{This Moment} & a Favorite

{This Moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment in time. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

I recently stumbled upon this video by Sara Bareilles and I love the song and the video. I used to "Kelly Dance" in high school to embarass my sister and this reminds me of that dancing. 

I leave you with this video to start your weekend. Enjoy!



Kelly

College Football season officially starts today!!!

 

Actually, it starts today!!! We will pause while you try to contain your excitement like me....

This is my favorite day of the year!  College football is something I wait for with bated breath since the last season ended. 

Now, I will admit that I am also a girl who can't wait for season to end.  About half way through the season, my beloved Seminoles will break my heart. They will lose a game they had in their hands, they will make some awful play calls, or they just won't play up to their potential. At this point, I will be tired of my whole weekend revolving around what game came on when. I will be tired of not being able to talk about anything else.

But, until that time comes, I am jumping out of my skin waiting for 6 pm when UNC takes on South Carolina. 

Here are 5 reasons that I love College Football Season.

1. The Enthusiasm:
These boys don't (technically) play for money. They play for love of the game and put their heart and soul into these games. They get so excited when they make a big play.

2. The Colors.
Ok, so clearly I am a little partial to my Garnet & Gold but there are other great team colors. I love Carolina Blue or Michigans Blue & Maize. I am such a college football fan, that I pretty much associate colors with teams and colleges. 

3. The Boys
Oh, the boys. I know that they are about 10 years younger than me by now but man, there are some attractive boys that make watching the game a little more enjoyable. 

4. The tailgates 
I don't even think I need to explain the fun of drinking and eating with 50,000 of your closest friends right before your team plays. 

5. Sheer pleasure I get from watching.
I love watching the hard hits. It goes against everything I feel as a mother, but man, I love to watch a guy lay another guy out. I know kinda understand the attraction of the gladiators in Rome. 

I love watching a good play over and over again. No matter the team, it amazes me the things these young guys can do. They are very athletically talented. 

Also, I really watching the underdog win. To feel their amazement and joy at what they just pulled off and to watch them celebrate as a team is great!

No matter what team you are routing for this season, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do!

What team are you routing for or excited to see play?

Happy College Football season!

KK

A is 10 months old!!

A Cakes is 10 months old! She has grown by leaps and bounds this month and it close to walking. This blows my mind because H crawled for 2-3 months before even making attempts to pull himself up or walk. 

H started school this past week which has been great for A & I. We actually get to spend a few house just the 2 of us on a consistent basis. I am really treasuring this time because I was not home with H while he was young so I was not the one to work with him on crawling and talking during the week. I am really just enjoying getting to know the day to day of her personality and watching that change. 

Weight: 17 lbs and 1 oz so she has gained a few ounces this past month.

Sleep: She continues to sleep through the night! She is a great sleeper. The other day I put her down to sleep and she wasn't tired. I stood outside her door for a few minutes and watched her crawl around the crib, stand up and try to reach things. It amazed me that she wasn't crying. She entertained herself until she was ready for bed. H is almost 3 and still cries every night. 

Talking: The usual Mama and Dada but I don't see it directed at either JJ or I purposefully yet. 

Teeth: No new teeth. I think another top tooth is starting to make its way down because she is drooling a lot but it hasn't shown itself yet. 

Eating: She still prefers the stage 2 baby food. I have been pretty lazy and the only solid food I have given her is bread. I plan on working on that this month.   

Right or Left handed: Pretty much only uses her right hand. 

Eye Color: Still blue. Pretty sure they are staying a deep blue with some hazel around the pupil. 

Crawling: Last weekend she started to finally crawl off her stomach and within a day was pulling herself up and walking along couches and tables. My mom says that I didn't crawl long and I can see A walking soon because she does not like to be left out. 

Nicknames: A Cakes, Baby (thanks to H), and Anns BaDans (thanks to my neice C) and now Strahan Jr because of the Strahan like gap between her front teeth

Bestfriends: She still idolizes H. If he thinks that something is funny she is laughing right along with him.  Darby (our dog) is also her favorite. Oh man, if Darby comes anywhere near her, she gets the biggest smile and laughs. 

Darby & H are definitely going to be the first things that she really walks to.

She and H have started to play together more and I love watching him actually pay attention to her and have fun with her. I think that they will be good friends. 

Personality: She is very particular. I have watched her look through a whole box of legos just to get one specific lego. It blows my mind that at 10 months she knows what she is looking for and will look until she finds it. 

She is becoming very specific with the toys she plays with. 

She is starting to love music. Any song that is played she moves her feet and when it ends she will try to sing. She has discovered a recorder and loves to play it. 

She is my little love bug and I can't wait to spend more time with her. 

I hope you have a great Wednesday!

KK

{This Moment}

{This Moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment in time. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

First Day of School: The Aftermath

Ok. So the Aftermath sounded a little extreme. 

H had a fantastic first day at school! I knew he would be OK since he would be going to my Moms preschool so if he got too upset, she would be there to make sure that he was OK and comforted. 

I didn't realize how much I would miss him. We had orientation after dropping him off so I only had about an hour and a half to kill between the end of orientation and when I had to pick him up.  A and I just came home and kinda walked around in a daze. Pick up time is noon for the 2 year old program.  I was so excited to see H and hear about his day that I left the house at 11:30 and was one of the first 10 cars. I was so giddy to see him and hear all that happened to him in the 3 hours since I had left him. 

As soon as I saw his smiling face I knew it was going to be a good year. They put him in the car in the pick up circle and then we go back to buckle the kids in. I am a little proud of this but the first thing that H said was "buckle. buckle. buckle!" He was so freaked out that he was not buckled in. It was really kinda cute. 

On the way home when I asked about his day, he let me know that he played on the playground with a dump truck but one of the wheels was broken. I told him that I would mention it to NiNi and maybe she could fix it. He just shook his head and said "No. Broken."

The 2 year old program also eat lunch at 11 so that when you pick them up they aren't cranky. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I had packed H's lunch for the first time on Tuesday night. So, one of the first things I asked is if he enjoyed eating his lunch out of a lunchbox. He let me know that he had to eat his grapes with his hands. Evidently this really offended him because he next proclaimed "pack fork!" So, I am to pack forks for his grapes.... talk about high maintenance. 

He also learned that you do not play on the elevated, stage area. One boy went up there and H just could not understand why he would do that when they told the kids not to. 

As soon as we got home, he crashed and slept for 2 hours. He woke up and was still tired. All he wanted to do was lay on the floor and watch Toy Story. I try not to let him watch too much TV but I knew how stimulating this morning was for him so I figured resting was a good thing. 

I am very excited for what the year has to bring for my little man. I am excited to see the friends he makes. I am excited to show him how wonderful his art creations are and I am excited to see how he grows. Clearly, I am on cloud 9 right now with how the day went. No one cried and everyone had fun. Win-Win.

His backpack is almost as big as he is but he loves it!!

OK. Gushing done. Did your kids start school? Did they have a great day?  

I am off to have a girls night. Margaritas and Mexican food to celebrate my first back to school as a stay at home mom! I hope your Thursday is as good as my Wednesday!

KK

H First Day of Preschool

Oh man, Oh man. My first born has started Preschool and could not be more excited about it. 

We went yesterday to meet his teacher. All morning long H kept asking "Meet teacher? Meet teacher?" As soon as we walked into the classroom, H just left my side and I didn't see him again until it was time to leave an hour later. 

H goes to the 2 year old class Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There are 18 kids in the class. 13 boys and 5 girls. I pray for the teacher and the 2 aids. That class is going to be crazy. 

H already knows a few of the kids from Sunday School but didn't seem to really recognize them in the new setting.  He didn't care. He was having a ball. 

Today was his first day of school. I don't know who was more excited, me or H!

Clearly, H dressed himself. I was going to switch his shirt around but I loved that his collar was popped and the shirt was on backwards. I knew that JJ & I would treasure this picture of the real H at this moment than the one that I put together. 

I only stayed in the room for 15 minutes to socialize with the other parents and make sure that he remembered where the bathroom was. H was too cool for me. He immediately put a baby in a shopping cart (I am assuming like I do with A) and went about his business. 

After he had the shopping cart and baby in order he went and sat down to "breakfast" with some new friends.  I love the freedom that kids have. There didn't seem to be any worries of whether someone would like them. All 4 of these kids just plopped themselves down at the table and pretended to eat together. 

As soon as I saw this, I knew that he was OK and A & I left to start our own adventure. 

So far it has been a quiet morning. A keeps crawling around the living room playing with whatever toy she wanted and laughing. I think that she was really enjoying being an only child for a few hours. I know that once this gets more routine she will miss him more but right now she is loving not having her toys taken away from her and I am enjoying a few minutes of quiet. 

As much as A and I are enjoying ourselves, I will admit that I can't wait to pick up my little man and hear about all his day had to offer for him. 

We have entered a new era and I think we are all going to enjoy it!

I hope that your Wednesday is as good as mine (and H's)!

KK

On my mind today

H was a holy terror yesterday. I blame it on the end of summer and his desperate need to start school ASAP (which happens tomorrow). 

He started the day whining for his new toy rotation box to be taken out. I let him know that the new toys would be out after quiet time. That answer did not satisfy him so he went into our bedroom and asked JJ to get the toys out! That is the first time that he has done that and it blew. my. mind.  Next he wanted to take a walk. I let him know that we would go out after A woke up from her morning nap. So, he proceeded to close all the doors in the house, very loudly, and then yell down the hall about what he was doing in the bathroom. Amazingly enough, this didn't wake A up so he decided to cry and call out for Daddy until she finally did wake up. Then, he proceeded to spend the whole morning keeping all toys away from A. He would take toys out of her hand and at one point he took her hands out from under her to keep her from getting to a toy he wanted to play with.

Right before lunch he asked me to take the top off his water bottle so he could drink it like a big boy. I took it off and turn around 2 seconds later and he has spilled water all over the table (books, my phone, the laptop, etc) in his attempt to immediately put the top back on.  At this point, I flipped my lid. 

My patience was shot from dealing with his antics all morning that I could not handle it. I yelled at him and made him get a towel to clean it up and took his cup away. I didn't comfort him as he cried. I just hardened my heart and went about getting lunch together. In an effort to calm down, I opened Bloglovin to catch up on my blogs and saw this:

This was a slap in the face/heart. It completely spoke to me at the exact moment that I needed it. I don't know which blog posted this (for some reason I couldn't find it again) but this was what I needed. 

While H had spent the morning wearing down my patience, I had spent the morning breaking my son when I didn't respond with understanding or compassion. 

H is only 2 years old. Every thing and every day is an adventure. Every thing is a game. Very rarely is he intentionally bad or mean. This morning, he was annoying most of the time but only mean once. And yet, I treated him like he was purposefully mean and being bad. He doesn't always understand why I am mad so when I react the ways that I was, it was slowly breaking and hurting my gentle-hearted little boy. 

Just realizing that (and typing it now) makes me cry. I love his adventuresome spirit and loving heart but I was not celebrating it when I was yelling at him. I was potentially hardening his heart and I don't want to do that. 

So, I have printed out the above image and put it on my bathroom mirror. I have decided to start my day reading it. It is good for me to remember that "Sorry" doesn't always fix everything. 

So, that is where my head is at today. Is this a reminder that you need? Did this help you in anyway?

I hope that you have a great Tuesday!

KK

Currently Coveting (School Edition)

School is starting back for us on Wendesday. This is my first year with a kid in school (preschool) and I was super excited to get him his first backpack and lunchbox. 

I looked around for backpacks and wanted something that would last him a few years (durability) and that he wouldn't get tired of (not liking spiderman, etc). We decided on the Pottery Barn Fairfax backpack stripped in green & blue (his favorite colors). I opted not to get a patch on it because I figure that he will outgrow and change his mind on the patch.  JJ & I also opted not to get it monogrammed. We are totally those people who think that our children are super cool and attractive and assume that other people would want them. We feel that if H doesn't have his name on his backpack it will be harder for them to steal him. 

I got his the above lunchbox. This goes against my whole "not outgrowing thing" but it was so cute how could I pass it up. H loves Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and bulldozers so I know that he will be pretty excited to carry his lunch in this.  I am super pumped to give it to him. 

Now, I like to dress him preppy. I am sure that he will hate it someday but while I have control over it, I am going to make him as preppy as I think JJ can handle. J Crew kids is one of my favorites. I rarely buy their clothes because H is one messy kid and I think that $50 for a pair of jeans that he will most likely ruin by snack time isn't worth it yet. But, that being said, now that he is in school I am going to splurge every once in a while. 

J Crew Boys - Back to School by kellykeitzer featuring polo shirts

Polo shirt
factory.jcrew.com

J.Crew Boys' slub pocket tee
jcrew.com

J.Crew Boys' Stanton short in garment-dyed chino
jcrew.com

J.Crew Boys' stripe cotton cardigan
jcrew.com

J.Crew Boys' long-sleeve slub pocket tee
jcrew.com

J.Crew Kids' Sperry Top-Sider® for crewcuts Authentic Original...
jcrew.com

J.Crew Boys' vintage cord in straight fit
jcrew.com




These are the things that I am loving and can't wait to use.

What are you excited to have your kids use at school this year? Anything that I missed that you think H needs?

KK

{This Moment}

{This Moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment in time. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Happy Friday y'all!

KK

It's {almost} Fall Y'all!!!!

Ok. So, it really isn't almost fall in Florida. It is hot as Hades (93 degrees in the morning) but a girl can dream. 

I do stand in the shade and think "you can almost smell fall in the air". JJ thinks that I am crazy and has asked once or twice how much I have had to drink.  But, I swear, at certain times of the day, if the breeze is blowing and you stand in the shade, you can tell that fall is coming. Some of our trees are already changing color and dropping their leaves! As soon as I see that I start to think that the weather is going to get cooler. 

Fall is the best season! Hands down, bar-none, cross my heart, fall would be crowned king if there was royalty in seasons. Fall means outdoor fires, chill in the air, and college football (14 days sucka!!!). 

Nothing warms my heart than college football. FSU football to be more specific but I will watch almost any game. One of JJ & my first days (during round 2) was to an FSU game so we love watching football together. H has started saying "Go Noles" to everything! He wants to cheers with his milk and when you do he says "Go Noles!". Warms my little heat when he does that. 

Now, along with football season comes boiled peanuts and seasonal beer. Sam Adams Octoberfest is by far my favorite seasonal beer. I am clearly not alone because as soon as Publix gets it in, it sells out.  They put it on the shelves on Monday morning and by Wednesday morning (when I went to get it) there was only 1 case left. You had better believe that I snatched that right up. 

Another good thing about fall? Clothes just make everyone look better. A cute sweater and a pair of jeans with boots? I will take that over shorts and a tank top any day. 

So, what are you looking forward to about fall?

KK

Living Life as a 2 year old

I truly wish that I could live my life like a 2 year old. Not go back and have everyone take care of me and play all day; that would be super nice but I want to live life with the curiosities and naivety that a 2 year old does. 

H starts every day with a fresh set of eyes.  Every morning he wakes up and everything is new. I wish that I could wake up every morning forgetting the sad things and rediscover the beauty in the little things. To be excited about just waking up in general. Instead, and maybe this is just me, but my first thoughts on waking up are "Oh God. What times is it? Do I really have to get up? Is it the weekend and JJ is around to help with the kids? What the heck am I going to do to entertain the kids all day?" Those aren't happy thoughts. 

BTW: I asked him to smile and this is what I got. Melts my heart!

I take the kids for a walk every day. We walk the same route at pretty much the same time every day. And every day, H discovers pine cones:

Pine cones! Who is excited about pine cones? That kid right up there. He has to stop and look at all the pine cones. He points to the tree that the thought they came from and then tries to put them in the stroller with A to take them all home. Daddy loves coming home to piles of pine cones :)

Then, we have the neighbors who have a butterfly garden in their front yard. We have to stop every day and count all the butterflies that are there and see how many different ones there are. 

The butterflies are pretty cool. We have been reading The Very Hungry Catepillar a lot lately so he loves to try to figure out which butterfly was the "very fat patepillar". 

Then there are plants and flowers. H has not learned the difference between plants and flowers so pretty much anything green is a "pretty plant."

We stop at all the plants on our walk and talk about how pretty they are. 

These are things that I would never stop to think about or look at if I didn't have H. I wouldn't be fascinated by pine cones or plants. I wouldn't spend 10 minutes looking at all the butterflies to figure out which one ate the slice of salami, lollipop, etc.  

So, I am trying to wake up happier and think about all the things that I get to do instead of the things that I have to do. I have a son who is not going to be 2 forever and won't want to experience these things with me. 

Ok. So this is me trying to be happier:

Have you found yourself stopping to smell the roses lately? Have you been bogged down and needed a 2 year old to teach you that life is about the little things?

KK

40 Days of Dating

I am back from the edge. With Death in my last title I am sure you guys were thinking that things were about to get real over here. But they aren't. 

So, to lighten things up, we are going to talk about 40 days of dating. 

No, I have not taken up dating. Although there are times where I miss the excitement of a first kiss or knowing where something is going to lead, I love my husband and wish to stay married with him. 

I stumbled upon this website one afternoon during the kids quiet time. Quiet time is my time to sweep and clean the floors and then kick my feet up, eat some bonbons and watch trashy TV while catching up on the blogs. 

So I was stumbling along Stumble Upon the other day and ran into the website 40 Days of Dating. It is about 2 friends (a guy & a girl) who decided to do an experiment and date each other for 40 days. They have specific questions that they answer at the end of each day and I find it fascinating to see both sides of the story.  You see the insecurities, the neediness and the aloofness of both parties. 

  

I think one reason I am enjoying this so much is because I identify with Jessica. I think that I was probably a lot like her when I was dating so it is very interesting for me to read Tim's side of the dating process. She over analyzes things and really puts too much importance into the smallest things.  I do that now!

They have gone through some ups and downs (I won't spoil it for you) but are still doing the project. They are on day 32 so there are only a couple of days left but you are able to click back and read everything. 

I am very intrigued to see how things work out. I know that some people think that they will end up together (yes, I did some extra research about this and read some other peoples thoughts on it... it is really  interesting). I don't think that they will end up together. This isn't a movie so I don't think that everything will tie up nicely at the end of 40 days. 

Go ahead and read it all here. I dare you not to get addicted!

Have you heard about this? What are your thoughts on it?

KK

Doritos Pie & Death

2013 has been an emotional year for me so far. Not only am I learning how to be a full time stay at home mom and all that entails but I had to watch my grandfather died and then 4 months later I watched my grandmother die. My mom lost both of her parents in 4 months. 

Death watches are not fun. I have been with my paternal grandfather, my mother-in-law, and my maternal grandmother & grandfather as they died.  I feel really blessed that I was able to help provide comfort to my loved ones as they passed away. I also think it is pretty amazing that all my close relatives have been surrounded my love as they draw their last breath. As hard as death is, it provides comfort to those left behind that they were able to say goodbye and that they love them. 

My grandmother has suffered from dementia for the last decade but really the last 5 years have been the worst. She didn't like loud noises, sudden movements, or unpredictability. I hadn't been able to see Granny for the last couple of years because kids and babies are loud and unpredictable. 

Over last weekend Granny stopped eating and Monday morning her extremities started to turn blue so the whole family went to be with her. It was really great. Her husband (Papa Mark), all her daughters and all her grandkids (minus my sister who was in Colorado) were able to spend the day around her bed loving on her and telling stories. About 8 pm Monday night I needed to go home so I gave her a hug, a few kisses, let her know that I had to go home but I loved her so very much and that I would see her later. She opened her mouth and tried to talk and rubbed my hand with her finger. Those were the last moments with my grandmother and I feel that we both drew great comfort from that. Even though she couldn't talk I know that she heard me and was trying to tell me that she loved me too. Granny passed away at 3 am Tuesday morning while my mom, her 2 sisters and her husband held her hand.

JJ has been fortunate enough to be able to come home and help out with the kids while I am with my family. Wednesday he had a lot to catch up on so he worked late. Since he wasn't going to be home, I decided to make some comfort food (read: unhealthy) for me and the kids. 

Doritos Pie was first made for me in college by my best friend, Nina. We would make it at least once a week. It was great to eat before we went out drinking because it would soak up some alcohol and it was great when we got home to continue to soak up the alcohol. It doesn't hurt that it is easy to make and taste good re-heated. 

Doritos Pie has come to remind me of the ridiculousness of college when we really didn't have a care in the world and didn't know that real like was coming to kick us in the butt sooner than we thought. It reminds me nights full of laughter, flirting and the thrill of the unknown. 

So, when I want to remember the good times and some comfort food, this is what I make: Doritos Pie.

Ingredients:
1 tube of Pillsbury Golden Layer Rolls
Bag of Doritos
1 lb ground beef
1 package of taco seasoning
sour cream
cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Line the bottom of a pan with the uncooked rolls. Bake for most of the time on package directions. I baked mine for 10 minutes. 
2. While rolls are baking, brown ground beef and add taco seasoning. 
3. Line baked rolls with crushed Doritos (I crushed mine as I put them on - in my hands), beef with seasoning, sour cream and cheese. 
4. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted
5. Top with Doritos and eat. 

This is a super easy meal and tastes good leftover. 

Happy Monday y'all!

KK

{This Moment}

{This Moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment in time. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

This is the last family function my grandmother, Granny, was at. Christmas 2008. This is a picture of her & my mom. 

KK

Days where I just want to scream!!

So... this was the face that I got to look at all day yesterday. AWESOME!

Yesterday was not a good day. For some reason, nothing was clicking. H & I were not on the same page about anything. These were not days that I thought about when I decided to stay home. I didn't think about the bad days; days when I am not a good mother and felt like I was failing at my job. The tough days that no one talks about. 

H cried himself to sleep the night before and decided to wake up at 5:45 instead of his normal 6:15. I didn't enjoy that at all and waking up earlier than normal meant that my patience level was low to start the day with. 

I think that H is going through a growth spurt because he fell all day long and he did not handle it well.  The kid cries like he is dying every time he fall. There was one moment when he fell and his hand went into a clean toilet. The kid freaked out!! I feel bad but at that point I just had to laugh. After a morning of crying to see him freak out because his hand got wet was just funny. 

H has regressed on the potty training front. About once a day he tinkles in his underwear. I think that he is having trouble getting the underwear down in time because I always hear him tinkle in the potty and then come out with wet underwear. Yesterday, though, he tinkled in his underwear 3 times. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to constantly remind him to go to the bathroom because once he starts preschool (17 days!) I won't be there to remind him.

A has started this lovely high pitched scream/squeal whenever you put her down or leave the room and she isn't happy about it.  It is an incredibly intense scream and she seems to love to do it.  I know that she continues to do it because she gets a reaction but how can I not react in some way when the noises she makes sends nails to my brain. 

So, the kids have been testing me. I think that God just want to show me that I am not as patient as I had originally thought. 

Also, I got a call from my mom that my maternal grandmother is dying. She has been dealing with dementia for the last 10 years but yesterday she stopped eating and her extremities are turning blue. My maternal grandfather died 2 months ago so this is a really tough blow on my mom.  My mom says that Granny looks like a concentration camp survivor. 

So... I might be taking a few days off of the blog to help Mom do all that she needs to do with Granny. 

That is my life in a nutshell right now. What a complete rambling crazy post! But, that is where my head is at. The last week has just been trying and draining. I feel like I am completely losing control of everything and I am really not enjoying it. So, if you think about it, send prayers or happy thoughts my way. 

A is 9 months old

Oh, Dear! My baby (my last biological child) is 9 months old! That means that I have to start thinking about her first birthday. But before we start planning the future, lets take a moment to look at her pretty hair (that has some major red highlights in the sun), her blue eyes and her gap toothed smile. All of these melt my heart and she knows it. 

We had a rough month. She has completed cutting all her teeth but man it made her very unhappy. We had glimpses of what she is going to be like as a teenager and I am not looking forward to that. She squeals/yells at us when we leave the room and she doesn't want to be left alone. It is actually ear-piercing.  

Look at that face. Does it say "get the camera away from me" or what!

She has really started to assert herself. H has spent the last 9 months taking toys away from her so now that she is mobile, she goes after all his stuff. She is pretty smart about it. She waits until he is distracted by something else and then makes a beeline for a toy he just finished playing with.  It annoys the poop out of H but there isn't really anything that he can do about it. 

Weight: 16 lbs 14 oz (24%). She is a skinny minnie but I think that is because she is scooting around so much! 

Height: 29 inches (90%). She is so tall that she is in 12 month sleepers because her toes poked holes in her 6 & 9 month sleepers. 

Sleep: She is finally sleeping through the night and has been for about 2 weeks. It got to the point where she would only wake up once a night and eat 2-3 ounces which means that she wasn't hungry. We decided to make her cry it out. She was clearly ready to sleep through the night because she only cried 1 night and has slept through the night since. 

Talking: She is making a lot of consonance. A lot of "Bababa", "Dadada", "Mamamama". She also yelled "GoGo" at me while I was running the other day. I appreciate that she is learning new stuff but I don't like my 9 month old scolding me because I am not running fast enough. 

Teeth: She has 6 teeth. 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom. She has a wonderful gap between between her two front teeth that we are hoping fills in as more teeth come in. 

Eating: She stopped eating baby food for a while but are back. She drinks about 3- 8 ounce bottles a day and then has 3 jars of baby food and some finger food for snacks. Banana is her favorite.   

Right or Left handed: Nothing definite yet but I am pretty sure that she will be a right handed person. She rarely uses her left hand. 

Eye Color: Still blue. I think that they are going to stay blue which makes JJ & I happy because we want someone in the family to have an eye color other than brown or hazel. 

Crawling: She is army crawling like there is no tomorrow. She speeds around the house all day. She does not let anything stop her. She has started getting up on her hands and knees and rocking so we feel like actual crawling will come soon. 

Nicknames: A Cakes, Baby (thanks to H), and Anns BaDans (thanks to my neice C) and now Strahan Jr because of the Strahan like gap between her front teeth

Bestfriends: She idolizes H. If he thinks that something is funny she is laughing right along with him.  Darby (our dog) is also her favorite. Oh man, if Darby comes anywhere near her, she gets the biggest smile and laughs. 

Darby & H are definitely going to be the first things that she really crawls or walks to.

Personality: She is becoming such a ham. If she wants attention she will suddenly start talking and smiling. Everyone comes running when she does that. She has also started to pose for the camera. 

- Take a look at the next picture. The first one shows A as I started to take pictures and then the next one is when it starts to dawn on her that the camera is out and the last is when it fully clicks that I am taking pictures. 

- That girl can turn it on when she wants to!

She kills me!

I put her hair in a ponytail for the first time and it was fantastic. Not as great as the pigtails but super cute.

So, that is my little girl at 9 months! I can't wait to see what she has grown into at a year old!

KK