blogs I've mentioned that Jayden sleeps in our bed & we tried her crib for a few unsuccesful nights. Well yesterday Stephen moved her crib into our room and that's where the above "Jayden cried for 2 hrs" statement came from. Within those 2hrs she slept for @30min in her crib & for the other hr & half we took turns trying to get her to sleep but never picking her up. She would calm down for a minute then start back up, she eventually worked herself up to the point of us caving & bringing her into our bed. She was pitiful:( Call us weak but we couldn't handle her crying to the point of making herself sick. That's not to say we are not going to keep trying the crib because we are. She takes naps in her crib so I know I hope that eventually she will sleep at night in it also. The saga continues...
I also mentioned last time that she had a doc visit coming up, our chunky girl weighs 17lbs 8oz & is 26 inches long. She had a major growth spurt! She is now sitting up by herself and is scooting & rolling around. No crawling yet but she scoots herself forward by putting her face down & butt in the air & then moving her legs. She will lift herself up with her arms but she hasn't figured out that using her legs & arms at the same time would help.
She has had 2 bottom teeth appear this past month. The 1st came through at the beginning of the month & the other came through just this past week. She has done really well with teething so far but I think it may have contributed to her being so upset lastnight & not being able to fall back asleep. She is drooling a lot more than she has in the past & I don't know if that means another tooth is on the way or if it's because of the two she already has. I've been trying to teach her to "give kisses" and the drooling part is quite gross haha! When I ask her for a kiss she will just look at me & wait for me to kiss her then she smiles when I say, "yay". I'm know she thinks it's a game. Another thing that makes her smile is the remotes! Yep, the t.v. remotes. She is obsessed with them and will laugh when you show them to her. I don't quite understand the amusement but hey to each their own. She also loves her some music! She likes the different ring tones on my phone & likes to sit in my lap & listen to my Itunes on the laptop. When I was preggers I would sit with the computer on my lap & listen to music & she would always start moving in my belly so I'm not suprised she loves it:)    
Here's some pics from 6months...



She LOVES being outside!



FIVE months

I can't even believe that Jayden will be 6 months old tomorrow. It seems like just last month we were in the hospital. *sigh*
Jayden turned 5 months old on Christmas day & I was way more excited about Christmas than she was, obviously. We opened her presents that morning & her favorite thing was, drum roll please...a box! Yep, the box had a picture of the toy on it & she actually laughed & smiled at the box. Didn't even get that same reaction when we took the toy out of the box. Well, I guess we know what to get her next year.
New Years Eve was wonderful, a kid is the perfect excuse to not do anything! NYE is so overrated & there's always pressure to do something that never meets your overly high expectations. This year we stayed home & watched movies & it was the best NYE so far.
If you didn't know Jayden has slept in our bed since she was born. I don't however want her to stay in my bed now that she's older & can move around. So we have tried the crib a few nights but it hasn't been a huge success other than the 1st night. I have started putting her down for naps in her crib & even though she fusses for a few min she falls asleep on her own. It's a good start. All I have to do to put her to sleep at night is lay down with her in our bed so I told Stephen they need to make cribs large enough for Moms to lay down with the babies lol
She has developed quite the personality & other than a hot temper (don't get between her & mealtime) is an exceptionally good baby. She is wild & loves to jump in her jumperoo. She also is quite fond of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...I should instead say she LOVES it! She laughs at the Hotdog song. (if you have kids you are now singing it in your head, you're welcome) She has mastered rolling from her back to her stomach & thinks she's hot stuff. She will be crawling in no time. I get a monthly email from Similac about your childs milestones for each month & it's crazy to watch her do all of it when they say she will. I love it & am proud of her but it's bittersweet because I know the older she gets the less she needs me. Oh well, I'm sure that's how all Moms feel.
She goes for her 6 month check-up on Feb 2nd & I can't wait to see how much she has grown. We finally added some fruits to her meals & of course she loves them. I would guess she weighs @16lbs right now. We shall see!
Here are some pics from Christmas & others from 5 months.

The box!!

One Christmas outfit.....

Another Christmas outfit

Her jumperoo!