Eden Recap: month 9 of life; month 2 home

Whew!  All of those parents are right when they say that time really flies and kids grow up way too fast!  June brought several milestones in our house: I went back to work (part-time for now) on June 15th, Eden turned 9 months old on June 17th, we celebrated 2 months of being home as a family of 3 on June 23rd, and Ben turned 30 on June 30th!!

That means it’s time to document Eden’s next scrapbook installment...

Physical/Medical
You’ve gained a few ounces (heehee!), so you’re approximately 15 pounds 9 ounces and you are healthy as can be! 

You got your first teeth!  2 little ones on the bottom.  And man, they are sharp!


You had a double ear infection this month (second time since we’ve been home).  The good news is that they don’t really seem to bother you.  You don’t get a fever or get fussy or anything.  The bad news is that means we don’t really know that you have an ear infection unless we happen to be at the doctor for something else.  Kind of makes us feel like bad parents when they tell us you have an ear infection and we didn’t even know anything was wrong.  Oops!

We think we’ve got your dry skin and scratching under control.  We just keep your fingernails cut short and keep your skin hydrated with lots of lotion.  Thankfully you can show off your cute clothes without a bib now!  (We used to keep one on you 24/7 to prevent you from scratching your chest).

Temperament
You are still a very content, happy, smart, and playful baby.  We are totally lucky!  


You are also a bit impatient.  For instance, if you catch a glimpse of us making you a bottle, you immediately start fussing loudly for the bottle.  Thus, we have to hide the bottle from you until we’ve got you in our arms ready to feed you.  It’s a fun game—keeps things interesting!

You’re also very impatient with diaper changes.  We think you don’t like to be naked and exposed (yay for modesty!).  As soon as the diaper comes off, you start kicking like crazy and fussing until we get the clean diaper on you.  This is not such a fun game, but it definitely keeps us on our toes!

In response to your impatient nature, we sing the “be patient” song to you (which will probably irritate you as you get older).  Here are the lyrics…“Be patient, be patient, don’t be in such a hurry.  When you get impatient, it’s then you start to worry.  Remember, remember, that God is patient, too.  And think of all the times that others had to wait for you.”  Yeah, we’re pretty sure you’re going to hate that song when you’re older…

Development
You are easily sitting up on your own—no more bobbing over anymore.  Your Uncle Adam says you have great posture! J  You are even pulling up on things to stand!



You are starting to crawl.  The only thing keeping you from a full crawl is that pesky right leg that you can’t quite get out from under you when you’re in “crawl position.”  We’re going to start baby-proofing the house because we know you’ll be crawling soon!

You use your little fingers all of the time.  You love to feel different textures and you grab all sorts of things!  It’s so cute to watch your little “pinchers” (pointer finger and thumb) exploring the world around you.

Communication
You talk a lot!  You say baba, dada, mama, hi, etc.  And you love making sounds with your mouth…clicking with your tongue, motorboat with your lips, etc.

We’ve decided that your first intentional word (and only one so far) was Mama.  That makes your mama very happy!  Your daddy is a bit jealous.

You don’t do your “trill” much anymore.  Hopefully that’s because you’re not as frustrated as you were when you first came home.  Haha!  

Food
You still drink 4 bottles (approximately 6 ounces each) a day, but you’ve graduated to eating more chunky foods instead of just purees.  You still are a great eater and are not picky at all!  Avacados and bananas are among your favorites, but you even liked the curried red lentils you tried recently!

At every meal we give you your own spoon to hold and it’s fun to watch you learn how it works.  You typically will follow one of our bites that we give you by putting your spoon in your mouth.  Recently we watched as you used your spoon to scoop up a piece of avocado and get it to your mouth.  You are so smart!

You crack us up when you try something cold.  With ice cream, you make a terrible face when the coldness hits your mouth, but you love the taste, so you always go back for more. 



Sleep
You are still consistently taking a 1 - 2 hour nap in the morning and the afternoon, which is awesome!  Your nighttime sleep is a bit inconsistent, but it’s getting better.  You typically wake up at least once a night and are up for an hour or so before you go back down.  The good part is that, when you’re awake, you’re happy (the only exception to that is if your tummy or your mouth hurts).  The bad part is that you’re awake at 3:00 in the morning!  But we make the best of it and get a lot of snuggles in while you’re up.

We’ve found that our slings are magical!  If you are truly tired, but are just fighting sleep, all we have to do is put you in one of our slings (we both have one) and you instantly calm down and eventually give in to dreamland.  Awww, you must love the closeness to us!  And the fact that your arms are restrained when you’re in the sling probably has something to do with it as well!


Loves
The things you absolutely LOVE haven’t changed much since last month.  You still LOVE…

Jumping!  In your jumper, in our laps, wherever you can make your legs go.



Water!  Splashing, dunking your face under, being sprayed, anything involving water.



Dogs!  As they lick your face, when they walk in the room, when their tail whacks you in the face, anything involving dogs.



Soothie!  You’re really attached to it (your pacifier).  It’s awesome now, but it makes us nervous for a year or so down the road.



Books!  Your love of books really developed recently.  You love to sit and have someone read you a book.  You actually pay attention for a long time.  You are so smart!


Daddy!  You love to play with Daddy.  And you love rubbing his head (we think you like the feeling of his buzzed haircut on your hand).  You’re not fond of being surprised, though (Daddy learned that the hard way when he made you cry because he plopped down beside you and said “boo!”). 


Mommy!  You love your Mommy.  If she’s in eyesight, you reach up and say “mama, mama!”










7 comments:

Lindsey said...

Sweet Lauren... I am sure she will really appreciate this blog down the road :).

Brooke said...

That last pic is my fav. Keep it. Frame it. Blow it up. All those things...

Becca Harley said...

oh lauren - she is just precious!!! her "roomie" Alemnnesh says hi!!!:)

Felisha said...

Beautiful!

The Prescott's said...

So special to hear all the updates. It feels good to have her call your name....such a milestone. We sing the be patient song to Angela too...hopefully it will sink in one of these days:) Can't wait to plan a playdate. Love you guys!

G said...

Hi, Lauren! Thank you for your sweet comment. :)

LOVE these pictures--she is so beautiful!

Beza does the same thing with her bottles and we also try to hide them until they're ready. :)

And the Patient song is awesome!!! I need that one even for myself. :)

Unknown said...

Hi! I just found your blog and noticed something pretty ironic and had to share :) We have a daughter whose name is also Eden and she was born September 17, 2010! SMALL WORLD! I happened upon your blog because my husband and I are planning to adopt and I have been interested in AGCI and have been enjoying reading about other families experiences. As soon as I saw your little Eden and her birth date I had to comment. What a beautiful daughter you have and congratulations! (Sorry, I would have emailed this since its rather long, but couldn't find an email). Praying for you and your family as you enjoy parenthood!

-Mallory