Molly: 11 months

Here we are! A short few weeks away from no longer having an infant in the house... BITTERSWEET!!!

Tooth count: Eight... four up and four down.

Favorites: She love love loves green beans right now. And pouches! (Baby food in the little squeeze pouches.) The way she downs those things you would assume we never feed her!!! And aside from baby food & table food it's still all breastmilk and water.

Mol Mol loves to wear hats! And she does really well at keeping bows on most of the time, too. Oh and she loves to see herself on my phone!!

Milestones & stuff: She is pulling/pushing herself up into an almost standing position lately. You can tell she really wants to walk but isn't quite ready yet.

She's also sitting up... but unconventionally. She sits in a "W" position... which we are trying to correct but it's really difficult when that's all she wants to do!

"W" sitter

Molly falls over and bumps her head DAILY. I do not remember this happening so much with Presley. If you know me (as a parent) then you might know I HATE to see my kids hurt. So I'm learning to tolerate it better or not freak out as much when it happens. Another time when I literally thank God for breastfeeding... boobs solve everything!

She's getting really good at clapping. Whenever we say, "Yaaay!" over something, she will join in and clap!

Molly is a little growler and it will never get old to me! So so cute.


Still fits into size 3 diapers but we have a couple boxes of size 4 so that's what she's been wearing lately. Also still fits into most of her 9 month clothes but we've mostly got her in 12 month clothes.

Oh and as if I really have to say it, but Molly adores Presley. And the feeling is completely mutual. They're so good to each other. Presley is protective of Molly... Molly was chewing on a spare outlet cover we have and since Presley associates the little covers with outlets, she said, "Molly! No ma'am! That's dangerous!" It makes me so happy that Presley looks out for her and cares about her wellbeing! And Presley is so proud of Mol. If we're out and about and someone starts talking to Presley, Presley will tell them, "Yeah... and this is my sister, Molly." :) When we go up to work to visit Tony she will remind him, "Kiss Molly, too" before we leave. She's just hilarious and such a sweet girl. I hope Molly knows how special and loved she is and likewise that she has a very special big sister.

Molly had the first taste of a doughnut the other day. It was a plain cake doughnut so we're taking little baby steps... but she liked it. I don't like my kids to have very many sweets - but everybody deserves a treat in moderation. I just really don't want my kids to want nothing but sugar when there are healthy alternatives to give them while they're so young. (Example: Kids get just as excited about fresh strawberries as they do a cupcake!) Ever since having gestational diabetes and my experiences at that time & education about nutrition... it's very hard to ignore doing the right things for my kids' bodies as much as possible.

Breastfeeding: It's going well. She definitely prefers my left boob to my right and sometimes she doesn't want to nurse on that side at all! So if you think my boobs look a little lopsided these days... they probably are! ;) I still would love to breastfeed her up until her 2nd birthday, but we'll see how far we get with it. I'm so happy the first year mark is right around the corner! It would be a lot more challenging without Tony's support to keep me going. Molly's been getting up frequently throughout the night (growth spurt? teething? who knows...) and he will go get her across the house for me when I am feeling 99% zombie. (Thank goodness for side-lying breastfeeding!) He fills up my big water cup whenever he notices it's low, if I need to breastfeed in the car he'll make sure and park it somewhere private, and he changes as many diapers as he can while he's home so I don't get burnt out! I'm thankful for his companionship and his partnership. {Reasons #7-12 I love my Husband}


In other news...

Amanda, Anne Marie & Matthew were here for a visit a few weekends ago and while our original plans didn't pan out, we end up having fun no matter what!

A couple days before our visitors came in town, Tony and I saw Dave Matthew's Band play in Southaven, Mississippi for our anniversary! It was such an incredible show. As if I didn'tl ove their music enough already... this concert sure made me a believer! It was a first for both Tony & I to see them in concert and such a fun way to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. We followed it up with a late late night trip to Waffle House before heading back home. I love having fun with him! The night just reminded me of all the magic in our relationship and how much we have to look forward to the rest of our life together.

Finishing with Grey Street was just PERFECT if you ask me!

My favorite twin-cousin just had her baby girl, Emalynn and she is so precious. The live a hefty 9+ hours away so we haven't gotten to hold her yet (dying inside!!!!!!!!!) but I know she's getting plenty of lovin' from her sweetie pie little family. Breanne's kids love me so much... Emory, for instance, was born the day before my birthday and now Emalynn chose to make her grand entrance the day after my anniversary!

I need to be holding this kid while drinking some coffee with my cousin, STAT.

And it was just Grandmommy's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SELENA!!! We got tacos (Maria's Cantina is soooo delicious!!!) and birthday ice cream and had so much fun hanging with Grandmommy and Papa for the afternoon!!!

Next it'll be Tony's birthday followed up by Molly's birthday & baptism and then Anne Marie's 3rd birthday! Hopefully we'll be able to get to Nashville again soon to have some cousin strawberry picking fun and maybe get to the zoo, too! I'm so excited for the summer. Hope everyone is having a stellar 2nd half of 2015!!!

Molly baby. I love you and your silly growls, your funny faces, and your big-ole-loving heart. I'm so lucky to be your mommy and I promise to never forget that. I might lose my patience and sometimes I can be a shitty mom... but no one will ever love you the way that I do. You light up our lives! Thank you for being my girl.

Happy 11 month birthday, Presley pants!

Well I do declare!  (That particular expression was for you, Amanda...)  I cannot believe it is already time to write this blog.  Today our little girly is 11 months old!  Let's delve into what's going on in Presley's life these days...

• Chompers:  At the present moment, she's got 4 teeth up top and 4 teeth on the bottom of her mouth!  Two (of the four) top teeth are still fairly new and haven't come all the way down yet.  And man, she loves to use those teeth.  Her and I play this little game where she tries to bite my nose and usually she just pretends like she's gonna bite it and other times she actually does bite it.  I thought I was going to lose the tip of my nose the other day... geez Louise... I think we are going to have to discontinue this game pretty soon.

Excited about all her teeth!

• Loves to SNACK!  Cheerios, puffs, green beans, bits of peaches,  raisins, Baby Mum-Mums, teething biscuits, bread, etc.... anything that is edible and as long as it is something she can pick up herself, she is usually thrilled about!  This also means she is liking pureed baby food less and less, unless it is out of a pouch!

The aftermath of a teething biscuit!

•  Loves her Baby Einstein DVDs while mommy brushes her teeth in the morning or the rare moments mommy or daddy clean!

• Not only has she perfected her speedy crawling, but she has also started pulling herself up onto her knees this week.  She's even gotten to do it in the crib - looks like daddy will be lowering that crib VERY soon.
• We're still using the infant car seat instead of our convertible car seat... mommy and daddy are DEFINITELY still in denial!  She still fits in the baby seat, but I think she would be more comfortable in the big seat.
• Finally getting plans together for Presley's first birthday!  Looks like we'll be having pizza and cake with some of our friends and family!
• Still breastfeeding.  Still love it.  Can't imagine not having that time to bond with her but of course I will revisit the decision again next month!  To be honest, though, I don't think we'll stop there.
• When we're in the car, I will turn on "Disney songs" Pandora and seems to really enjoy music intended for little kids!  Already showing preference to Disney - definitely our child!
• Loves her shower time again!
• She likes to take a few steps here and there if we are holding her hands.
• Still reading her "Night-Night Little Pookie" every night and sing songs with her Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout.  She sleeps through the night with a fan and a few of her blankies!
• She mainly wears size 3 Pampers Cruisers and we still absolutely love the fragrance-free Parent's Choice wipes!  Also still using her wipe warmer.
• We started brushing her teeth in the morning and night and she thinks it's silly but she likes it.
• She's been a tough cookie when it comes to bumps and bruises that come along with the territory of crawling and exploring.  She hasn't really had her first injury yet and I hope we can keep it that way because I'm not sure how Tony or I will survive it!
• Presley love to clap when we say "YAY!" and also when we ask her to clap - depending on her mood, of course.  She waves when we say "Hi!" or when we ask her to wave.  She's so friendly and loves to get people's attention when we are out and about.

And that's what's new in our home.  Take heart everybody, I guess tomorrow is known as "Blue Monday" and is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year.  Don't be afraid to do something special for yourself tomorrow - and while you're at it, be considerate of how you treat your coworkers, friends, family members, and others you come in contact with tomorrow.  Make the most of your week!