Nine Months

How can it be that LE is already NINE MONTHS OLD?!?!?!?  Time is flying by!  She is still sleeping well, crawling EVERYWHERE, and beginning to try to pull up.  This little one has so much personality and is such a joy to be around.  Ken and I are so blessed to have a happy baby and we comment on it often.

So Happy!

I want to help.

Happy "9 Month" Birthday to my sweetest girl!

Visit to Santa

This past Sunday, Sue invited LE and me to join her, Carter, and Callen at the Country Club to have brunch and see Santa.  LE and I were delighted to do so!

We got there just before 11:00 and got in line to see Santa.  When LE got her turn, she sat on Santa's lap and was simply fascinated with him.  She kept looking at him like she was trying to figure out what he was doing, but she didn't throw a fit and I was pleased with that.  I didn't have an opportunity to take a picture with my camera, but I did snap a couple of pictures of C & C with LE.

Two Precious Kiddos!

What a good looking crew!

We had such a great time!  Thank you to Sue, Carter and Callen for inviting us to join them.

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving celebration began the Saturday BEFORE Thanksgiving with dinner at my sister's house.  My brother-in-law is a FANTASTIC cook and, since everyone was going to be here, there and yon for Thanksgiving, we were invited to their house for a "pre-Thanksgiving dinner."  We had delicious food and even better company.

Prior to dinner, we were having appetizers, which included celery for a dip.  Bamma introduced LE to celery and she LOVED it.  I think she liked gnawing on it because it was cold, but she took to it like a duck to water--and proceeded to try to eat every piece Bamma picked up!

 

Hmmm...what is this?

Pretty good stuff!

Uncle Steve ROCKS!

Love my Carter! 

Bamma and Mini-Bamma

Ken, LE, and I left Wednesday night to head to LBF.  We figured--rightly so--that it would be easier to travel with LE at night because she would sleep.  She did pretty well until we got 45 minutes from the house and then she was FINISHED with being in the car.  We stopped to take a short break and change a diaper and then got back on the road.  I think I sang every Christmas carol and children's song that I knew to keep her from crying.

Thanksgiving Day was great fun.  Jackie came over to eat with us and play with LE.  There is no doubt  that LE loves her family!

Happy Girls

Bamma, Jack, and LE

The rest of the weekend was filled with busy-ness!  LE found LOTS to occupy herself.

Hey, Mom!  Whatcha doin' back there?

Ready to cheer on the Tide with Daddy during the Iron Bowl

Hmmm...what can I dig out of Bamma's purse?  (I'm sure Uncle Steve has some ideas!)

Maybe I can pick the winning numbers!

Who knew a plastic ticket holder could provide SO MUCH entertainment!

Bamma and the puffs are a hit!

On our way out of town, we made a slight detour to meet Jackie at the Bass Pro Shop in Spanish Fort.  The store was decorated for Christmas and there was a great deal to see.  LE was fascinated with the fish swimming in the tank, the stuffed animals, and she loved the stuffed ducks.  But what she was most interested in was the model train that was set up in the "Winter Wonderland."

Captivated by the train

I have so much to be thankful for this year.  I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, a loving family, and many other things too numerous to mention here.  Thanksgiving kicked off the beginning of the Holiday Season and I have a feeling that I will enjoy this one more than in the past because I get to experience it with LE!

8 Months

Who me?  8 months already?

My how time flies!  LE is now 8 months old.  She is changing so rapidly that it's hard to keep up sometimes.

She still hasn't really mastered crawling.  She is EXTREMELY proficient at the "army crawl" and can get somewhere in one big hurry!  LE thinks "patty cake" cures all things.  And she's picked up bobbing her head from side to side when she's "talking" to someone.  She is a true joy to Ken and me and we continue to enjoy watching her grow and develop even more into her own person.

Am I cute, or what!

Patty Cake, Patty Cake!

Baptism

Sunday was a great day of celebration in our household.  LE was baptized!  It was such a wonderful day and a blessing to have all of our family around us.  LE wore the dress I had smocked before she was born as her christening dress and I was so pleased that it still fit.

Meeting up with the family before the service

Loving on Bamma while Aunt Emily & Uncle Steve look on

Getting some love from Aunt Sue and Callen

I could not have asked for a better baby during the service.  She entertained herself in our pew during Mass (although she did get a little fussy right before the baptism).  While we were gathered around the baptismal font, she was enthralled by the water bubbling in it and when it came time to be "sprinkled," she reached out for the water in the font.  Ken pulled her little hand away, but Father McDade said, "Let her play in it if she wants to."  Little did he know how much of a water baby she is!  LE stuck her hand in the water and there it stayed until the process concluded.

After we all processed back to the front of the church, Ken and I went up on the altar and Father sat her on the altar saying, "This is the ONLY time you will ever be allowed to sit on the altar!" which, of course, got a chuckle from everyone.  After pronouncing her "...truly a child of god," the congregation clapped and she looked around the room at all those people.  I believe that LE was enjoying being the center of attention.  (I wonder WHERE she gets that???)

After the service, we took some pictures and then headed back to our house for a full blown family lunch of spaghetti, meatballs, Italian sausage, salad, bread and, of course, CAKE!  The cake from Olexa's was beautiful and it tasted heavenly!

LE with her proud Mommee and Daddy

Our little family with LE's godparents, Cynthia and Brad

What a wonderful blessing!

So precious to us!

With Callen (and Callen's boots)

Loving from Aunt Melissa

Beautiful Monogrammed cake from Olexa's

It tastes as good as it looks!

I feel so blessed to have had everyone join us for LE's baptism.  It was a special day and to have family and friends celebrate with us made it all the more enjoyable!

"Bugging" Out

LE's first Halloween was fairly low-key.  Since she isn't old enough to have any sweets yet, I thought the best thing to do would be to put her in her costume and go visiting!  Since she's "cute as a bug" anyway, I chose a Ladybug costume for her.

We started off the afternoon at my parents' house.  Bamma and Big Pat hadn't seen LE in awhile and it was good to visit with them.  LE definitely enjoyed being the center of attention.  And she even made a new friend--although Bonsai wasn't QUITE sure what to do about her being down on his level!

Being entertained by Bamma

Loving on Big Pat

A flying bug

Happy Baby Bug

Hmmm...who is this and why is he so fuzzy?

After leaving Bamma and Big Pat's, we made a quick stop at the Hardware store to see Daddy and Grandaddy.  They were thrilled to see LE!

Since Mama Jane was already at church, we stopped by there on the way home.  I didn't grab my camera out of the car when we went in, but suffice it to say that LE was introduced to EVERYONE there.  She was fascinated by all the children in their costumes, the colors, and the noise.

It was a fun (and tiring) evening for LE and her mommee!  But I'm looking forward to more of these events in the future!

Seven Months

Such a happy girl

LE is seven months old today and I can't believe how big she's getting.  She is growing so quickly and such a joy to be around.

LE still isn't crawling yet, but she's beginning to do "the inchworm"--pushing her self forward on the floor to get to what she wants.  It is so funny to watch, but she gets frustrated when she can't get there fast enough to suit herself.  She enjoys being on the floor, playing with her toys and being in her ExerSaucer.  She REALLY loves to interact with Ken, particularly when he makes her laugh.

So many toys to choose from

I REALLY want to figure this out!

I'll get there eventually!

Roll Tide!  (Big Al rattle)

Trying So Hard

Over the past several days, LE has been doing a lot of this:

And this:

She's not really proficient at either, but she's getting better.  LE doesn't have the whole balance thing down yet, so she has a tendency to topple over rather than sit really well.  As for being on all fours, she rocks back and forth a little, gets frustrated with the fact that she isn't moving, and then flattens herself back out.  I have no doubt that she will be crawling any minute now!

LE still loves her bath time.  She plays in the water and it is almost impossible to get her to lay back now.  When she does lay back, she kicks her feet with such force that anyone around her gets splashed.  The other night at the end of her bath, I looked like the one who had been bathed!

Looking like a kewpie doll

Bath time is so much fun!

Her personality is showing more and more now.  She loves playing in the ExcerSaucer.  When she's on her mat, LE reaches for her toys and rolls over to get to things she wants.  She is growing so quickly!