Haven 12-13 months

So Haven turned one! I really dropped the ball on the birthday update and now she is 13 months. I wanted to write down her stats now before it all changes again. First I'll say that at 12 months she was crawling around and that's it. Then about a week later she started pulling up and she was so thrilled with herself. Within a week she was climbing on top of things and booking it for the stairs. Thank goodness we finally got a gate! Now a month later she is slowly cruising and trying to stand up on her own. I don't see walking in her near future but I guess you never know. Right now she is really into trying to impersonating us such as brushing hair, putting on shoes, and rocking her baby. She even loves the play kitchen. Haven is full of life. She grins about 90% of the time and is a giggle machine. But, when she's mad it's not subtle. Girl, has a temper and a set of lungs. She makes it clear to me she does not like her carseat or a diaper change. She is saying Mama and Da, bye and dog. Babbling a lot of gibberish as well. She adores her siblings and gets big belly laughs when she plays with them. When I am about to put her to bed she makes pucker up kissing noises and loves to hug on them. She loves to eat. Her favorites are blueberries, pears, and oranges at the moment. She also loves a big girl peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Haven was about 16lbs 6oz in December. We just love her to pieces. If I could describe her in one word it would be joyful. Such a sweet addition to our family. Can't wait to see her grow over the next year into a toddler!

Chocolate cake was a success.

ps: It was not her first taste of cake. Shhh! :)

The three amigos. Happy. Everyone looking? Well, you can't have it all. 

The big cut

A couple months ago Emerson started asking to get her hair cut. I kept brushing it off because last time she got it cut she asked to have it cut long like Rapunzel. So I didn't think she had a good grasp on the consequences. But, she was persistent that she wanted it short. We have had it short before but honestly I was a worried that this desire for short hair would only last two days. Then she would be pretty upset she had chopped her locks. Well, Emerson isn't one to give up. After some timely advice from a friend that this was a way I could let my strong willed child make a decision we went for it. I made an appointment with our trusty gal. She gave Emerson her first bob 2 years ago and is good with her. I was thinking we would do shoulder length to have enough for a pony tail. In fact Emerson tried to persuade me to cut it by telling me she could still wear it up. Yes, she thought of everything. She hops in the chair and points her chin in the front and the nap of her neck. Big difference! I almost had a tiny heart attack. She knows what she wants that's for sure. 15 minutes later we had an adorable bob and a giddy little girl. It definitely fits her. She was very glad to look like Nannie!

Haven 10 to 11 months

Here is a long overdue update on Haven. Moments to sit down to blog are rare. But, as she approaches one I wanted to jot down what this little girl is like. I tried to capture a few pictures of her. I would really just call it snapshots. When you have a baby that rarely gets her picture taken, they could care less to smile at the camera. The grass was more appealing. So while I don't feel this captures her sweet grin it'll do. After a little drop in weight she is finally up to almost 16 lbs! Small, yes. But, still a big jump from where she was. She is super active now crawling on all fours. She just maneuvers through the whole house exploring and pulling things down. It makes me tired! Her favorite is unrolling the toilet paper. Haven has started dancing when she hears music. I had forgotten how sweet a baby dancing is. She gets up on her knees and bounces. Reminds me of a certain other little dancer we all know. 

"What is on my head?"

"Wait, that's cute. I'll put it back on."

Haven is a happy girl. She has the most infectious and joyous smile. Paired with an adorable giggle she lights up the room. She really loves people and smiles at everyone. Including animals. One of her quirks is eating everything. I've never had a baby so determined to put anything not nailed down in her mouth. Definitely keeps me on my toes. 

Leaf in the mouth. Case and point. 

She's definitely starting to make more jesters such as waving and clapping. As well as babbling a lot. She just started saying Mama and Da. But, most of the time she just says ba to everything and look at you like, "You know what I mean?" I have tried baby signing with her because she gets a little temperamental when she runs out of food. But, when I sign "more" she just giggles instead of repeating the sign. Ha. Can we talk about how much she eats. It is a mystery how she is so tiny because she can put down some food. In one sitting she could eat a whole banana, a half a pear, and cheerios! I could list all the foods she likes but really she likes everything. I'm very thankful to have a non-picky eater. It makes life just a little easier. 

Her model pose. When has she ever looked this serious in real life?!  Her hair is growing like crazy and now sticks up like a little duckling. 

Now, that's the funny girl I know. 

I hope to have her birth story put together before she turns one. Better late than never, right?

This is a way overdue post but summer got away from me. Here are pictures from Emerson's recital. She was sugar in Mary Poppins! We are so very proud of her. 

She totally rocked it this year and was really excited for the show. 

She was a smitten with Jane who danced with her class. See the ear to ear grin. Emerson really had an amazing time. When we picked her up she was bouncing off the walls and asked to go get a pizza. It was almost 10pm! I guess the adrenaline was running high.

Here she is at the rehearsal!

Haven 8 Months

Somehow this girl turned 8 months. What?!

She's pretty happy about it though. Isn't she the most scrumptious baby in the world?

These pictures were taken during our drooly phase. We now have two bottom teeth and two top ones almost through. 

So since the last update this gal become mobile. Sometime at the end of July she started pulling herself around. Official army crawler. She seems to be much happier that way, able to explore.

Her hair is coming in quickly. I think she has as much hair as Emerson did at a year and at this age Ezra was completely bald. 

She's babbling a lot and saying lots of ba sounds. 

Blowing bubbles is also fun.

"Hi there" 

Sometimes she throws her hand up in the air and I like to think she is waving. She also recently discovered clapping and of course it's adorable. You would think it would be old news to see a baby learn new things but still amazing.

Her profile

"Wait, who's there?"

"We have a dog?!?"

She has been super thrilled with Mia. She starts giggling when she sees her and now that she's mobile it's on.  She had a check up at 7 months and was 15lbs 6oz maybe and 26 inches. She really is such a delight. Happy, giggly and cuddly. Oh, and she likes to eat. A lot. She hasn't really said no to anything yet. Her fave right now is pears. The other day Emerson asked me, " Why does she always stop crying when you give her food?" Because she likes food a lot. Happy 8 months Haven!

Summer Time

Some summertime fun from a couple months ago that has been sitting waiting for captions. So I guess it's about time to publish since summer is almost gone!

Kung Fu anyone?

Officially a kindergartener

She's officially a kindergartener. After years of anticipation and 6 months of constantly asking when, the day arrived. We were all dressed, fed, and in the car by 7:45. It's a miracle. 

The pose on the left she said she was trying to look like a woman. Ummm, ok. Let's go with the natural pose.

We walked her in the first day and carried her weight in supplies. 

The escort to class. She was very eager and confident walking in. Immediately sat down and got to coloring. 

To celebrate her first day Ezra picked her up a cupcake. He was very excited to present her with a surprise.

Pink lemonade! Yum!