My Little Annalynn Faye

Please know I expect no one to read this! It's long and It's only true purpose is for me to look back at!

I guess everything that's been said about a 3rd child is true...hardly anything gets done for that poor 3rd child! Rex has a baby book that has some stuff in it, Laynie's was purchased but never written in, Annie does not have one! I did great with blogging about Laynie's 1st year...and here I am, with an almost 6 month old and writing my first blog about her!

Let's see if I can summarize nearly 6 months in one blog!

Our most amazing and wonderful surprise ever, our precious baby girl Annalynn Faye Robinson was born on January 7 at 11:14 AM weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. (Real talk confession: I had to look up those specifics! That's terrible!!) I was so so certain I was pregnant with a boy! Waiting to find out the gender until birth was so neat! Corey got to see first and was the one to announce that it was a girl! I just kept saying "OH MY GOSH!!" over and over again!! I could not believe it! The video capturing that moment is yet to be edited but will come soon! It was an awesome moment and I'm so glad we waited!

Birth was very mellow! I was much more awake and aware this time than I was for Rex or Laynie. I started out with the fewest amount of drugs in comparison to the others so that's what I was more awake. Annie was hungry right away and went straight to the breast when they brought her to me in the recovery room. She latched perfectly and instantly! We had our couple of hours of skin to skin before moving to my room. Recovery wasn't terrible...I wouldn't say any worse than my other two. Rex was immediately interested in his little sister. He was a little sad that it was not a baby brother but that quickly went away. Laynie was a little more uncertain and initially said she wanted to hold her then pushed her away. That didn't last long either...she grows more and more interested in her as time passes.

Nursing went well. the nipple pain did not last nearly as long as it did with Laynie. We went through the typical phase of her wanting to eat quite often at the beginning. It was a lot more difficult doing this with 2 other kids than it was with 1. My mom and Eli came to get the big kids every day at the beginning to take them to Ms. Anna's so I was home with just the baby. It was a huge help! My mom also came and spent the days with me when Corey went back to work. I exclusively nursed for about 4 weeks then introduced one formula bottle. I felt like I wasn't keeping up with her so I started supplementing. I started pumping but never really established a routine and didn't pursue it for long. I returned to work at when Annie was exactly 8 weeks and pumped my first day back. The next day, I was able to go to her at lunch to feed her. The next week, my Aunt Mary Lynne took a huge turn for the worse in her sickness so my mom was not able to care for Annie as planned. I had to leave work early one day, ended up staying home the next day when she passed, so I was able to continue nursing  those days. I had enough pumped to get her through the rest of the week once I went back and continued nursing and supplementing through the following week, which was spring break. I nursed of and no, mostly in the evenings and mornings through 10 or 11 weeks before I officially completely stopped. Managing nursing along with my crazy schedule, my big kids crazy schedule and everything in between going on was a lot, which is why I stopped. I feel good about the amount I did and am glad I did it. Sometimes I miss nursing her but not much. Being able to have Rex help feed her, especially in the car has been WONDERFUL!

Annie is definitely the chunkiest of my 3 babies and I LOVE it!! I just love those rolls and she's got the chubbiest cheeks! She started eating 4 ounces for every meal probably around 3 months. Between 4-5 months, she would sometimes want 6 ounces but usually was satisfied with 4. She drinks that regular Infant Enfamil and has not had any problems with it at all. Not spitting up, no outstanding constipation, like with Laynie and Rex. We introduced rice cereal around 5 months. She has gotten constipated a couple of times since then but it hasn't been anything major. She really likes her rice cereal and also likes oatmeal cereal. at 5 1/2 months, we introduced jar food vegetables. So far, she loves peas but isn't too sure about sweet potatoes! She's still regularly eating every 2-3 hours and now has cereal around mid morning and jar food for dinner.

She grew out of her newborn clothes fairly quickly and went through the 3 month phase crazy fast! Before I knew it, I was having to bust out the 6 month clothes! I feel like things are going so much quicker with her than with Rex or Laynie. I guess that is probably typical with the 3rd child. At 2 months, she weighed 10 lbs, 14 ounces, at 4 months 14 pounds, 2 ounces. To everyone's complete shock, she measured in the 92nd percentile for height!! I have NO idea where that is coming from! I cannot wait to see what she weighs and measures at her 6 month check up to see if she is continuing on the same growth trend she's been on! She is currently in size 2 diapers and wears mostly 6 month clothes and some 3-6 months.

Annie is such a sweet, happy baby. Initially she seemed to be a little more clingy than Rex or Laynie were. Momma may have "spoiled" her a little but...well..she's my last baby!! I have to hold on a little longer! As she has grown, she has proven to be a good good baby, much like her brother and sister! I didn't think it was possible to be blessed with 3 easy babies but I have been! Whens she fusses, it's one of 3 things: she's hungry, tired, or wanting out of whatever she's in (swing, jumper, etc.) It is very easy to figure out what she needs if you know the last time she ate and/or slept. she started sleeping through the night at 2 months! Her day naps vary and can be a longer nap or should could have cat naps throughout the. Right now she likes rolling around on the floor, relaxing in her swing, and jumping in her jumper thing. She sometimes puts herself to sleep. She has been sleeping in her bassinet-co sleeper thing since she was about 2 months. I'm in total denial about putting her to sleep in her crib upstairs. I am seriously not wanting to transition her so will probably continue using the bassinet for as long as possible! upstairs just seems so far away!

She has the cutest little squeal when she laughs and loves being entertained by her brother and sister! If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that she will never be bored! Rex and Laynie are both absolutely in love with her and want to play with her all the time! It is absolutely beautiful to watch! They can sometimes get too close and I have to remind them to give her space a lot but for the most part, they are really good with her and truly just love her to pieces!

She is an absolute joy and we cannot imagine life without her!

Fingers crossed I keep up a little better from here on out!

Welcome Annalynn Faye Robinson!

Our precious Annalynn Faye Robinson was born January 7 at 11:14 AM, 2 days shy of my 29th birthday! She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Waiting to find out the gender of this baby was one of the best decisions we made. It was so fun! I genuinely did not care either way what it was and was so surprised at how much I genuinely did not want to find out at all until delivery.

The time leading up to delivery was pretty normal and uneventful, as usual with a c-section. The entire time I was pregnant, the reality that I was having a baby never really set in. Even up to the time I was in the operating room, it had not hit me that we were having another baby! My main focus was that I did not want to be pregnant anymore! I wanted my body back so I could feel normal again! I very clearly remember siting on the table as they were getting things ready and thinking to myself "Am I really about to have a baby?!" As I was sitting on the operating table, looking around at everything, it did finally start to hit me and I remember getting a little emotional. Nothing major, I was still very calm, but it finally started setting in, literally minutes before they started surgery!! They didn't even have to give me "liquid courage" when they did the epidural like they did when I had Laynie because I was so calm. The epidural did hurt more than I remember but once it was in, all was well! I was more awake and aware of everything this time than ever before because I had the least amount of drugs in me than with Rex and Laynie's deliveries. I'm so glad things turned out that way!

They brought Corey in just before the baby was delivered. I continued to remain calm and mellow yellow as we waited to find out what the baby was. After he was in for just a few minutes, Dr. Ohlemacher pulled the baby out and showed her to Corey for him to announce the gender. I could not believe my ears when he said it was a girl!!! I was so so certain we were having a boy! I just kept saying "oh my gosh! Oh. My. Gosh! Oh my gosh!!" It was very similar to the reaction I had when I found out Laynie was a girl too! I just couldn't believe it! I can honestly say that moment was one of the best surprises of my life. I was truly surprised! Wrapping up this delivery was a bit longer because I had my tubes tied while they were in there. It was interesting to hear the doctor's conversations about my organs since I was so awake this time! haha! Once we were in recovery, Annie was brought to me and she was hungry from the get go and latched like a pro! She wasted no time! The moments of just the 3 of us were wonderful. We had lots of skin to skin time and nursing before going to a room. My Momo was the first to hold her aside from Corey and I!

Her name is so very special to us. Each part of her name has a meaning. Annalynn is a combination of my mom's name (Anita) and my father-in-law's middle name, Lynn. Faye is after Corey's late Granny Faye who he was so very close to. Granny Faye was his Mom's mom. When we decided for her middle name to be Faye, we both were so excited to have that as a girl name. Corey called his mom right away to tell her. She was very excited as well. I'll be honest...part of the reason I was so excited to have this little girl was to be able to bring to life this special name. I love a meaningful name...each of my baby's have names that have meaning. Deciding on the spelling of Annalynn was kind of funny. We first decided to spell it with one "n" so it would be Analynn because Corey said the double "n" was too long. This is the way I wrote it for her birth certificate and everything! Then we got the form back to verify that everything was correct and the first thing I saw in her name was "ANALynn"!! Terrible, I know! To make sure, I showed Corey and asked what he saw...and he saw the same! Our cousins Brandon and Ashley were visiting at that time as well and made sure with them and they agreed!! So we decided we had to make it a double n to spare her potential teasing later in life! I initially wanted to name her Annie but the combination of Annie and Faye sounded a little too country for a legal name! So, instead of her legal name being Annie, her nickname is Annie and is what we call her! I also still call her Peanut because she was my little genderless Peanut for so long! :)

Revealing her gender to everyone was so fun! The grandparents definitely had the best reactions! I wish I could have seen it myself! We waited to reveal her gender until our visitors actually came to the hospital to meet her. We have everyone's reaction on video! Rex and Laynie came to meet their baby sister the evening she was born. Rex was a little disappointed that she wasn't a boy but it wore off quickly. He was loving on her before we knew it and instantly wanted to hold her. He's such a good big brother! Laynie was not as interested! We asked if she wanted to hold her. She did not have any interest at first but once she saw Rex hold her, she was curious. We sat her down to hold her and as the baby was about to be placed on her lap, she pushed her away! She kept her distance the whole time we were at the hospital but it didn't last long at home. Both Rex and Laynie are so so sweet with their baby sister. It's a beautiful thing to watch!

Our time in the hospital was nice and uneventful. We did celebrate my 29th birthday there so that was a little out of the ordinary! Corey and I ordered sushi for a little in-house sushi date for my birthday and we watched the Texans lose their playoff game. We had hoped Annie would be their good luck charm but it didn't work out that way! My mom stayed with me our second night which was neat because she was with me in the same place she delivered me exactly 29 years earlier. Every year she re-lives the events leading to my birth and calls me at the exact minute I was born. This time she was with me in the exact place and exact time so it was an extra special birthday morning! Corey came back that evening and we headed home Sunday morning!

We are so thankful for our family and friends who were there when Annie was born and who came to visit. This little girl is so blessed to have so many people who love her, as are we!

My Big Boy Rex

So I came to write this extremely overdue blog on Laynie because we had her 18 month (she's actually 19.5 months...we were a little overdue!) check up today. Then I went back to see the last thing I updated on Rex and it was his 2nd birthday!! HE'S 4!!!!! That was a terrible mom feeling, realizing that!! So...Laynie is on hold for at least a little bit...time to brag on my Rex!

Gosh, where do I begin?? I'll just let it flow...(warning...this might be long!)

My Rex is such an amazing little kid. I'm certain that all parents say that about their kids and he may be amazing only to me, Corey and our parents but, that is just fine with me! I call him my "Mr. Responsible" because for being the age he is, he takes charge and responsibility on so many things. Maybe it's an oldest child thing. For example, this evening as we were getting ready to go to bed, he says "Oh, mom! Did we shut the garage door and bring all the toys in?" It had been hours since we had been outside!! For the record, we had not yet done either of those things! Over the weekend, we were at Corey's parents and at the end of the evening, he started cleaning stuff up, without us having to tell him! Now, he does not do this all the time. I've noticed he's kind of like me in that he will start cleaning to avoid doing what he needs to be doing, which typically is either getting ready for bed, or going to bed! It's still pretty neat to watch. I've always wondered if my kids would be neater than I am because if you know my well, you know I'm pretty stinkin messy! Time will tell...I haven't quite figured that out yet.

He is such a great big brother to Laynie. He takes good care of her and shows genuine concern for her (most of the time!). Little Ms. Laynie can be quite the pest. She definitely knows how to annoy her brother already and she seems to enjoy it! He does get frustrated with her and whines but he knows not to get aggressive with her. He has hit her a handful of times since she's gotten bigger and in his way more. The times he has done that, though, he has gotten quite the discipline from either me or Corey so I think he quickly learned his lesson and it has stuck with him. I've even gotten him on video when he's frustrated with her and he looks like he's about to hit her but you literally see him hold it back. They play really really well together and I absolutely love it! They play really really well together and I absolutely love it! They play so well together that it has made me question whether or not to bring baby #3 into the picture...my philosophy on having children has always been that I have them so they have each other. Growing up a sort-of only child plays a huge part in me wanting more kids because I want to make sure they have each other. I would never get into a situation of having more kids than I can afford but if it's within reason, I place more importance on having a larger family and us having each other than having a couple of kids and being able to give them more material things. But when I see how well these two play together and how much they love each other, I can't help but wonder so many things. Will #3 blend with them? Will they embrace him/her as much as they do each other? Will #3 throw off this great balance they have right now? I'm sure I'm worrying too much. I remember being so worried about how Rex would feel about Laynie and look at them! I just have to pray they all will share that awesome bond. (btw, God willing, we will be trying for #3 sometime in the next year!)

He is definitely my sweet one between him and Laynie. Anytime I ask Laynie for hugs or kisses, she almost always says no. When Rex hears this, he will say "I will give you hugs and kisses Mommy!" and will run over and give them! Only then will Laynie go head with hugs and kisses! He's a snuggler and loves to be next to me. They definitely fight for attention but I try to keep it even as much as possible. He's always been one to be concerned with how you're feeling. When he was a baby, all you had to do was "cry" and he would do whatever you wanted! I hope he always has that sensitiveness to him. It will make him a good husband one day :) He is so eager to help with whatever he can whether it be cleaning, cooking, helping Daddy build something, whatever!

He's at that stage where he asks 5 million questions. This is a tough stage for mommy's because you know it is perfectly age appropriate and normal but my goodness does it drive you nuts sometimes! He HAS to know where we are going and where we are going next and next and next! He would ask over and over and over and get the same answer each time! So I've gotten to where I will go over the series of upcoming events, have him repeat it, then tell him he can't ask anymore. Surprisingly, it has worked! I'm trying to do the same with him asking obvious questions like "Mom, are we home yet?" When we clearly are not home! I don't feel bad about shutting down questions like that and I'm hoping I'm building a little bit of autonomy by getting him to try to answer his own questions. I try really hard not to shut down the "why" questions but I'll be honest, sometimes I just have to tell him no more questions for the next 30 minutes! :)

A few "Rexisms" off the top of my head:

• He loves to say "orale" when something happens! i.e. when I drop something on the floor, he says "orale Mommy!" Hillarious! 
• He still loves to sing! He's singing quite a few nursery rhymes right now. 
• He loves to be silly, but only when he wants to. This has always been Rex, though! If I ask him to be silly, he usually will not but if he's in the mood, he is quite the silly kid! 
• He currently is in size 3T for the most part. Since age 2, he has been about a year behind on clothing. When he was 3, he wore 2T. When he turned 4, he was wearing mostly 3T. 
• As of today, he weighed 31.6 lbs. He's in about the 5th percentile for weight and height, I believe
• He is still a VERY picky eater. He will eat macaroni (his favorite), taco meat, rice, ranch style beans, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, pancakes, cheerios, bananas, strawbaberries (as he says!), blue berries, watermelon, apples, and other various snacks. Macaroni has to be elbow macaroni or he won't touch it. It's pretty ridiculous! We've tried forcing him to try other foods but he will literally gag and cough and go all crazy when we do that so we've stopped for the most part. It's frustrating for sure. I'm worried about what he's going to eat when he starts school! Hopefully we make some progress by then but for now, it is what it is. 
• He knows all of his colors in English and Spanish. 
• He can count a little higher than 10 in Spanish and definitely higher in English. 
• He knows the majority of his letters and is working on their sounds. 
• He can write his name 
• He has not yet shown a dominance for handedness. I'm thinking he will be a lefty but I'm not sure
• He played his first season of Soccer in the spring of 2014 and his first season of tball in the summer of 2014. We took a break this season and will pick back up either in summer or fall
• He's adjusted well to our new home. For awhile he claimed he was scared and still does every now and then. For the most part, he does great. We got him a radio with a CD player and play a classical music CD that plays while he goes to sleep and is asleep. He usually will wake up in the middle of the night to turn it back on when it stops and will go right back to bed. We also keep a lamp on in his room as well as the bathroom light. He will not go to sleep without either of those on!
• Every night Corey and I take turns taking him to bed, reading him a book and saying prayers. I love it! 
• He likes to invite anyone and everyone over to his "new big house." It's funny! 
• 3rd birthday theme was Mickey Mouse and was at The Little Gym
• 4th birthday theme was Toy Story and was at Jump-n-jungle
• His favorite color is green and has been for as long as he's expressed a favorite color! If he could wear it every day, he probably would! We will be painting a green accent wall soon in his room! 
• Favorite movies are Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Frozen
• He loves to dance with me when we have dance offs in the kitchen! One of my favorite things to do with the kids! 
• He absolutely loves playing with his best friends and cousins! He is so blessed to have so many playmates! 
• He loves fishing with his Daddy! He talks about going hunting and can't wait to go! 
• He is currently obsessed with his Woody boots that Lacey and Casey got him for his birthday! He wears them almost daily! 

Rex Adrian is such a joy in our lives! I just don't know where we would be without him! I hope I summed up 2 years as well as possible. I just might have to come back and add more in! 

Laynie bug, Our Lady bug is 1!!

My Laynie bug is 1 year old! Geezers this year has flown by but at the same time, Corey and I feel like it has been more than a year. Probably because it has been an extremely busy year!

Ok, on to the good stuff! Laynie's 1 year check up was on her actual birthday. Yes, I'm the mean Momma who had her baby get shots on her birthday! She did really good though! My same strong, resilient little fighter that she has always been! She weighed 18 pounds 14 ounces and measured 28 inches long. She is in the 10-15th percentile for her height and weight (I left the sheet with the definite numbers in my car and don't want to go get it! LOL!). So it's looking like she will be just like her big brother and be a tiny little thing. Her head, on the other hand, is still on the larger side! It is in the 80 something percentile! She is coming down in the percentile ranks though because she used to be in the 90's! My poor baby and her big noggin. You know, I blame it all on her Poppa Jerry but the truth is, judging from pictures, I had a rather large head myself as a little one. She'll balance out at some point I'm sure!

She is wearing between 9 and 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. The clothes size depends on the clothes or brand...sometimes she even fits into 6 months still! Most 12 month stuff still fits her a little big but it's wearable. She has a tiny foot and is wearing a size 2. We transitioned completely to cow's milk about a week or 2 before she turned 1. It was a very easy and smooth transition with no problems at all. She has been somewhat of a finicky eater. Sometimes she only wants to eat baby food. Sometimes she doesn't want me to feed her at all but doesn't really feed herself either. I can't tell if she wants to feed herself or if she just isn't hungry or if she doesn't like what she's eating. She also enjoys dropping her food off the side of her high chair and she likes feeding Sadie! I'm trying my best not to have another picky eater but so far, I'm not feeling too optimistic. Any feeding tips for raising a good eater will be very welcomed!! Some of her favorite food items are chicken, watermelon, bananas, apples (soft kind from Gerber), cheerios, goldfish, mum-mum crackers, arrowroot cookies, Mexican rice, yogurt, grapes, and mashed potatoes.

Laynie's biggest milestone over the last month was that she started walking! She has done so so good! She was doing pretty well with holding just one of our fingers. Just before she started walking around on her own pretty good, Rex loved holding her hand and taking her for walks around the house. It was the cutest thing! I had to watch closely though because when she would fall, he would try to pick her up by the arm! She started walking independently really good on July 21, just a few days before she turned 1. I heard her little feet coming down the hallway from my bedroom and I assumed she was walking with Corey because it was a bunch of steps I was hearing (she was wearing her little white sandals). When she came around the corner by herself, I couldn't believe it!! She was really walking by herself! I'm not a crier and I got pretty teary eyed with that milestone! I think it was one of those moments that made me realize how fast this is all going. Over the last couple of days since she has turned 1, she is going from sitting to standing very easily on her own without having to pull up on anything. She is still such a wiggle worm! We've had to do a few nebulizer treatments with albuterol and pulmicort over the last 2 weeks because she had a cough that wouldn't go away. I have to keep her in her highchair for the treatments because she wiggles too much with holding her! She LOVES walking around on the couch (we are right next to her of course, when we let her walk on the couch!). So far, she knows no danger. If I didn't keep super close to her, she would probably climb over the couch or off the bed. We're going to have to teach her how to get down safely on her belly!

She LOVES to dance! Anytime Laynie hears music of any sort, she instantly starts dancing. I love it!! She is also trying to sing already! She hums along with ABC's and she was trying to sing Happy Birthday when my sister Leanne was singing it to her! She knows what she wants and points her little finger very well in the direction of what she wants! She also does her hands in a grabbing motion when she wants me or wants something I have. She is doing really well with putting items away, such as putting Mommy's purse back together after she takes everything out of it! Anytime someone familiar walks into the room, she says "Hiiii gu-gu!" (Yes, that was my best effort at spelling something in baby talk!) She gets excited when me, her Daddy, Rex, or Sadie come into the room! She also gets very excited to see my mom and still sometimes wants Nini over me! As soon as I pick her up from Mrs. Anna's, she knows it's time to go leave and instantly starts saying and waving "bye-bye" when I pick her up. Her and her brother play well for the most part but he can sometimes have a hard time sharing. He's at that stage where he wants anything she has, which does not go over well with Laynie. He tries to appease her by giving her another toy but it usually doesn't work. This is something we're definitely working on with him but I know these little fights will probably go on for at least another 12-15 years!

We hosted Laynie's 1st birthday party here at our house on Saturday, July 26. We had a great turn out and had a taco/tostada/nacho bar which was a huge hit! I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a reasonable and easy meal for a party! We had a couple of little pools set up and Aunt Pam and Uncle Buddy let us borrow their blowup water slide, which the kids absolutely loved! We had kids everywhere and I LOVE LOVE LOVED it!! It was exactly what I envisioned for this party! Growing up half way an only child and in between generations, I didn't have very many playmates my age growing up, so for my kids to have as many cousins and close friends the same age means the world to me. We had 20 kids total, mostly family! Those who aren't family might as well be! When I looked in the backyard and saw all the kids running around like crazy having a blast, I had a huge smile! It couldn't have been better!

My sister Leanne (Also Laynie's Godmother) and niece Valerie came down from Denver for the party which meant more to me than I can describe! Just their presence was enough but they helped me so much with getting things ready and with the kids. They are seriously two of the most amazing women I know with the kindest and most caring hearts. Our late night chats are the best and I learn things from both of them every time I'm with them. If only the distance from here to Colorado wasn't so great! I couldn't have pulled the party off without the help of my amazing mother, either. The list of things she did to help me from getting the house ready to picking up balloons at the last minute is endless! I know I've said it 5 million times but there is no way I will never be able to express the gratitude I have for her and everything she does for my family. I love you so so much, Mom and I can only hope I am half the mother to my children that you are to me!

I'm sure the next year will be as fast moving as the last one was. Having two kids, it seems to happen even faster! We are enjoying every bit of our little Laynie Magdalena. She is an absolute joy and her and her brother are the brightest spots of my everyday!!

Wiggles is 11 months old!

My little "Wiggles" is 11 months old today! Panic mode to plan a birthday party is setting in!! Yikes!!

I swear sometimes it seems that Laynie grows between the time I drop her off at Ms. Anna's to the time I pick her up! Her personality has definitely come out more this month and it's so fun to watch!

She had tubes put in her ears last monday, June 16. She did really well and bounced back very quickly! She was groggy, of course, immediately after the surgery. I was afraid she would cry any time she burped because that's what Rex did when he had his tubes put in. She did but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. She fussed for a bit then settled down. We left for home about 30 minutes after she came out of surgery. She slept for most of the morning and woke up rested and ready to play with her brother! One thing I've noticed about Laynie is how much of a fighter she is in the sense that if she's not feeling well, she's going to still smile and play rather than be fussy. Even Ms. Lorena, one of Ms. Anna's helpers, told me once that Laynie "es una "guerrera" meaning she's a fighter. She is definitely resilient and the surgery for tubes proved that!

The day of the surgery she weighed 19 pounds but I swear it seems she has gained some weight in the last week! Her little belly is sticking out much more than usual and it's so cute! So I'm leaning towards thinking she is probably at or right over 20 pounds. She is wearing size 3 diapers and is growing out of 6 month clothes for sure. Sometimes I think I'm the one that's in denial that she is growing and I try to keep her in smaller clothes. But in my defense, there are some 6 month outfits that fit her perfect but the majority are too small. Saying she is wearing 9 months is safe to say for sure :)

I've given Laynie the nickname "wiggles" because she is quite the wiggle worm and she always has been. I seriously used to be afraid she was having seizures in my belly because her movements were so erratic. She crawls around everywhere and is still pulling up on everything. Any chance she gets, though, she is wanting you to hold her hands to walk around with her. If I'm sitting anywhere with her, she looks for my fingers so that she can grab them and then scoots off my lap so we can walk around. She gets very upset if I don't comply with her demands! I've tried to loosen her grip and have her hold on to the very tip of my fingers but she is not having it! She wants a good grab and will not go on if she doesn't feel secure. She also knows exactly where she wants to go when she's walking. If you try to move her in a direction she doesn't want to go, she will drag one leg to get you to turn back! We're going to start working with her more on letting go a little and walking between 2 people.

I'm loving her little personality that's developing. This morning she was humming to herself and swaying side to side to her own music! She loves to dance and will dance to whatever music comes on. She still loves Pat-a-cake and points her finger to her palm to sing the Mexican nursery rhyme "pinion."

She is definitely a chatty Cathy and tries to say a few words. "Uh-Oh" is still her favorite along with dropping something and having you pick it up...over and over again! She has mastered "bye-bye" over the last month. When I pick her up from Ms. Anna's, she starts saying "bye bye" or "baaaa!" to everyone! When we went to the ENT for her first visit, they conducted a hearing test to see if the fluid in her ears was affecting her hearing. We learned that her hearing was slightly effected but the audiologist noted that it seemed she would be an early talker because she was trying to say "puppy" when the puppy showed during the test. She does more of a "puh" sound with puppy. She has also said "oh wow!" a couple of times and it sounds like she is trying to say "thank you," and "good girl," (she hears this lots because of the dog). She also shouts "BA!" when Sadie comes around so she might be saying "Bad!" which is frequently said to our dear little puppy!

Corey gave her a bath in the big tub for the first time this last month. Again, trying to keep my baby a baby, I had not attempted this at all and intended on switching her to the bath seat before doing the open bath. Well, Daddy took the reigns on this one and it ended up being perfect timing. She loves the water and loves taking baths! She also loves swimming and splashing around! She's shown us how careful we have to be with her around water because if there's water around, she's reaching for it for sure! We have to make sure we close the bathroom doors all the time and cover the toilets. If she is in the restroom while I'm bathing Rex, she will try her hardest to either reach the water coming from the faucet or the water inside the tub so we definitely have to keep a close eye on her around water!

Her two front teeth poked through this month! They are so stinking cute!! She looks like such a big girl with her big teeth! We're trying to introduce more solids but she's kind of hesitant to them. It took awhile for her to get used to the stage 3 foods because they have bigger chunks of food in them. She is doing well with the Gerber pick-up apples. I believe Ms. Anna also has given her banana's. Aside from that, she's still on the same routine for the most part: bottle either at wake up or at Ms. Anna's around 7:30. Cereal around 10:30, lunch (one jar food, 6 ounce bottle) around noon, bottle at 3, dinner (2 jar foods and 4 ounce bottle) around 6, night time 6 ounce bottle around 8:30.

Her and Rex still play so sweet together! Everyone always told me what a joy it would be to see my babies play together and it is even better than I could have imagined! They have little fights and Rex has gotten a couple of spankings here and there for hitting his sister but for the most part, they do really well. Rex likes to dance with Laynie to the music on her Laugh and Learn Playhouse. They love making a mess in Rex's room. In the mornings, Rex walks into Laynie's room with me to get her dressed and he turns his sweet high-pitched voice on saying "Good morning Mama!! How you doing?!" And she gets so so excited when she sees her brother! The night before Laynie's surgery, Rex spent the night with my mom so that we didn't have to get him up in the morning. When we got back to the house after surgery, Rex went straight to Laynie, totally ignored me, and started kissing her feet and hugging her because he missed her! He will make silly noises and she will just crack up! If Laynie is fussy in the car he tells her "It's ok Mama! I'm right here!"  It is seriously my dose of joy every single day to see them play together!

Can't believe my next post will be for her 1st birthday!! Ahhh!! Slow down time!!

Laynie Bug is 10 months old!

My Laynie Bug is 10 months old!! Holy Guacamole, it's time to start planning a birthday party! I swear she is growing so crazy fast right before our eyes!

Laynie is weighing 17 lbs, 7 ounces. We went to the doctor the day before she turned 10 months old. She had her 4th ear infection within about 2 months so we're going to visit the ENT next week. We will see the same doctor Rex saw for his tubes and aftercare. About 3 weeks ago, we did antibiotic shots because she had her 3rd ear infection in about a month and a half. I actually had not even taken her for her ears that time in particular. I thought she had pink eye and they checked her ears anyway, which is when we discovered the 3rd infection. A few days later after her finishing her 3rd shot, she started with a runny nose and coughing so I knew it was only a matter of time before she got another ear infection. She continued with runny nose and cough for about another week and a half. This last saturday, she was very fussy and had thick, green mucous so I decided to take her in since it was a long weekend. Dr. Gray confirmed that her right ear was bright red and that it was time to see an ENT. I'm not upset one bit at this point...I knew that was where we were headed so I'm just ready to get it done and taken care of! Once Rex had his tubes in, he did not get sick for the next year and a half. God willing, the tubes will have the same effect on Laynie.

Her routine is still the same for the most part: She wakes up and has a bottle or cereal. She has lunch around 12, a bottle around 3, dinner at 6 then night time bottle at 8:30. We're trying to give her the stage 3 foods now but she hasn't taken too well to them so she eats mostly stage 2 foods. I'm going to keep trying with the stage 2's. I also plan to give her more tables foods this next month.

She is wearing mostly 6 month clothes (some 9 month) although she's starting to stretch out of the 6 month footy pajamas. The waist on 6 month clothes is a little big but the length is getting too small. Sometimes I put 3-6 month leggings on her since they still fit at the waist then pull the pant leg up so they're more like capris. She is still wearing size 3 diapers. Her hair is still growing like crazy! She still has her little "rat tail" in the back and a whole bunch on top that I have to pull back everyday so that it's not in her face.

She is quite the chatter box! Some of her favorite words are: Momma and uh-oh. She has said "Hi" while waving a hand full of times as well as saying bye bye. She also says "Da-da" and "Bubba" (at least it sounds like it).

Laynie is very loving. She's quite the cuddler. Yesterday I was hugging on Rex and she crawled over to us and gave her brother hugs too by putting her head on his back. It was the sweetest thing! I love watching her and Rex interact together. They play pretty well for the most party, at this point. Rex can sometimes get possessive of his toys and not want her to have things. She sure does not like it when something is taken away from her! Even the tiniest thing! But if you give her something in place of what you take, she is usually ok. Her and Rex play together often in his bedroom. There's tons of stuff for her to get into in there!

She is still very attached to me and is definitely still a Momma's girl although, her bond with her Daddy has definitely strengthened over the last month. She gets very excited when she sees her Daddy but if Momma tries to hand her off after I've been holding her, she gets pretty upset! She is also very attached to my mom. My mom and Eli had gone out of town for a bit and hadn't seen the kids for a whole week (which is an eternity to my mom and Eli!) so we took the kids over as soon as they got home. Laynie was so so excited to see my mom! I tried to take her back and she cried so much! Broke my heart but also warms it at the same time to know she has such a tight bond with my mom!

She is crawling around pretty fast these days! She pulls up on everything possible and walks around things like the couch and coffee table. I don't think it will be too long before she takes those first steps but time will tell! I'm not in any rush! She had her first swim this month at Cody & Ashley's neighborhood pool. She LOVED it and was splashing like crazy!! I had a hard time trying to keep her head dry (because of the ear infection) because she was splashing so crazy! I'm sure it will be an exciting summer!

Time to start birthday party planning!! YAY!!

Laynie 7-9 months

I'm excited to say these last couple of months have not been nearly as eventful with hospital stays and such as months 5/6 were! My little wiggle worm hit a lot of milestones between 7-9 months so it's all fun, happy stuff!

Laynie turned 7 months old on February 25, 2014! She's in size 2 diapers and is still wearing mostly 3 month clothes.

She had been rocking on her knees for sometime between when she was 6-7 months but she gets so excited she ends up on her belly with her arms and legs kicking like crazy! It was the funniest thing to watch! Around early March, so at about 7 and a half months, she finally started moving a little. During Spring Break, she was officially a full blown crawler! She was all over the place! It has been a whole new experience for me because Rex never crawled. He was a booty scooter and even that took a little longer to get to. She has always been incredibly active, even in utero so I expected that she would progress a little quicker with her gross motor development than Rex did. Over spring break she also started pulling up to standing in her Laugh and Learn Car. She just loves that thing!

At 7 months, she started to become a little more emotional. If you take something away from her she cries. If I tell her NO! In a firm voice, she gets upset sometimes. Usually she just gives me her cute little smile and keeps doing what I said not to do. When she is fussy or upset she says "mama." I LOVE it! She is definitely a mama's girl! She loves her Daddy but she doesn't like to be taken away from her mommy.

She stared eating mum mums at 7 months and she LOVES them! Rex loves them too so I can't give Laynie one without giving Rex one. She has a 6 ounce bottle in the morning when she wakes, cereal mixed with 2 ounces of formula around 9:30 then she drinks the remaining 4 ounces of the bottle, 6 ounce bottle and food (usually a fruit) around noon, bottle at 3 and dinner  (veggies and fruit) at 6. She has a nighttime bottle with cereal around 8:30 and is down for the night. Her first tooth came in just before she turned 8 months!!

Laynie turned 8 months March 25 and is weighing about 16 pounds if I remember correctly. Her eating pattern is pretty much the same but we have moved up to stage 2 foods. For dinner she eats a meat/veggie combo along with either a fruit or vegetable and she typically eats the whole thing. The amount of formula she has varies. Sometimes she'll drink 4 ounces, sometimes she only drinks an ounce or two.

Laynie LOOOOVES to play Pat-a-cake! She has gotten to where every time she interacts with me, she claps her hands wanting to play/sing it. Even first thing in the morning when I get her out of her crib, she is ready to hear it! She also claps when she hears "Yay!!!!" She has started imitating more sounds, especially "uh-oh!" She drops things on purpose off of her tray and says "ah-ah." Ms. Lorena, one of Ms. Anna's helpers, has taught all of the kids a Mexican nursery rhyme called "Pinpon." At the beginning of the song, you point your finger to the palm of your other hand. Recently she started doing this, even without hearing the song or she will start clapping her hands with pat-a-cake then change to pointing to her palm. I didn't know for sure if she was pointing to her hand by default or because of the song. Ms. Anna confirmed that they had been singing it to her and that's where she picked it up! I love how interactive she's being and how she's picking up on songs and such! She loves to dance too!!  She will start bouncing around when she hears music on her toys. Maybe we will have another music baby on our hands!

This month she also got her second tooth! She wasn't fussy with either tooth coming in and Rex was the same way when all of his teeth came in. I never knew they were coming because they weren't fussy, which I am very thankful for!

She has started pulling up to standing in her crib so we need to lower it to the bottom level. She is still quite the wiggle worm and I'm sure that is something that will never change! When she becomes fussy while crawling around, she comes to me whiny saying "Mama!" until I pick her up. It's quite possible that we have our athlete in her. Anytime she is playing with a ball of any sort, she will go after it when it rolls around. I've heard stories of Corey doing this as a baby as well and we all know what an athlete he is! Before we ever even have kids, I always joked that we would have a boy who was calm, mellow and a musician like I was and we would have a girl who would be little Corey and be an athlete and a pistol as a teenager! We'll see if my thoughts prove correct!

We got our first puppy as a family during Laynie's 8th month! She is a lab/Weimaraner mix that we got from Ms. Anna. Corey is planning on training her to be a hunting dog but she will be our family dog as well, of course. Laynie has done really well with the puppy and Sadie is good with her for the most part too. She tries to nip at Laynie but we keep a close eye on them together.

She had her first Easter at 8 months! She got some mum mums and yogurt melts from the Easter Bunny. We went to mass in the morning where she was a total ham making faces with the people behind us. In the afternoon, we went to my Aunt Martha's to spend the day with family. The kids did an Easter egg hunt and had a blast! Rex had his first swim of the year with his cousin Olivia since Uncle Gilbert turned the heater on for the pool! It was a great Easter Sunday!

Finally at her 9 month appointment, She weighed 17 lbs (18th percentile), measured 27.6 inches long and had a head circumference of 48 cm (93 percentile)...Yes, I said 93rd percentile for her big noggin! She definitely looks like a Romero but her head size is ALLLL ROBINSON!!  :) just kidding! Love you, Poppa! She is finally fitting into 6 month clothes and is wearing size 3 diapers. She can still squeeze into size 2's but they're a little snug.

She loves laughing at her brother when he is being silly. He plays pretty well with her for the most part but is still working on sharing with his sister and not freaking out if she grabs something of his. She is still definitely a momma's girl! She gets so so excited to see me when I pick her up every day. I just love it!

I can't believe we are only 3 months away from planning my baby's 1st birthday party! It's crazy to me! I'm looking forward to a fun new month with my wiggles!