March Days

We are loving this March weather here in Tucson, so we've been taking advantage of it and getting outside a lot.  Last week, Lois and I took a walk with a bunch of moms up Sabino Canyon.  I'll never tire of this place - it's so beautiful!  We've also been walking along our River path and enjoying the sunshine.  We're hoping to get to the pool again soon because Lois loved it so much!

Lois is now a little over nine months old and she's growing so fast!  We took her for your nine-month check up and here's her most recent stats:

• Weight: 20 lbs, 4 oz  - 70th percentile
• Length: 30 inches - 94th percentile
• Head size: 17.5 inches - 70th percentile

At her six-month appointment, Lois weighed almost 20 pounds - so in three months, she's gained only about a pound and grown a whole two inches!  She's certainly "thinning" out, going from the 94th percentile for weight to the 70th.   And for our journaling purposes, here's some of her milestones:

• She's only got two teeth - still!  We're patiently waiting for more to make their arrival so she'll be able to eat food a little more easily!
• She has mastered rolling - back to front, front to back and can now go from laying down to sitting position very easily.  This has just been in the past week and a half that she's figured out the sitting thing.
• She's talking more and more - lots of mama's, dada's, duh's, sweet whisperings, highly pitched shrills of excitement (mostly used right during sacrament meeting) and just overall babbling.  She totally acts like we know what she's saying and when you talk back, she responds back.  So cute.  This one's gonna be a talker!
• She's started to notice dogs and other animals and gets really excited when she sees them.
• She loves watching baby einsteins and little einsteins.  This results in squeals of excitement...
• She's now getting into a crawling position - but no crawling.  She's working on pulling herself up to things, but hasn't quite figured out how to get her whole body up.  We are in no hurry for this.  Believe me, when she starts moving, she's not going to stop!!
• She loves to eat "real people" food - none of that baby food mush!  Some of her favorites?  Fettucine Alfredo (she's got some grandma janny genes in there!), string cheese, mashed potatoes, guacamole and many other things.  
• She's sleeping pretty well these days.  Takes 2-3 naps a day and sleeps through the night.  Now, if only I could get her to sleep beyond 5:30 am!  No matter WHAT time this kid goes to bed, she's up bright and early.  I'm not sure she got sent to the right mommy. :-)

And now for more interesting things:

Today, my friend Addie and I went to the park, ate a picnic, fed the ducks and enjoyed the swings with our girls.  

Callie, Avery, Addie and Lois

Lois loving her swinging.  She was laughing and having a blast!

Avery and Lois - BFF's in the making

How cute is she?  I mean, really.  So cute, right?

We fed the ducks - Lois was loving them!

Here's our nakey baby!  What a body, huh?  So chubbalicious and so kissable!!

Those pearly whites are fully grown in.

Here she is in her crawling position

In recent weeks, I've taken up sewing again!  I hadn't gotten out my machine since about my sophomore year of high school.  Thanks to my good friend Kat, we started up a small sewing group and I am loving trying new things and using it as an artistic/creative outlet.  I have also become obsessed with cute fabrics and wished I had thousands to spend on beautiful fabrics!  Thanks Kat for getting me started.  I've started a quilt, made a few taggies and nursing covers and have completed a couple of those hooded blankets (pictured below.)  

Here's a picture of the hooded blanket I made for Lois' boyfriend, Ben (my friend Jen's boy.) She picked the fabric and I sewed away!  

And that's about it!  We are excited to head to Utah to see family and friends in the beginning of April.  While we'll miss Jason lots, he'll be spending most of his time at the hospital anyway.  He works so hard for us!  Thanks, honey!  He's got two months of craziness and then we'll be back to Utah in June to celebrate Lois' first birthday (really?!?) and enjoying time with family.

Oh yeah...some other great news?  Jason's brother Nate got engaged last week and we're so excited for him!!  He's marrying a great girl named Kristen and they'll be tying the knot in the end of August in Oakland!  Congratulations, guys!  We love you and are so happy for you!