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Why am I such a terrible blogger??? Oh yeah, I guess bc I have a crazy almost 15 month old, coaching high school cheerleading now that the seasons started back, and have 3 real estate closings in less than a month. I'm not complaining. Life is good.

Just wanted to tell a few things that Mary Tyler is doing now.

- She started walking running at 14 months. She only crawls now if she falls and is trying to get to something really fast.

- She can identify all the different animals toys in the bathtub. She doesnt try to say their names yet but if you say "where is the lion?" she will show it to you and smile.

- She says Mama, Dada, Gigi, Aww, Bye, Hi (hide, and she only says it in a whisper voice) 

- She will hold the phone up to her ear when I say hello

- If you say "Where's Mary Tyler??" She covers her eyes and plays peekaboo

- She LOVES hide-n-seek. 

- She makes a "monster face" on command.

- She yells "AH!" back and forth with you

- Food she loves: oatmeal, mac n cheese, grilled cheese, beans from taco casa (her fave!), hummus, pita,  apple juice, yogurt, teensy fruits (fruit snacks). She's not so much a meat lover. She'll eat bites of chicfila nuggets and she'll eat meat from taco casa if i mix it in with beans but shes not a meat lover. 

- Schedule: Wake up 9:30, Nap 2-4, Bed 7:30/8:00

- She is SO independent. She will not let us help her with anything (hold her hand when she's walking, help her figure out a toy, etc) She has a temper. She loves to just study things real hard. She gets bored after about 2 minutes of seeing a new thing or toy. Oh, and in case you're wondering, I'm still describing Mary Tyler, not her Daddy :-) girl is JUST like her daddy! 

We love our little, Sweet!!!!  (that's what I call her right now, Sweet) 

ONE YEAR OLD!!!!

Mary Tyler,

You turned one year old 10 days ago. I truly CANNOT BELIEVE it. It seems like only yesterday you were a little bundle of blankets who hardly ever made a peep. Now you are a squealing, exploring, laughing, yelling, curious bundle of energy!!

On your actual birthday, you woke up to dada and me singing happy birthday to you and you stood in your crib and laughed at us. We had a relaxing Saturday morning and then you went down for nap. When you woke up, Aunt Kelleigh brought you some presents and saw you for a little bit. Later, Grandy & Grams, Travdaddy & Gigi, Tyler & Janey, Lindsey, Erica, Zane, and baby Wilson came over. You had SO MUCH FUN with baby Wilson. He is just 2 1/2 months younger than you, but you are MUCH bigger than him. You wanted to "talk" (yell) at him, and scared him several times. You shared your toys and played and played. We ate some supper then opened your presents. When we put you in the kitchen to sing Happy Birthday, you looked all around like "wait....this is for me??" and as soon as you realized that, you lit up and started squealing and smiling so big. You're a sweet little attention hog :)

Two days ago, we had your little birthday party. In attendance: Suzy & Yates Dover, Erin & Anderson Dumit, Carmen & Annie Knox Feemster, Ellis & Bo Crigler, Katie & Sawyer Aughtry, Cathleen Taylor, Meg Hellard, Megan Ayers, Jordan Griffith, Sarah Jones, Nana, Gigi, Aunt Ashley, Aunt Janey, Beth Neely, Lauren Miller. We played downstairs with all of your toys. You loved "showing them off." You yelled (squealed) at them "HEY! HEY! HEY!" and some of them cried. We all went outside to swing and play with bubbles and you had the time of your life. You got some really fun presents and once again hammed it up when everyone sang happy birthday to you. You slept like a rock afterwards.

What's up with you:

Sleeping: You go to bed between 7 and 730 and wake up around 930 very consistently.  You take one nap from about 1:00-3:00. You sleep in a sleep sack and have to have your sound machine on ocean. You have about 6 loveys and three blankets in the crib with you, you love to snuggle them. You sleep on your tummy and when you wake up in the morning you sit up and play with your loveys and talk quietly to yourself.

Eating: We are trying to wean you from your bottle/formula right now and switch to sippy/milk. You do NOT like milk. You SCREAM crying whenever I try to give it to you. You're so smart you can tell if its milk or water in your sippy just from looking at it. If its clear you chug the whole thing right away then act out of breath, if its white you start screaming and throw it across the room!

Skills: You still crawl as fast as lightning everywhere. You stand up on your own, and even pick up toys and move them while standing, but dont want to take a step. You don't seem interested in walking yet, but that's ok with me. :) Whenever anyone (Dada) says "See you later!" you will say "bye bye" back. You can "dance" whenever bubble guppies comes on (or any song). You wave. You eat bigger bites of food now. You still wear size 4 diapers. You give kisses but they are always open mouth kisses.

You have two bottom teeth and the top ones should come in any day now.

You love books that have a "flap" you like to find them and look behind it.

Your favorite shows are bubble guppies, tickety tock, max & ruby, mickey mouse clubhouse, and yo gabba gabba.

You still love CHEESE (grilled cheese, mac n cheese, sliced american cheese, cheetos) and aren't so much unto meat.

We've moved to a new house and you really like it. You have a great big playroom and a very pretty nursery.

You LOVE bath time and will lay on your tummy and kick and splash all over the place and squeal with delight.

You are the JOY of our lives and we love you so, very very much!!

I will post pictures soon!!

10 MONTHS & 11 MONTHS

I am posting this just 3 days before Mary Tyler turns 11 months. Will there ever be a month when I can say it hasn't been "crazy?" Ha. I'm just going to combine these. LOTS GOING ON! Between 7 Christmases, New Years, Selling our house, buying a new house, packing, MT starting MMO, and work, it has been...CRAZY.

Food: You will eat anything and everything we give you. You even ate collard greens on new years day and you loved them. you LOVE: mini corndogs (cut up), mac n cheese, grilled cheese, fruit purees, annie's cheddar bunnies, yogurt, & green beans to name a few.

Sleep: You are sleeping 14 hrs a night and a two hour nap. You go to bed between 7-8 and wake up between 9-10. Nap from about 1:30-3:30. You dont really let me rock you anymore. You just drink (or dont drink you bottle) and then turn your head and wiggle until I put you down. You like to fall asleep on your own. As soon as I lay you down, you turn to your tummy and ball up. You still have to have your sound machine on, pitch black dark, two blankets, 4 loveys, and a lot of pacis in there.

I took you to the Dr on 12/20/12 to get flu booster shot and you weighed 22lbs 4oz.

You got your first tooth on 12/11/12! (bottom left) and your second tooth just came in on 1/11/13, a month later! You are MUCH less fussy than you were last month. You have been so sweet. You will do "little indian girl" (wah wah wah wah), say and wave bye bye, SOMETIMES when i ask what the cow says you say "mmmmmm," you turn the pages of books and are paying attention when i read them to you (for the most part). You LOVE baths still. When I am getting ready in the morning you crawl to the bathtub, stand up, and start hitting it excitedly like you want to get in. You push your toys and walk behind them! The other day you stood up by yourself for about 5 seconds. You were holding onto the refrigerator door and when i closed it you stayed standing there until you realized you werent holding onto anything and sat down real quick :) . I think you'll be walking pretty soon! You FINALLY signed "more" yesterday when Daddy kept you. You did it once for me tonight but not as good as you did it for him last night.

Here are some entries from your journal over the past two months:

Dec 19- You are getting so close to clapping. you clap toys together but wont do just your hands. when we say "no no, my she" to annie, you wave like we do (pointing our finger).

Dec 23- We had Christmas in Clemson today. Grandy Sr. and Mimi gave you a college fund and told us about it by giving us a graduation cap Grandy for you (complete w/ tiger paw stickers) for when you graduate from Clemson. I cried and cried. we are so blessed!

Dec 26- We went to Taco Casa with Suzy and Yates. He kept giving you kisses and youd laugh. We went back to their new house and yall played and had fun.

Dec 28- Today you said "nigh nigh" when I said its time to go night night! Sweet angel.

Jan 3- We had a "home day." We played, watched Bubble Guppies, ate snacks, both took a two hour nap, went to bilo, and made supper. I love hanging out with my angel!

Jan 7- Today was your first day at Mothers Morning Out at First Pres. The teacher said you were "pretty good" but fussed when the other babies cried, ha. you were SO sleepy when i picked you up!

We love you TOOT!

9 months post

I'm writing this, and Mary Tyler will be 10 months a week from today. That just shows you how CRAZY life has been this past month! I am exhausted. Here's whats up:

Food: You have so far eaten and loved: macaroni & cheese, grilled cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, rice, chicken casserole, spaghetti, yogurt, fruit purees, vienna sausages, toast, waffles, cheese puffs (the gerber kind), avocado, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, etc. You're still a great eater!

Sleep: This month you went down to one nap a day (usually from 1:30-3:30). At first I was worried, but then Dr. Butcher told me thats totally normal considering how long you sleep at night (14 hrs) roughly 7 pm to 9:00 am. We got you some black out shades in your nursery bc you werent sleeping well at nap time with light in the room. You like to have a dark room, sound machine on full blast, fan on, two blankies in the crib with you. and 4 loveys that you snuggle with, and of course, pacis.

You are now wearing size 4 diapers.

at your 9 mo check up you weighed 20 lbs 15 oz (almost 21) and were 29.5 inches tall. Dr. B said you are "off the charts" in height. Very tall girl :)

Last month I said you refused to fall asleep in my arms, but now when I rock you for nap or bedtime during your bottle you dont fight sleep as hard. I think that has a lot to do with TEETHING> dun dun dunnnnnn.

You have been HARDCORE teething this entire month. You went to Dr. B on your 9 mo bday and she said you should get both bottom teeth by 10 months. You have swollen gums, drooling, runny nose, low grade fever, and IR-RI-TA-BLE!!!!!! Fussy fussy baby. Poor thing, I know you are in pain. It's so close now that yesterday, Matt thought it had come through but its just really white where it's about to break skin. You are also running your tongue over the top teeth a lot so I think those are close, too. I hope you get one soon and get some relief.

Here are some entries from your diary this month:

Nov 18 - Lauren came and took your Christmas pictures today... I cant wait for you to experience your first Christmas. You are the best gift mommy and daddy could ever receive!

Nov 19 - You had your first ever nighttime screaming fit tonight. You woke up at 11 pm, MAD. I couldnt figure out what you wanted or what was wrong. Nothing would calm you down. I think you were having a bad dream and still half asleep!

Nov 23- Yesterday was your first Thanksgiving. You loved it. You crawled everywhere and kept pulling up on the center ottoman & everyone would clap and yell "yayy!!" You loved the attention and would smile and laugh and do it again.

Nov 28 - We went shopping for presents and decorations today. You loved the toy aisle at Target. You finally figured out how to eat, hold, squeeze, and suck "Fruities" puree packs.

Nov 30 - Still fussy. You cried all the way home from easley w/ Grandy and Grams today. Sleepy and grumpy. So am I, haha!

Dec 3 - you are still being a little grump. I think it's your teeth but I also think it's because you want to walk, so bad. You want to be put down so you can GO! Do not like to be held.

Dec 6 - you had so much fun w Mommy at breakfast this morning, learning the difference between quiet whispers and loud yells. you think its hilarious to yell loud!

8 months

every month i say "where has the time gone??" but really. where has it gone?? She was in the bath tub tonight and Matt was like "I just can't believe we're standing here and she's 8 months old. How did that happen??"

I want to keep this short and sweet, but also want to document things that've changed in the last month. I really am having to force myself to blog lately, which I hate, but life is just moving TOO fast to keep up, and honestly, blogging is at the bottom of my priority list. Well, maybe 2nd to bottom, bc there's a stack of laundry up to my eyeballs at the foot of my bed right now. Oh well.

I blog so Mary Tyler can go back and look one day at what all she was doing, but also so that when the next baby comes along, I can refer to this and see what his/her sister was doing at these milestones.

SO here goes 8 months...

She is now supposed to be eating only table food. It's been a bit of a challenge. #1 because I'm a freak and dont know what/how much to feed her. #2 bc she LOVES baby food. #3 because she wants puffs as her only meal, every meal. Girl would eat an entire container of puffs at one sitting if we let her!!! So far she's had .... green beans, carrots, oranges, beans, cheese, vienna sausages (the Gerber chicken kind), yogurt, and soup.  She LOVES oatmeal. Everything else, I can't tell. She was obsessed with oranges the first two times she ate them, but the last two times I've given her to them she makes a god awful face and wants nothing to do with them. Haha.

Her schedule now:
9:30 - wake up
9:45 - breakfast; oatmeal and 6 oz bottle
11:00 - nap... but if she wont take it here, she takes it after lunch
12:30 - lunch - usually yogurt & fruit then a 4 oz bottle, haha
1:00 - nap if she didnt take it at 11
2-4 snacks/errands/cartoons/crawling/going outside/etc
4:30/5 - cat nap
7:00 - dinner - whatever she decides she likes on any given day
7:30 - bath
8:00 bedtime and a 6 oz bottle

She has just recently started to like to put herself to sleep. I used to feed her a bottle and rock her til she fell asleep, which I wasn't supposed to be doing anyway (spoiling her). Recently, she started trying to roll over on me the second she finished her bottle, so I just started putting her right in the crib and she rolls over and falls asleep on her own. Good girl!! Mary Tyler is (THANKFULLY) a sleeper. Just like her mama. Last Saturday, I had to go to a cheerleading competition at 8am. I called Matt at 10, 10:15, 10:45, 11:00 ... i was starting to get worried bc he wasnt answering. He calls me back at 11:15 and goes "Sorry!! just woke up... my monkey is still asleep, im about to go wake her up." Dear Jesus, thank you SO much for blessing us with a baby who sleeps til 11:15 on a Saturday!!!!" Can I get an amen?! We are seriously the luckiest parents, ever!

She is a DIVA when it comes to naps, though. She REFUSES to fall asleep in our lap/arms. And she wont fall asleep in the stroller bc she thinks she'll miss something. the ONLY way she'll go to sleep for naps is if she's in her carseat or if i lay down beside her. She will hold my hand and fall asleep, but she has to have her paci!

She is crawling, but not fast yet. She takes a few "steps" then splats and army crawls, which she is really fast at now. Any day now she is going to take off. I've got to keep the floors cleaner and start  baby proofing!

She says Mama ALL THE TIME. It's really all she says. And now she's gotten to where she'll say it back to you when you say it. So we try other words...so far she can say "bye bye" "Nana" "Goooood" "Ma ma" and "Da da" but she wont say Dada very often. She always says it when Matt's not around, he never hears it, haha. She also tries to copy us when we say "duck" but she hasn't quite gotten it yet.

She waves all the time now! She loves it. And she loves to pull the chain on the fan that turns the light on and off.

Here are a few entries from my "one line a day" journal I write in every night:

10/3 - You had a huge "learning leap" today! You made a lot of new consonant  sounds, played in the floor by yourself, tried to crawl, and pulled up twice!  You are so sweet and smart.

10/10 - You're getting closer and closer to crawling. You love to scream (happy screams).You're ready to quit baby food, always reaching for our food. You are mad you can't walk yet.

10/13- (written by my mom) Grams dropped you off w/ GiGi and Travdaddy at 12pm. We took you to Fall for Greenville. You loved the music and all the people! Stayed from 2:30-5:00. Dinnertime, bathtime, and bedtime were easy! You are SO good! Videoed you "crawling" to get puffs. You are so sweet!

10/20- (written by matt) You hung out with your dad today! You both slept until 11:15 and Mommy had to be up at 8 am, haha. You were so good all day, but still won't say "da da" Only "ma ma ma ma ma" all day long! :)


we love you so much, monkey!!!!!!!

SEVEN MONTHS

Mary Tyler is 7 months old. Where has the time gone?! She is so much fun. It's very apparent that she knows her PARENTS now, haha. im funny. But really, she knows Matt and I so well and even reaches for us to hold her now :) Sweet little Monkey! She has a little bit of stranger anxiety but it hasn't become an issue yet. It's really off and on... sometimes I'll think she's definitely going to cry in a certain scenario and she just smiles and smiles and other times it's someone she's fairly familiar with and she will poke her little lip out and cry for a minute.

At her 6 mo appointment she was right on the verge of 18 lbs... now I'm sure she's around 20. She's definitely a little chunk. We took her to her first Clemson game last week. She was sleeping on a couch in the box and someone walked up and said "Aww, how old is she? About a year old?" I said "No, 7 months" and they said "Oh my gracious! That's the longest/tallest 7 month old I've ever seen!!" Haha She definitely looks really long when she's laying down. She is BARELY fitting in 6 month onesies... those snaps are SNUG. She can't fit in 6 mo sleepers anymore, her toes almost bust through the seams. So, she's basically wearing all 9 month clothing. Still in size 3 diapers. We recently switched from Pampers to Huggies bc I had a great coupon from Costco. We were kind of hesitant bc we tried huggies when she was really tiny and we did NOT like them. As for now, we love the Huggies!! It wicks away the moisture so much better than the Pampers did and it doesnt fill so heavy and huge when it's full.

Her schedule looks a little like this:

9:00 - Wake Up, Baby food w/ oatmeal, 6 oz bottle
10:15 - Nap
11:30/12 - Lunch - fruit and 6 oz bottle
2:00 - Nap
3:30 - 6 oz bottle
5:00 - Catnap
7:00 - Dinner - meat and veggie
8:30 - Bedtime, 6 oz bottle

She also has snacks through out the day. We recently introduced her to Puffs and she LOVES them. So far she's had Strawberry-Apple, Apple Cinnamon, and Blueberry. she loves them all, haha. She also eats yogurt bites and cookies and loves to drink cold water out of her sippy cup.

Recently:
-she's started playing in the floor with toys since she can sit up on her own now. She likes anything that lights up/makes music.

-She loves to try to steal the remote from matt and me.

-She still LOVES her bath, mickey mouse clubhouse, and the dogs.

- She thinks Peek-a-boo is hilarious

- We play Patty Cake and sing The Wheels on the Bus. She loves both of those.

So far, she can say "mama" "dada" and "good." "Good" was actually her first word. She would say "guuuuh guuuuuh ooood ooooood" and now she says "guuuuu-oood" very drawn out. Haha. She obviously doesn't know what it means, she just mimics us. Almost every time she says "Mama" she says it really sweetly and quietly and when she says Dada she SCREAMS it. DAAAAAHHHH-DA! I can't wait til she actually knows what it means and calls us that :)

She is trying to crawl. She does a modified version of "the worm" where she lifts all limbs off the ground and rocks... it somehow moves her forward a little bit, its pretty funny to watch. She will push herself up into the crawling position and rock a little bit, but as soon as she tries to move forward her legs go back out to the sides and she splats. We can tell it's driving her crazy! This girl wants to move!

I am trying to teach her how to clap and wave. Today we went to a shower for my future sister-in-law, Janey, and Mary Tyler was the life of the party. She lifts her arm up and down really fast, but hasnt quite gotten the hang of waving her hand yet. At least she is trying! haha

I have a journal called "Mom's One Line a Day" that I write in every night. It has just enough space to write a little note about each day. Here are a few recent entries:

9/4: You copied Gigi and me today saying "Na na na na." You loved playing with Uncle Tyler & eating bananas and oranges for dinner. I can see outlines of your two bottom teeth!"

9/8: Sweet baby, you threw up for the first time tonight, and scared us! We were nervous you'd cuaght a bug but you havent done it again. Poor baby. I could tell it burned you. When you cry like that it breaks our hearts!

9/12: Today you went to the grocery store with me and rode in the cart for the first time. You want to grab EVERYTHING! You were good once I gave you a pack of crinkly wipes to play with.

9/13: You had your first big fall today. Daddy didnt strap you in your bouncy seat on the couch. He went in the kitchen to get something and you tried to escape and landed on the floor. He cried longer and harder than you did!

9/15: Today was your first Clemson game. I cried as I watched you watch the Tigers run down the hill. It was truly a full circle moment. I love you so much. It was fun to see you in orange!

If you're a mom, I HIGHLY recommend getting one of these. It's super easy bc its just a couple of sentences and I write in it every night before I turn my lamp off and go to bed. It' a 5 year journal. I got mine at Swoozie's. :)

We love you SO MUCH, Mary Tyler!!! I can't believe how quickly you're growing up. You are a blessing straight from God.

xoxo.

6 month photo shoot w/ Aunt Lollie!