9 Months

 Well another month has flown by and Miss Tessa is 9 months old!

Tessa is weighing in at 15 lbs 6 ounces and is still wearing size 2 diapers although I think this might be the last of them.  She's such a wiggler that she seems to be able to wiggle out of them so I might move her up to size 3 next time I buy them!  She's fitting into 6-9 month clothes but still wears some 3 month outfits too...just depends on the outfit!  

As for eating she's pretty much on the same schedule.  She nurses 4 times a day and takes one 4 oz formula bottle.  I did start feeding her lunch this month because I could tell she was hungry!  When I introduced lunch she dropped the 2 oz bottle at dinner.  She has loved all the purees I have made and I even added a little pumpkin to her fruit medley this last time!  I just started giving her finger foods this past week and she is doing great.  Before the finger foods she would have a YoBaby yogurt for breakfast, 3 cubes of food for lunch, and 5 cubes for dinner.  She loves to snack on Mums and Puffs as well!  Her first finger food was some pumpkin pancake and she loved it!  This past week I've been giving her bread, corn, grapes, avocado, strawberries, and honeydew and so far so good.  She does a good job of picking it up and getting it into her mouth!  For as much as this girl eats and as little as she is it's clear she is just blessed with a great metabolism!

She still just has her two bottom teeth!  I thought she was having another spell of teething but so far nothing has shown up!

She's been sleeping great but I've had to throw in the towel on getting the girls to sleep in the same room...at least for now!  My goal was to get it done while Jason was gone but then I realized I need sleep to care for two little ones on my own..haha!  A few nights of Tessa waking up crying which then woke Riley up and going into find them both screaming was enough for me!  Tessa still cries some nights but if left alone she gets herself right back to sleep...but if she's in the room with Riley it most often wakes Riley up and at that point there's no chance of her getting herself back to sleep!  So she's back to the guest room for now and I think I might just have Jason move her crib in there for now.  I still nap her in her crib so she is used to it as well and she sleeps in there at night on Friday and Saturday because those are the nights Riley gets to sleep with me when Jason is out of town!  She still takes 2 good naps a day about 1 1/2 hours each...and on the days we are out and about she might take 3 shorter ones...she is still very flexible and I'm so grateful for that!  She will sleep in the carrier, in the stroller, in the ergo...she's easy!  She sleeps a consistent 10-12 hours at night and I can't complain!  She usually always is up between 6:30 and 7:00 but she just hangs out in her bed for 15 minutes before she really starts fussing for me to get her...I hope she continues to wake up mellow and snuggly like her big sister!

I love this passed out face..just want to schmooch those cheeks!

This girl is REALLY on the move now and she is wearing me out!

She is constantly on the go...crawling, pulling up, opening cabinets, pulling drawers, looking for outlets, putting anything and everything in her mouth!  Changing her diaper should require at least 2 adults...it's such a challenge as she constantly is trying to roll over and crawl away!  I always have to have a toy to let her hold onto and hope that it occupies her...most of the time she likes to hold the diaper cream tube but sometimes we have to change things up!

She's also SOOO fun to play with...she loves to play peek-a-boo, chase, and has even been crawling through the tunnel!

Even though she's home with me all the time she is a social girl and she loves being with other babies!  We belong to a gym that has great childcare and she spends several hours a week in the care of the sweet folks there and she does great!  Only in the last few weeks has she ever cried when I drop her off and even when she has they can get her distracted and happy in minutes!  They LOVE her and fight over who gets to hold her when I'm walking in the door!  She's also done great in the church nursery.  The last time I dropped her off she started crying but as soon as she saw her friends and toys she was all smiles!  

Addi is her BFF!  These two are so fun together and now they really get excited when they see each other!  I love it!

This month she got to go to her first story time at the library!  She was not too interested in sitting and listening to the story but more interested in crawling around to all the other babies...such a socialite!

 She also got to ride in the "car" cart at the commissary for the first time!  Riley was SOOO excited to have Tessa in their with her!  She did great and was evening turning the steering wheel like a big girl!

I keep telling Jason I think Tessa might be our wild child!  The jury is still out but she's much more active and into things at this age than Riley was...that's for sure!  I think a lot of that is normal for the second kiddo!

What are you looking at mom?

I found her with the wooden spoon this last week and sent Jason a text saying "uh oh...who's in charge here?...help!"

All I know is she is a happy girl with the most contagious smile and she can be as wild as she wants to be as long as she is a sweet girl!

 

She's getting more interested in playing with Riley!  Sometimes it is hard for Riley to understand that Tessa isn't just going to play what Riley wants to play but we're working on it!  Riley is an AMAZING big sister and is constantly doting over her sister and saying "she is soooo cute"!  She wants to hug and kiss her all day long and she longs for Tessa to show her affection and attention!

Here's the comparison pic...I think they start to look more like each other the older Tessa gets!  They definitely look like sisters but I still see their differences!

All about Riley

 It's time for a post dedicated to my big girl...what an amazing personality she has!

 She has a love for life, an outgoing personality, a sweet heart for her friends, a genuine curiosity, a smart little mind, and she is just so much fun to be around!

 Don't get me wrong...she challenges me in ways that drive me crazy sometimes and I think this year has really been the hardest.  She has an opinion, she is very smart, and she's testing the waters for what will work and even though I want to be her best friend I have had to suck it up many times and first be her mom.  It's so hard...the hardest job on this planet!  But the hard moments don't even compare to the amazing conversations, the belly laugh giggles, and the love this girl has!  I am honored to be her mama!

Here are some things I've been jotting down over the last couple of months that I want to remember about this stage of life with Riley!

* She absolutely loves lunchables...I'm not proud of that but sometimes they are very convenient...but they literally make her day! :)
* She often rides a roller coaster of emotions.  In a short span of time she will go from arguing and yelling "I can do what I want to do" to almost taking it overboard by saying "I love doing chores and sharing God's blessings with the world and I love to obey my mommy" :)
*  In an effort to make our mornings not so unbearable with the daily disdain for her simple chores of getting dressed, making her bed, and brushing her teeth I made a super cute chore chart and the reward for checking off all of her boxes was a trip to the treasure chest where I had it stocked with lots of fun princess toys.  It is not a perfect system and we seem to stray from it...it's hard to figure out what the right method is!
* We carpool with Carter for preschool...Faith usually does the morning carpool and I usually do the afternoon carpool.  We often text each other about the hilarious conversations.  One day I was doing the morning run and realizing how much more entertaining it was because they aren't so tired...Riley was going on and on about something and explaining it in extreme detail when Carter stopped her mid-sentence and simply said "that's too many words Riley")...I about drove off the road I found that so funny.

 
*  Riley LOVES to dress in her wedding dress and talk about all things wedding.  Sometimes it scares me but I think it's normal!  She has had some legitimate crushes...first with a little boy Cash at the CDC and then a little boy Wyatt at Shepherd of the Hills.  She got a cute flower girl dress from Ellie and wears it ALL the time...when we go to AR she gets to wear the dress Gaby wore in our wedding!

*  Riley continues to pic something and master it.  In the last year she has completely mastered hoola hooping or "hoola looping" as she calls it and she can also do a pretty darn good cartwheel!
*  One day she came home and asked if we wanted to play "tag you hear it" and we were a bit puzzled until we figured out that was her interpretation of "tag you're it"...so cute!

*  One of my favorite things to do with Riley is to bake and we also love to watch Cupcake Wars.  As soon as we start watching an episode she is ready to get her kitchen toys out and play Cupcake Wars...it's so cute and fun!  Just for the record I'm always the baking assistant! ;)

* We tell her every day that she is beautiful but we have really been working on teaching her the difference between being beautiful on the inside and the outside.  I think she's the most beautiful girl in the world but I want her inner beauty to overshadow her outer beauty!

* Riley is really an emotional girl...she has genuine emotions for and towards her friends.  One day we were at a gymnastics playdate and her friend Kylee hurt her arm and had to go to the emergency room.  Riley was literally in tears she was so sad for her friend.  This year for 4 year old preschool she switched from T, Thur to the M,W,F class and left behind her best friend Maddy.  She has been in tears on a couple of occasions about how much she missed her best friend.  She also tends to get her feelings hurt very easily.  When a friend says or does something not so nice she is in tears because her feelings are hurt.  This is a tough one because I don't ever want her to feel like she has to hide her emotion, but she is also a girl and can use those emotions in a negative way too.  Like I said...she's a smart one!
* Riley has a crazy imagination!  Sometimes it just comes out in her world of playing and sometimes she likes to pretend that it's real!  When my parents were in town for my birthday she would not give up on the fact that she broke her leg "many years ago" and was on crutches and her parents just don't remember..haha!
* Whenever Riley starts a sentence with "i have a great idea" it's clearly going to be a moment where she wants to do something you will probably have to say no to..good try honey!
* When Riley gets an answer that she doesn't like she's been saying "how do you think that makes me feel?"  I think they encourage talking about things like this at school but sometimes it drives me bonkers.  I vividly remember one day after we dropped Carter off from school and I told her we were going to the store.  She wanted me to go home so she could get a toy to take to the store and I was not going to do that.  She pitched a huge fit and ended her tantrum with "how do you think that makes me feel?"
* I got a new pair of glasses and Riley kept asking to play with my old ones.  She would put them on and sit in bed and "read" her Bible...sweet thing!  I didn't want her wearing my prescription glasses so I found a super cheap pair with plain lenses at Claire's one day and she was in love!  She now tells everyone she wears them for her allergies...just like her mama!

* One Saturday Riley was going with Jason to run a quick errand and she asked if they could go get a treat...here's how the conversation went down:
    J: "no not tonight..it's too late"
   R: "maybe just a toy treat and not a drink treat Daddy..is that a good idea?"
   J:  "no honey..we're just going on a ride in my truck"
   R:  "awww...I thought we were buddies"
*  She has become a huge fan of Doc McStuffins on the Disney channel and absolutely loves playing doctor!  When we went in for Tessa's 6 month appt she taught Dr Tan about "ostenosis." She explained this diagnosis as a "big little booboo on the horse's hair that needs a shot"
* Some days she likes to pretend that I'm Riley, she's the mommy, and Tessa's her baby...on any given day I can't remember who she is or who I'm supposed to be but she plays the parts well.  Sometimes she pretends that we are friends and we do things together with our babies..me with Tessa and her with Sally...she's say to me "oh what's your name again?" and then "are you that new girl from Bible study?...It's so good to see you again..i thought i'd never see you...what's your baby's name?" - She is soooo funny!
* One night she was looking at a magazine and saw a picture of lamb chops and had some questions...she was a little concerned when she realized it was a lamb and I told her God created some animals to be good healthy food for humans. Then she asked if zebra was yummy and I said no and she said "phew"
*  Her latest phase is one where she wants to be JUST like her mama! I mean down to every little detail!  I try to have fun with it but sometimes it gets frustrating because there are just some things I can't let my 4 year old do or have and she doesn't like that.  She wants keys just like mine, a diaper bag just like mine, she picks out clothes and says "it's a real mommy shirt", and she is convinced she is a "real" mommy!  Jason reminds me that it is the biggest compliment that she wants to be just like me and he's so right!  I love her to pieces and I'm honored she wants to be like me!  Here's a few examples:

   She wanted a gym bag just like mine so we used her princess sleeping bag carry case to use as her gym bag...she has her shoes, her dirty clothes in a plastic bag, her makeup bag, a case for her shower soap, hair dryer, and a brush!

I have hosted Bible study at the house the past few weeks and it's actually been hard for Riley because she wants to come out and be a part of Bible study.  I know how smart she is and how her little mind works and so I explained to her that this is mommy time and she needed to stay in her playroom.  She did pretty good hanging out in my room or her playroom but when we were almost done and doing prayer requests she just couldn't wait anymore and she brought her build a bears out and her dolls and set up her own Bible study...it was the cutest thing and I just love the way God made this special girl!

Riley - you are a joy and we are constantly amazed by you...the questions you ask, the concepts you put together, your zeel for life, and how smart you are!  God has big plans for you sweet girl and we are so thankful we are a part of it!

Grammie Comes to Town!

 We were so excited to have Grammie come visit for a weekend while Jason is gone and we had lots of girl time planned!

She ended up having quite a travel day and getting in much later than we thought but we were just glad she was here and we headed to Dad's Kitchen...a diner in Sacramento that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives!

 The food was GREAT...they are known for their burgers and they didn't disappoint!  We headed home with full bellies and some tired little girls!

Riley went to school on Friday and Grammie watched Tessa while I did a few things BY MYSELF and got some work done!

I started the day getting my hair cut and going to Starbucks BY MYSELF to drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte and work.

I headed home to pick up Hank for his vet appointment on base and got him all taken care of and then headed home for a work call.

It was so nice to be able to get out alone...much needed for me! I love love love my girls but this mama needed a little break!

We picked up Riley from school and ran a few errands to get supplies for some Pinterest projects...fun fun fun!

That night I made pumpkin pancakes for dinner and we ate outside because the weather was just gorgeous!

Me and my girls...oh how I love being their mama!

 Grammie and her girls!

 Tessa was just starting to try finger foods and I let her have some pumpkin pancake...I couldn't get it on her highchair quick enough...she LOVED it!

 Saturday morning we headed to Riley's first soccer practice this fall.  She moved up to the 4 and 5 year old group and had a blast!

 Tessa cheered and then had to stop and have a snack!

Oh and Grammie's necklace was on the of the pinterest projects! I made it with an old Aggie tshirt so she can wear it to the A&M games!

After soccer we headed to the farmer's market and then cooked a yummy dinner and has Ashley and her kiddos over to eat since her hubby was out of town!  Another nice dinner outside and the kids got to run around and have a ton of fun!

Sunday we went to church, lunch with friends, and then we were off to the outlet malls to shop 'til we dropped...which doesn't take long with two kids..haha!  Actually the girls did great!

We had to stop so Riley could ride her horse Quicksilver!

 And we stopped for drinks too because we were famished!

It was a fun day of shopping and that night my mom and I worked on another pinterest project after the girls went to bed...we finished it the next morning and it turned out super cute!

What a fun weekend...we miss you Grammie and can't wait until our next visit!

Ollie-Fun!

Ollie got to come and spend a whole weekend with us!

 Riley and Ollie are best buds and get along GREAT!  As soon as Ollie walked in the door Riley said "Ollie are you ready for me to give you a makeover?" and Ollie replied "yup"...that's why they are best buds! :)

After the makeover Ollie got busy working with the tools!

 And Riley was a smoothie maker!

 Tessa was just having fun being in the middle of all of it!

 Later we headed outside where Riley and Ollie went camping!

 Riley loves to play camping...camping chairs, sleeping bags...she's got it all covered!

 Time to sleep!

 Tessa was just playing away!

This is her new face where she scrunches her nose and it just cracks me up!

 We had dinner outside...love these two!

 And of course this cutie loves to eat anything and anywhere!

 There was a little more time for playing before we headed inside!

 They had their cowboy hats on getting ready for Ella's cowgirl party the next morning!

And of course the night ended with a movie and popsicles!

 The next morning we headed out to Joyful Acres for Ella's cowgirl party!

Izzy needed a ride so I had a car full of kiddos!

 

It was over the top cute and Sara planned such fun things for all the kids!

 Riley was the lone ranger...the only boy...and he ate it up!

 There was cookie making, square dancing, scavenger hunts, and rides on a tire swing!

 Our pretty cowgirl!

Sunday we went to church and then I was brave and took all 3 kids to the commissary that afternoon!

Riley and Ollie got to ride together in the car cart so they had a blast and I carried Tessa in the carrier!

Then the kids played outside before dinner!

Hannah came and got Ollie later that night after he was fast asleep!

Phew...I survived!

Have three kids all by myself all weekend about did me in!  The kids were good...a few episodes that almost sent me to the looney bin..but all in all they were really great!  It's just juggling three kids especially with the fact that Tessa is all over the place and into everything right now.  I needed to be in two places at once on numerous occasions but that just isn't possible!  I notoriously stay up too late while Jason is gone and Saturday I realized I needed a good night's sleep so I would have the energy and patience to take good care of these kiddos...so Sunday was a much better day for me! :)

It was a fun weekend and I think everyone was worn out...in a good way!