Happy 9 month Birthday Kalia!

Wow, just 3 months away from the big 0-1.  Crazy!!  Kalia's poor tree has seen much better days ... it might not make it to her first birthday.  Boo!  Oh well, who's looking at the stinkin' tree anyways, right?

Heading back inside...I can't stop snapping away sometimes!

Kalia had her 9 month checkup and is doing really well.  The pediatrician said to nix all night feedings, so we've got some sleepless nights for all three of us ahead.

She hates being pinned down, so I'm pretty sure they mis-measured her length wise, but oh well!  She's coming back on the charts that way with this latest measurement.  We'll see how it progresses with her one year measurements.  Her weight is spot on with her 6 month stats, which makes me feel pretty good about this whole solid food thing.  She's down to feeding off of me 4 times a day now.  Once as soon as she wakes up, then again before her morning and afternoon naps, and then once more before her bedtime.  I nurse her, then do her bedtime routine.  She plays around in her crib for awhile and then goes to sleep.  Sometimes easier than others!

Kalia's 9 month stats :
Height : 29 inches (93 %)
Weight : 20 lbs (76%)
Head : 46.355 cm (off the chart)

Compared to her 6 month stats of  :

Height : 28.25 inches (off the chart)

Weight : 17lbs 4 ounces (76%)

Head : 44 cm (88 %)

I knew her head had grown quite a bit...but I really think she's grown more than .75 inches in the past three months...nothing fits anymore!  She's getting too smart for her own good, that's why her head is getting so big!  :-)

39 week bonus pictures

This is what the Publix book says a typical 8-12 month old baby eats.  I measured out all of the food and put it down.  Seems like a lot of food for a baby to me!

Kalia also ate 3 ounces of blueberries too, but this is what was left of all of that when it was said and done.  I overcooked the green beans, so she wasn't a fan.  This is also her new 'stink eye' face expression that her Daddy can't stand!  She does it all the time!

At the first part of the week, this was the only way I could get her to take her milk that wasn't from me!  Such a big girl!

Kalia and I before I went in for my exit interview to officially quit work on Friday!

Kalia and Daddy after bath time.  So cute!

Kalia and baby Yulander!  Getting two babies to smile for the camera is impossible, getting them to both look is about as good as we're getting!

Kalia telling Yulander all about her book and how it works.

Kalia : "So, and then you push the buttons and a lady talks to you!"
Yulander : "Like this, right?"

Kalia : "Yeah, yeah, yeah...like that!!  Do you see that Mommy, Yulander's pushing the buttons!!"
Yulander : "I can push more buttons.  It's no big thing.  You're kinda loud Kalia."

"Yay, button pushing time!!!"

Yulander : "Mommy, save me from Kalia!!!"
Kalia : "Oh yay, wanna come in and play too?!?!"

 I had too much fun with Kalia and her headband ... her head has grown so so much, that flower doesn't really look all that ridiculous on her anymore!  I couldn't help taking a million pictures, sorry!

I told Kalia that she's not supposed to give me this face expression until she's at least16.

Another 'stink eye' shot!

Humoring me sort of when I asked her to smile for me.  She's too busy!

Checking out the hinges...she loves all types of hinges!

She's started noticing her reflection in glass and 'talking' and waving to herself.  So cute!

Getting ready to go see baby Blake after Mommy's 30th birthday party.  Kalia was more interested in the balloon than the camera!  (Thanks for the balloons Amy!)

Loving her food...

Still loves bath time and her duckie.

Kalia and I on my actual 30th birthday.  Chris wanted to make sure he got a good picture because it was my birthday so we took a ton.  We normally take a ton anyways, but only one or two generally turn out.  Do I look older in this picture than the ones above??  (No one for really answer that!)  Haha, I feel older!

Kalia was determined to get her blueberry that she dropped while eating.  She actually laid completely down on her belly and tried to get it before trying while standing up.  She eventually went around and got it!  She's one determined little girl!

I only added this last one in so you could see how white her gums are where her pretend teeth are.  She's started drooling like crazy again, but I don't think that means she's getting teeth in.  I'm convinced she's going to be bald and toothless until she's two.  Apparently she will have white gums in the meantime!

Happy 39 week Birthday Kalia!

This week, Kalia :

• figured out how to get objects from one hand to the other.  Mainly blueberries and cheerios. 
• is standing by herself for 15-20 seconds at a time.  Half of the time she does squats while she's standing there, so she's building up those thigh muscles!
• actually says Da-da and means it, I think.  Sometimes she says Daddy.  When Chris comes home from work she screams Da-Da all excitedly.  She says da da da da da all of the time and screams it excitedly too, but the latter part of this week, it's started sounding different than when she does it when she gets excited to see her Daddy.  
• yells Ma ma ma ma (note : yells, not excitedly as above with Chris...sigh) when she wants me to come in in the middle of the night or during her nap time.  That's pretty much the only time she'll say Ma ma. She used to yell all sorts of things, including da da da, at naptime.  When she wants milk though, she knows to yell for me.
• started saying the k sound and pointing at Kodi.  We make him lay down on his bed while she's eating, so she turns her head around, points at his bed and says "kuh kuh kuh".
• started saying the g sound.  I have no idea what that's in relation to.  I mimic Jim Carey and say "it's goooood" for her food, so maybe that's it.  Maybe I should stop...haha!
• has a new facial expression that her Daddy is not a huge fan of.  She wrinkles up her one eye and keeps her mouth closed.  She does it when she thinks you're crazy, she's unhappy, or she's figuring something out.  I think it's funny!
• had baby Yulander over from Friday to Sunday to help Mommy celebrate the big 3-0.  Kalia was so excited to see him all day long every single day.  She squealed at him, talked to him, and yelled at him.  I don't think she was in chill mode the entire time he was here, she thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Poor baby Yulander!!  He put up with it really well though, they just played and played and played.   Her play area was amazing with both babies there!
• got to play with Reese, Aila, and Baby Yulander at her Mommy's bday bbq on Saturday.  She was beyond excited that all of her little friends were over.
• ate, and absolutely hated, asparagus.  She ate one tip, and then beat the rest of the tips until they were all completely smashed on her high chair, and then picked them off of the high chair tray and threw them on the ground.  Even without words, she makes sure she is heard!  She actually boycotted most green vegetables almost all week long, and I think it was as punishment to me for giving her such a disgusting one.  By the end of the week, she was back to eating broccoli and zucchini with her carrots though, so hopefully we've made a full recovery.
• can drink from a straw and will drink my milk from a cup with a straw in it.  She kept trying to drink out of baby Yulander's cup with a straw in it all weekend long.  On Monday we went to Olive Garden for my birthday lunch and I got her a kids cup of water with a straw in it.  I made the sucking motion with my mouth, and then drank from my straw and showed her the water in my mouth.  That was all it took!  She's drank a couple ounces of my milk in one sitting, and will drink water like a champ from it.
• is outgrowing some of her 12 month clothes.  I had to buy her some new pj's and I just went ahead and got 18 months.  They're a little big, but not much.  
• woke up while we were out at volleyball on Monday, but did not pitch a fit to Nancy this time.  They were playing in her play area when we got home, and Kalia seemed just as happy as could be - yay!  Thanks Nancy!!

 Kalia still hasn't learned the "stay" command...I think she might sit still in any one day for a total of about 30 seconds.  Maybe.  That might be pushing it though.  Good thing Mommy has got some long arms to catch her when she does a flip off her chair (yes, that really happens...regularly...during the photo shoots!).

Her little face is losing it's baby roundness...she's becoming a little toddler!!  Stay tuned for bonus pics...

39 week checkup, blimp pictures

Another week at the doctor......another week of no Kalia. Sigh..........

They checked my blood pressure and Kalia's heart rate, and everything looked good. The nurse then told me that the doc was going to check my cervix...WOO HOO!!!  I was seriously so excited.  Chris said I was beaming, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that :-), but I really wanted to know if I was making any 'progress'.

Well...BOOOOOOOOO... 0 cm dialated and 0% effaced.  I gave the doctor a big sad face when he told me that, and he said it doesn't necessarily mean that she's coming late.  After he said that he re-iterated his statement that he's been saying since the beginning "most first time Mom's go an average of 5 days late."  Chris asked him what his standard deviation was on that one, and after he laughed, he said he had no idea, and wasn't willing to answer that question.  Gotta love being the doc for two Engineers!

He told me the only reason he checks my cervix at this point is because a lot of women want to be induced by 39 weeks, which is something he'd entertain doing if I was progressing.  But since I'm not, he said that if he induced labor with 0 progress on my own, there's a high probability that I'd wind up needing a c-section.  I told him I'd wait for Kalia to decide it was her time to come into the world.

If she takes after her Daddy, she'll be here within the next week.  If she takes after her Mommy, she'll be here the week after, completely scatter brained. 

If I haven't gone on my own by next weeks appointment, Kalia's due date, he'll discuss scheduling an induction for later on in the week.  He said if I make it to 41 weeks without her coming out, and am still not progressing at all, the benefits of induction decreases significantly because of the likelihood that I'll put myself through lots of hours of labor only to have to wind up the c-section route anyways.  After 41 weeks, he says she'll be too big to deliver naturally.

She's slowed down some in her growth though.  For the first time in a looong time, I measured perfect at 39 cm.  I'd been measuring at least a week large since about month 5 I think.

I've been having menstral like cramps with my contractions, which he said is a really good sign.  That just started happening Saturday night, so hopefully it continues!!

Now for the blimp pictures...

Seriously, I have no idea how it's possible for my belly button to stick out even further, but every week it pokes out more.  Or my belly for that matter.  I'm really gonna fall over forwards before too long.

And now for the "I can't believe I'm actually posting these" blimp belly photos...

 

Dear Kalia, I'm impatiently waiting...Love, your Mommy.

Yes, that's my foot tapping...come on already!!!

I'm starting to get a little bit of swelling in my face, hands, and feet.  It's worse when I'm hot or after I've exercised.  I nap a lot, toss and turn a lot, and eat a lot. 

I'm keeping up with the 1 lb a week weight gain thing...so far, total love gained = 33 lbs.  So.freaking.big!!!

T minus 6 days till her due date, and 13 days till she absolutely without a doubt will be here.  I can do it!!!