Your first Christmas and New Year! It was so fun to experience it with you! Yay!
Month 8:
Your firsts: Long vacation with Mommy and Daddy: (12/20 - 1/14) Since we started the school year, we have only been able to spend all day with you on weekends and one week for Thanksgiving break in October. This was the first time we really go to have you all to ourselves for such a long period of time. It was very busy though, so there were only a couple days we got to lounge around together without running around!
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| Mommy and you just lounging around in our footie pjs. |
Christmas tree: (12/9) Ok, technically this is your second tree, but the first one you experienced with Christmas presents under it. We waited too long to put our first tree up without re cutting the base, so it sapped over and wouldn't take in any water, so it died. We tried taking it down to cut a new base, but then it was too lopsided to go back into the tree stand upright. I was ready to just pack all the decorations back up, but Daddy was adamant that you had to have a tree on your first Christmas morning, so he went to Home Depot and picked one from their lot. It didn't smell as nice as our first one, but it was prettier. You watched us decorate this one because we did it after you woke up from your nap. You were in your walker and kept trying to get around the chairs we set up as a barricade. You liked to push your walker to the side of the tree and touch the ornaments. You were always really gentle. You especially liked the ornaments with lots of glitter.
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| The mess after taking our first tree down during your nap. |
Crawling!: (12/10ish) You started army crawling on your tummy this month! It was absolutely adorable! You worked so hard and it was so cute to watch!
Picture with Santa: (12/24) Most. Hilarious. Picture. Ever. I was obsessed with getting a picture with Santa, but Daddy and I never got around to doing it. After going to Christmas Eve morning at Aunt Katrina and Uncle Bob's house, Daddy drove us to Dos Lagos, a shopping center on the way home, because he could tell I was very sad about not having one. You were asleep, so we almost didn't go. We got you out of your car seat and you were sleepy but happy, and then we went into the little shop where Santa was and luckily there was no line. There was one family already taking their pictures and you just watched quizzically. Santa came over to talk to you and say hi before the picture, and again you were fine. When I finally handed you over for the picture you LOST IT! Poor little baby. It took one second and then I grabbed you back, but the picture came out blurry so we did it again. The second time you cried even worse than the first. Again, it only took a second or so and you stopped crying immediately when I got you back. That's the only reason I can smile when I look at this picture of you screaming; it was only one second, but such a classic crying picture with Santa. This is your Grandpa Dave's favorite picture ever.
Christmas morning: (12/25) You were so cute this morning. I just love the picture of you in front of the tree. Such a crack up. We opened presents with Nana and Papa on Skype in the morning. In the afternoon, Mimi, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Kenny, and Uncle James came over to our house. We sat you in your high chair and you watched while we all opened presents and talked. You were such a good girl and stayed happy and quiet the whole time. After we opened presents, you went down for a nap. That's pretty much it. It was nice and very low-key.
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| Love this. You were so tripped out about that big picture of yourself. We gave it to Mimi for Christmas and she still didn't think it was big enough. |
Night without Mommy AND Daddy: (12/27) Uncle James bought Daddy and I a special present for Christmas, a night at the Mission Inn! That is where we got married, so it is a very meaningful place for us. This was the first time that you stayed the night without either of us, but Mimi watched you which was the only reason I actually made myself go. It turned out to be a wonderful night, but we MISSED you so much we came right home in the morning.
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| I took this as a joke for Facebook, but this is pretty much how I felt about leaving. |
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| This is a picture Mimi took for us while we were gone of you happy in the bath! |
Trip to the zoo: (1/5) Nana and Papa came out to visit the first week of January. They stayed at our house for two days and then we all went out to stay in Aunt Marguerite's condo in Palm Springs. This was your second trip away from home, and you didn't like it much. You wouldn't sleep in the pack and play because it was uncomfortable, so we had to sleep with you in bed with us. You didn't like that either because you kept rolling into us and missed your bed. On one of the days we went to visit The Living Desert, which in a zoo with animals in their "natural" habitats, not in cages. You weren't super interested in much because the animals were kind of hard to see. You did a great job though and it was fun for all of us.
| If you look really closely in the background, you can see the cheetah. I thought it was hilarious because you are wearing a cheetah outfit. My little cheetah with the big cheetahs. |
Things you liked: You liked all the same things this month, Lovey, your routine, bath time, and hanging out in your walker, but you loved crawling all over the place with your new independence. You did tend to get a little frustrated when you couldn't get somewhere fast enough or pull up to see what you wanted. You also loved BANANAS! In fact, you loved them so much we fed them to you all the time. That is why there is a picture down at the bottom of you at the doctor. All of a sudden your diapers were full of little black seeds when you went to the bathroom. Daddy sent a picture of a diaper to the doctor and he had us come in to make sure it wasn't little pieces of blood. We had to wait until you went to the bathroom, and then I had to scoop out your poo and put it into different containers and then Daddy drove it to the lab so they could analyze it. Results: banana seeds. :)
Some of our favorite pictures:
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| We used to call this your cockatoo hair. It went through a little phase where it would just stick straight up all the time. |
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| Look at this little smile. I LOVE the little mischievous twinkle in your eye. |
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| You and your Great B. Love, love, love this picture. |
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| Nana and Papa gave you this GIANT bear for Christmas. We kept trying to take pictures with you up against it but you would crane your neck to look up at him and fall over. |
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| At the doctor's office. |
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| Sleepy eyes after a nap. |
This is the first month you realized the month by month sign was a sticker you could pull off. There are some outtakes of us trying to take your picture! Lol!
It was so fun being home with you during this month. I am so thankful that I am a teacher and have so many long breaks. I love our special time together.
Love you, Nugget.
Love,
Mommy
