Tula is so easy right now!!! Sleep has gotten so much better, she is usually only waking once per night. She goes down around 8 and wakes around 4 am to eat, then goes right back down and usually sleeps till around 7 or 7:30. She has been waking a little earlier sometimes, and even 7 is much earlier than what I am used to (she slept till 9 for the longest time) but the fact that we are all getting such great sleep throughout the night makes up for it so I really am not complaining. The best part is that she wakes up and plays in her crib for awhile before letting out her little yelps for me to come get her. When I go into her room she has the worlds biggest smile for me everyday, without fail. There could not be a sweeter thing to wake up to, and as tired as I may be stumbling down the hall to her room in the morning, the smile I get as a reward for going in and picking her up is worth every missed minute of sleep.
Oh yeah, she is now officially pulling herself up on everything. This really just started in the last week or so. She had tried a few times before that but now every morning I go in there and find her either kneeling or standing, holding onto her crib bars for dear life. Now that the weather has been a little warmer and she is out of her footed PJ's she is finding it a lot easier to get the balance she needs to pull herself up. I realized this last Thursday, we had an all day jammy day (I has a nasty 24 hour flu bug) and as hard as it was for both of us t stay cooped up in the house all day, I think Tula really enjoyed it. Mommy had to pull out all the tricks. First of all, I have never done this before but I pretty much had the TV on for her all day long. That way, she would be somewhat entertained when I had to bolt to the bathroom for what felt like forever. She loved to just hang out in the big room pulling herself up on everything. She would stand at the ottoman with one hand holding herself up and kind of lean against it and watch TV. It was really cute. She just looked so old standing there, when I would come into the room and see her I almost couldn't believe it.
Now, after a few days of it, we are having to start with the "No's". Now that she is mobile with crawling AND able to pull herself up she can get into pretty much anything. The first few days it was cute, and I liked watching her explore and see everything for the first time. She loves opening up anything and taking out its contents right now. Baskets, boxes, cupboards, drawers, you name it. So I have tarted to be selective with which ones she can play in and which ones she can't. For example, in the kitchen, she can go into the Tupperware cabinet but not the one that holds all the baking stuff. So tonight when she would open the wrong one I would say (sternly) "Hey!" to get her attention, and then "No." Well she like the "hey" part and although she didn't have it down perfect she was definitely trying to mimic me. She kept making a similar noise to get my attention in the kitchen and would point at me, like I pointed at her when I said it.
The babbling has really increased and I am starting to notice her trying to copy sounds and noises that I make. Even facial and hand expressions sometimes. She pretty much has waving figured out. Oh yeah, the other day during out sick TV day I someone on the TV said "bye" and she started waving at the TV. How cute is that? Sometimes she misses the boat and waves after someone is gone (she did that to the waitress ho patiently waited forever to catch a wave). As soon as she was gone, Tula gave her a great big wave. To be witnessed only by Mommy and Grandpa. What a kid. She is definitely saying Dada and I am pretty sure she knows what it means, she even has said Da-Dee a few times. But Mama is not even close. I have never heard any sort of an "M" sound come from her at all and she thinks it is just a silly word judging by the look she gives me every time I try and say it to her. She is gonna make me wait for that one, I guess. I am so excited to hear it I can hardly stand it! For now, I will take my "Hey" grunts with the point. That really made me laugh tonight.
It has been such an interesting month watching her personality develop. I feel like now that she is able to communicate a little better with me what she likes/needs/wants it really has given me an opportunity to get to know her better. She is not just the baby she once was to me. With food, she insists that she look into the bowl of dinner before I start feeding her. She won't take a bite until she knows what color dinner is. And right now, if its green, she is not happy about it. She also loves her routine, which reminds me so much of her Daddy. I know its a baby thing too, but she especially loves going for her after dinner walk. She will sit in the stroller so happy. But I sometimes feel like she is just as happy about the fact that she knew a walk was next than the fact we are actually walking. She loves to eat first in the mornings before anything else. She is all smiles till I bring her into bed with me and we snuggle while she nurses. If I dare try and change her diaper first, she freaks. She likes it to be the same every morning. Eat first, then diaper. She likes to hold a water bottle while riding in her carseat. She actually has been known to get quite upset if she drops said water bottle at any point during the car ride. She likes Daddy to do bathtime, becaue he usually does, and seems annoyed and just not near as happy when I do it. Just all these little things that she likes done a certain way, and she is not happy when you try and switch it up on her.
We started Rolly pollies this month as well, which is kind of like a baby gym. We joined with her little friends Dani, Kayden and Tatum. It's an hour long Mommy and Me class once a week. We sing a couple songs together, but mostly it is a playtime for her and the other babies. There are all sorts of neat and new things for her to try. A little baby rollercoaster (see video below), a platform swing, a foam pit, a trampoline. A lot of different stuff you wouldn't see anywhere else. I find it is a time to really see her personality by watching how she reacts to all the new surroundings. And maybe its watching her along with the other kids and comparing her in a way. I see some that will dive in and try anything. Some seem to be having so much fun. Tula is very unphased. She is having fun, but loves to watch. She wont just attempt a new activity, she likes to see everyone else do it first. If the other kids seem to be having fun, she will try. If she is just with me, and we are off doing our own thing, she will go back to trusting my reactions and encouragement, but when others are around she likes to watch them as well too get a feel for the situation. She just really seems to be an observer right now, which makes me think even more about how she is her Daddy's girl. That is so similar to John. Don't get me wrong, I see me in her from time to time as well, but I do love seeing her not just look like her Dad, but acting like him too. John has such a gentle spirit, and it seems to be rubbing off on her. She is sooooo chill!
John has been working so much lately. Really long days and lots of weekends. So Tula and I have getting know each other extra well....lol. As much fun as it has been, I really love being home with her and am so thankful that I can be, it has been more exhausting than I ever imagined. It could b the pregnancy as well, I almost 20 weeks and getting bigger by the day. The days John doesn't get home till after she is in bed are tough though, because I literally DO NOT get a break from the time she wakes up till bedtime. It can make for an exhausted Mommy sometimes. Thankfully, I have a great group of friends here and a Mommy Group to chat with and get lots of love and support. I am so thankful for all of them, I don't know what i would do without them in my daily life. It has made bing a First Time Mom so fun, sharing the experiences with others going through the same thing, and I am excited to have made some friends who I hope will be a part of our lives for a long, long time. Having them around has been such a joy it has *almost* taken the sting away of missing my hubby so much while he's been working like a dog. Thanks Ladies!
So other than that there is not too much new. I took Tula to get her weighed and she is pretty much off the charts for her size. At 9 months old, weighing in at a whopping 15 pounds, 8 ounces (they didn't check her height this month). She weighs the same as she did two months ago. last month, she had lost a little, I guess because of crawling and just starting to be on the move and burning more calories. So she packed a little wight back on but not enough to keep her on the charts. But she is strong and healthy and thriving and I guess that is all that counts. I hear "She is so tiny" all the time and I guess I don't really notice till I see her beside other kids her age. She really is just a little tiny thing. I keep telling her she will be thankful for those genes in about 13 years, and every time she put on a bikini after that...lol. Seriously, she is healthy and well, but yes, she is definitely on the "petite" side. who's kidding who, she is keeping her weight down cause she feels sorry for her preggo Mama who still has to lug her butt around. I don't know what I would do if she was an average size. Yikes! She is still eating solids three times a day and nursing between 5 and 6 times a day. I have tried giving her milk in a sippy cup but she isn't overly interested. She likes Cheerios for a mid morning and mid afternoon snack. Finger foods are becoming increasingly popular, sometimes she insists on feeding herself and refuses anything from the spoon (what's with that?!?!) Most of the time she is a pretty good eater, I don't think she is that picky but I think it has more to do with the whole routine thing I mentioned earlier. She is still on a banana strike (two months now, I am convinced she will hate then forever). She eats apples mixed with cereal for breakfast, Cheerios for snack, yogurt for lunch (she get really mad if I try and switch this up), Cheerios or MumMums for afternoon snack then sweet potatoes for dinner. Sometimes alone or mixed with a green veggie. She loves to snack on defrosted frozen peas and carrots after her dinner. Sometimes after her lunchtime yogurt I will give her bits of whatever I am eating (usually just whatever is in my wrap) and she seems to like that. I still find most of what I cut up and give in the side of her high chair so she is def not ready to self feed an actual meal to herself. Oh yeah, Grilled Cheese seems to be an exception to the rule. She made sure not to drop a bite. Do we have a selective "dropper" on our hands? Uh-oh!
Kay, its 1 am and WAY past my bedtime! I am 3 months away from her first birthday and am totally in shock. I said to my sister the other day I am glad I am pregnant cause I am already missing my baby baby. Sometimes I go in and see her in her crib and she is absolutely, without a doubt, a little girl laying there and I can't remember when that happened. I must have blinked. Shoot. I said I wasn't going to do that.... I am really going to try and soak up the next few months of babyness with Tula and am looking forward to the summer with her. We are going swimming with all her friends tomorrow and it should be lots of fun! I will try and post some pics of it if I remember to whip out the camera at all. For now, here is a new one of Tula from this afternoon, pulling herself up on the stool in her bedroom. Enjoy!
