Dear Katy,
You have grown in leaps and bounds this month! You hardly seem like the same baby — and for that matter, you hardly seem like a baby at all! These days you are quite mobile, social, funny, curious, and aware of everything happening around you. I love to be around you, and I knowing that other people enjoy your company so much too!
You love to look at people, smile, interact, and wave. You make friends in Reading Terminal, in the grocery store, on the city street walking in and out of daycare, and in restaurants. Even the toughest can't resist your charm, it seems! You are chatty too, talking to us in your own special way. You love to say our names, and we often have sessions of echoing one another in high-pitched squeals.
You are such a fun kid, and we hear so much from your teachers about how you make them and the other kids smile and laugh all of the time. For that matter, you make us smile all of the time too!
When you get happy or excited, you tend to express it by waving your arms up and down wildly. We love this! When I walk into your classroom to pick you up, this is usually what you greet me with, along with a loud laugh.
Speaking of school, you're still really enjoying yourself! You're all over the place these days, and being in a big classroom allows you to explore and play all day.
You still do a lot of painting, and I love it when you come home with blue paint under your nails or yellow paint between your toes. It just reminds me of how creative you're allowed to be at school!
The theme for this month was definitely movement and exploration. Once you figured out crawling, you no longer wanted to sit still or recline, except for meals or bottles. And even for bottles, you'd sometimes try to sit up while you were drinking. You grab for pretty much everything and want to see (and sometimes taste!) them up close.
Sleeping: You still sleep great at night! For the most part, you go to sleep around 7:30pm. On weekdays, we're still waking you up around 6:30am, and on weekends you usually wake up on your own between 6:45 - 7:15am. You've been struggling a little bit with naps at school, and some days you'll only sleep for 30-45 minutes. We're hoping this trend is temporary!
At home you seem to be napping better, with a shorter nap (sometimes while we're in the car or out) and then a longer one (1-2 hours) in your crib. You've starting doing a very cute thing where you sleep with your bottom in the air. I think you end up there because you want to try to crawl but you're too tired too. At any rate, it's adorable!
Eating: You love to eat, so it's clear that you are ours! You're starting to build a preference for finger foods vs. cereal and pureed fruits and veggies, so I'm trying to offer you those options as much as possible. You continue to have about 5-6 bottles each day, about 4 oz. each. Sometimes 6 oz. if you're really hungry. You now have three meals — cereal/fruit for breakfast at school, cereal/veggie for lunch along with a sampling from the school lunch, and then something for dinner at home. You love (plain) yogurt, banana, avocado, and cantaloupe chunks, waffles, and cottage cheese. You love "puffs" too.
Stats: We aren't sure of your exact measurements, but you're definitely growing because your clothes are getting small/short! You feel heavier too, but we won't know your exact measurements until your 9 month doctors appointment. You are still in size 3 diapers. As far as clothes go, you wear some 6-12 months (Baby Gap) and then mostly 9 or 12 months (Carters).
Milestones/Firsts: Motion! This month you mastered the art of crawling (forward!). You even figured out how to crawl on our hardwood floors at home — you have a special technique for this where you move your hands forward and then slide your legs along instead of moving them one at a time. Sometimes we put down my yoga mats so you can get a little traction. It was really fun being at Grandma & Grandpa's for Easter, since they have a big carpeted room for you to play in. Everything was so soft!
This month you've become quite fond of standing as well, and you "pulled up" for the first time on your own. You love to stand on our laps or lean against something while standing. We love seeing you so steady and strong!
You also started clapping and waving this month, which we find absolutely adorable! It's so fun to have more interaction with you, and you just love it!
You love to wave at people everywhere, so we've enjoyed seeing you interact with others too. Even though you can be a little shy when people get close to you, you love to freely give smiles and wave.
You look pretty cute when you're making raspberry sounds. All of a sudden this month you started doing this, and you really get a kick out of it! Especially when we echo the sounds you're making.
You had your first overnight with Mommy and Daddy when we went to a wedding in Baltimore. Grandma and Grandpa stayed at our house with you, and I think you had a fun time! They had you all over the place, including at the Art Museum, Reading Terminal, and for lots of walks around the neighborhood. It wasn't easy being away from you, though, and I missed you a ton.
You have started to say some words pretty clearly now, like Mama and Dada. We could swear that you say "Hi", although we hear more of the vowel sound than the "h". It's always at the appropriate time though, so we know you're using the word correctly.
Your first tooth is starting to come through, just barely! I'm sure this is not a very fun process for you, but it's exciting to see you reach this milestone. We can't see white yet, but I can feel it right at the surface of your gums. And you are gnawing on everything you can get your hands on as a result.
Grandma hooked up a fun swing for you in her backyard, and you really liked your first time!
Likes/Dislikes: You like so much right now: playing, moving, exploring, standing, laughing, eating, reading, "talking", and your independence. And we like watching you learn and showing you new things.
You really like your frequent Saturday early mornings with Daddy and the time that you get to spend with him while Mommy snoozes for an extra hour. Anytime you hear his voice (whether in the room or on the phone), your eyes light up. And when you hear the front door being unlocked, your ears perk up and you know it's him coming home from work! He makes you laugh all of the time, and you think that his tickly kisses are funny.
You love Grandma and Grandpa's dog, Jack, a lot! You don't quite have the art of petting gently down yet, so he tends to get the hair on his face pulled. For this reason, Jack seems to hide out behind Grandpa when you're in the room! :)
As for dislikes, you're not a huge fan of lying on your back anymore. While you can be distracted, your first instinct is to let out a sort of whimper/cry to let us know that you're not into being pinned down to get dressed or have your diaper changed. We get it, and we try to make you laugh or talk or blow raspberries to "get through it."
Visitors: You got to meet Daddy's friend from home, Tyson, and his girlfriend Britt. You also got to visit with a lot of family on Easter, including Great Grandma (GG)! She was so happy to see you, and you got some classic GG kisses!
All in all, you're so happy, cheerful, and full of joy. There is kindness in your eyes and a sweetness in your voice. You are a ray of sunshine, Katy!
