October Picture Update

Here is a short slide show with the latest and greatest pictures of Rya Faith. We got her play area set up and it's SOOO cute. Now she has a safe place to play, and if she takes a tumble, doesn't get any major injuries. She got her first cold and fever on Thursday thanks to daycare (gotta love mothers who refuse to medicate their sick child) and then Roy had it by Saturday. Luckily, I've been given a reprieve this time around **fingers crossed**. She's started using a sippy cup - doesn't quite have the hang of it yet, but we're working on it. She also waved "hello" for the first time on Saturday, but that's still pretty irregular at this point. It was more of a mimick action than really understanding what it meant - though it was still cute :) We're gearing up for Halloween, which is just around the corner...can't wait. Stay tuned for tons of pics of Rya in her first costume :)

7 months old and growing...

My baby girl is 7 months old today! We've passed the halfway mark and are heading for that BIG milestone...1 YEAR. Geesh, I'm not sure I'm ready for that :) Thank goodness I have 5 more months to prepare...though if they go as fast as these last 7 months, it won't make a difference.

As for Rya...she's doing fabulously. She's crawling, pulling herself up on everything to stand up, babbling all the time, letting me know when she's NOT happy, and so much more. She's a smart one...at daycare, there is a walker that has a tray on front where Debra keeps small snacks for the kids (Cheerios, Fruit Loops, etc.). Well, Rya sees the older kids grab stuff all day long and finally decided that she wanted to give it a go. Debra looked over and there was Rya with a handful of Cheerios. We're not giving her solid foods like that yet, but I guess she decided that she was ready for them anyways (even with no teeth). We'll see how all that goes. Baby food doesn't seem to be all that appealing to her (with the exception of apple sauce and sweet potatoes - she LOVES those 2 things) so I might call the pediatrician and see what's ok for her to have.

And...as always...a few pictures that we've taken lately. We're hoping to get our living room set up with a giant area rug and some gates so she can have her own little safe play area with all of the toys we're starting to collect. I'll make sure to take pics when we finally have it set up.


Her new Leap Frog Toy...


We got it off Craigslist at 50% off the original price :)


Yup - still sucking the thumb and holding her "blankie"


Her and Alex are still bestest buds


She decided that she needed to explore under her bouncer...Mom went into a panic because she didn't see her right away :)


This is Rya with Uncle Nic (Roy's sister Michelle's boyfriend). She adores him...


and his hat too :) We just might need to find her a little hat of her own.


And finally - a picture of my 2 favorite people :)

More, more, more...

Just a quick picture update...she's growing up SO fast!!


This is what Dad found when he got her out of the car - she was completely ASLEEP!


Her new ducky tub


She LOVES the little plastic duck!!

One of her cool onesies created by Jen

Can we say ATTITUDE??

EVERYTHING goes in the mouth!!

Getting ready for "school" (aka daycare)

The other cool onesie from Jen

We're gonna get the matching bow-headbands too :)

Her new V-Tech nursery rhyme book...she loves it!

Her new walker we got on Craigslist for $10!!

Mommy's little HAM :)

Our Labor Day Mini-Vacation

On Sunday, we dropped our dogs off at Roy's sister Carlene's and the three of us headed up to Sedona for a couple days. It was an amazing trip - and the city is BEAUTIFUL!! Took lots of pictures and wanted to share them with everyone. A (long) slideshow is below :)

At the Half Year Mark :)

So, today was the day...6 month check-up and all is well. She's 27 inches long (still between the 75-90th percentiles) and weighed in at 15 pounds 13 ounces (50th percentile). She LOVED the paper that they put on the table...she kept crumpling it up and playing with it. I don't think I've EVER seen her that excited about any of her toys...LOL :)

She showed off her newest skills for the doctor - she crawled on the table and kept sitting up all by herself. The doctor said that she's "advanced" (her words, not mine - though I'm still a proud mama) since they don't expect to see those skills until the 9 month mark. Every time I try to get her crawling on video, she stops and stares at the camera - little Bugger!

I asked about her belly button (it pops WAY out when she's sitting up or using her belly muscles) and all is normal...it should go away by 12 months or so. Her chest is still fine - the indent is SLOWLY becoming less noticeable...and will probably only be a "cosmetic" issue if anything. She's ready to start oatmeal and fruits now too...so that will be exciting. Got 2 shots in each leg...cried of course, but once again with a little infant Tylenol she'll be sleepy (fingers crossed) most of the day.

Last night I walked in to her room and there she was...standing against the railing!! I caught her on video about 5 minutes before this trying to pull herself up, but her leg got stuck between the slats so I figured I was safe. Then I walk back in and BINGO - she had figured it out!! Smart little cookie!! Needless to say, Roy lowered her mattress down a couple notches just to put my mind at ease.

And one last milestone for ya (I'm WAY excited about this one)...the last 2 nights she's slept through the night - WooHoo!! Put her to bed at 8:30pm last night and she was STILL sleeping at 7am. She's learned how to soothe herself too...yesterday morning when I got up to check on her because I realized she never woke up for a bottle, she was sitting up in her crib just looking around and talking. Did I mention that I'm REALLY excited about this development?? HA!

So - that's the latest and greatest. My little girl is growing up and learning things at an INCREDIBLE pace. Every time I get used to a routine, it goes and changes on me. Part of the joys of parenthood I guess. Can't wait to see what the next 6 months bring. Stay tuned...
Here are Rya's 6 month pictures that were taken at JC Penney:

Yay for new cameras :)

Roy bought me a new camera on Friday...so, of course I had to test it out :)

With a bow in her hair...

I took these pictures yesterday morning. It was the first time I actually put a bow in her hair - ha! All dressed up and ready for daycare...yeah, it was too cute not to capture with the digital camera :)