Valentine's Party

This is a little late, but for Valentine's Day I went and helped out in Audra's classroom for the classroom party. I knew I could only stay for a few minutes because there was a PTA meeting I wanted to go to, so I told Audra I might not go to the party at all. She got really sad and said, 

"Mom, you HAVE to come. You're awesome."

Well, how I could not go after she said that?

Bath Time

Ever since she was born, Camille has hated bath time. Audra even avoids helping out at bath time because she hates hearing Camille cry. Often that's the only time that she does cry. But now she finally seems to tolerate bath time OK. And today she was awfully cute- see for yourself:

9 Months

Yes, it's still hard to believe: Camille is 9 months old!

There's been lots of big changes- she isn't a newborn anymore!

She has always LOVED eating paper. But now that she is more mobile it has become much easier for her to get to paper. Her 9 month sign didn't stand a chance:

Here's a good picture of her one tooth. Actually, the one next to it did pop through, and a top tooth has almost come through, but you just can't really see them yet. I love her one-tooth smile:

She's still a pretty easy going baby, but she is also definitely learning how to exert her will. For example, the nanosecond that you put her into her booster seat, you had better have food for her! She does NOT like to be in her seat without food! A spoon for her to play with also helps (though it makes feeding her MUCH more difficult).

Here's some milestones for 9 months:

New foods: Cauliflower (not a fan, but will eat it if mixed with other foods), broccoli, wheat germ, Cheerios (she LOVES Cheerios), pears, tofu (another thing she doesn't care for on it's own, but she will eat it with other food), beets

First word: She says "Mama!" I am not 100% certain that she knows what she is saying, but it seems like she does, and she says it a lot! She said it for the first time Feb. 9.

Mobility: As you have seen pictures of before, she LOVES standing up. She LOVES climbing stairs- so we have to be real careful because our house has a lot of stairs. Gates are all in place, so we should be OK, but she has gotten a few bruises on her little forehead due to her love of climbing.

Sleep: For the most part she is sleeping all through the night. Sometimes she wakes up at 6 to nurse and goes back to sleep until 8-8:30, but she will also just sleep all the way through until 8. Either way, it is MUCH better than throwing in 2 AM feedings- those are OVER! Halleluah! She will ONLY sleep in her crib, which is tough sometimes with swim lessons and other activities. Ben leaves every Sunday after sacrament so she can have a nap, which stinks, but that's where we are at right now. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

She likes peek-a-boo and loves being tickled on her tummy. She HATES loud noises and starts screaming if she hears one. She can't keep socks or shoes on, but almost always wears a smile. She likes toys, but doesn't have a specific toy that she loves more than others.

Overall, she is doing great!

How Helpful Is Daddy?

Not much has been happening around here. I feel incredibly busy and it's hard to catch a breath, but it's not because we are doing anything fascinating- swim lessons, fulfilling church assignments, school, play dates, etc.

But we did get a miniscule amount of snow on Saturday. About 1/2 an inch. Ben decided to take the girls sledding. Not surprisingly they were the only ones there, but they were thrilled.

When they got home Audra was excited to tell me how great it was. But there was one disconcerning thing that was said:

Audra: We went to the very top of a HUGE hill. 

It was really scary!

Me: Did Daddy protect you?

Audra: No. He pushed me.

Must I always be the one to protect my children? Sigh.

Swim Lessons

I finally got around to signing the girls up for swim lessons. Two things helped me decide to do it:

1. I didn't have to go in the pool with them
2. They could take the same class together

They were very excited to start, and they did a great job. There are three kids (including them) in the class. The third girl cried and cried the entire time- poor girl. My girls definitely have no fear of water! It was fun to sit on the sidelines and watch.

 Camille just sat on the side, ate some banana, and won the cuteness award.

Conversation With Audra

Audra: Mom, how did Camille come out of your tummy?

Me: The doctor cut a hole in my tummy and pulled Camille out.

Audra: Did a lot of food fall out?

Me: (Laughs hysterically)

Botanical Gardens

We went with Ben's parents and took the girls to the Botanical Gardens today. The weather was pretty nice- especially for February 1st- and we had a great time. Even though there really weren't any gardens to see, they did have an old time village and old schoolhouse and such for the girls to see. We decided we definitely need to go back in the springtime!


Somehow Claire always takes the easy route...

 They have a little tree house the girls got to play in. They LOVED it- I would have too if I was a little kid!

 Audra on a tractor:

 Claire checking out some goats:

 Then, I am actually very sad to show this next picture:

On January 1st, Camille started crawling. Now, just one month later, today she learned to pull herself up into a standing position. Now that's all she wants to do! I am sure by March 1st she will be walking.

This really upsets me....