milestones update: 40 weeks out (of my tummy)

9 months & 1 week

you have:

2 bottom teeth
i'm pretty sure your top teeth are coming in; they haven't cut through the gums, but you have the snottiest nose to prove it

you say:
mama
dada
bye
and probably many more that we're not picking up on

you can:
do all the things i wrote about in the last milestone update
however, your waving has improved quite a bit - it's actually pretty cute
it went from a full arm flail, and now has become you holding up your arm, while opening and closing your palm/fingers
you can also put both hands together while interlocking your fingers - i think its pretty impressive for your age

you are:
standing up
cruising the furniture
taking small baby steps
becoming more and more confident about your new found independence
walking with help

you *always* love:
momma & dada
your puppies

Madeline doll - I put her in different places around your room, and i think you have slowly caught on because the minute we get up in the morning and change your diaper your wiggling around looking for her - its a fun game :)

Some other things:
you have figured out how to go up and down stairs, and you are super confident about it!
we have tile stairs/floors in the entryway - so this new found confidence makes me super paranoid!! i like for you to do and learn things on your own, but i walked over to check on you the other day and you were standing on the very edge of the tile corner of the stairs, balancing next to a chair...nope! not happening...

you really like to watch the dogs eat, especially Dooley ( i think because she eats on the stairs); anyway, i have caught you numerous times with dog food in your mouth, just munching away.
however, when you put anything towards your mouth (paper, shoes, dust bunnies, etc.) and  i say, "uhh ahh" you look at me an whine a little but don't continue putting said object into your mouth. so, you are kind of getting the concept that you are not to put foreign objects into your mouth. haha!

im pretty convinced breast milk is liquid gold. Dad and I have gotten sick (stomach bug & colds) and you have stayed pretty healthy -  more on that in another post. #knockonwood

co-sleeping is addicting - i go back and forth about you sleeping with us; for the time being I'm all for it. but you are starting to helicopter around through out the night. you get a great sleep, i get feet in the face and arms flung at me - who knew someone so little could cause so much chaos while sleeping.

on your 9 month birthday Dad and i "celebrated" by getting chick-fil-a (so we didn't have to cook/clean). we sat as a family at the dinner table and watched your second-favorite show, Planet Earth. after dinner, while i was cleaning up (the paper plates) Dad freaks out and says that you just stood up off the bottom pedestal under the table and took steps towards Dooley. i was so upset that i didn't see you do it. i went to hold your hands to see if you would walk with me and as you were standing you let go of my hands and slowly squatted down all by yourself -- Dad and I freaked! We were in amazement!! then, as if you were saying, "watch, I'm a big girl" you slowly stood back up all by yourself and then squatted again!! it was the craziest thing i have ever seen and it brought tears to my eyes that you were beginning to be a big girl and you were no longer my baby. we didn't even get a video we were so in amazement!!

life-savers

i need to note that we've been through A LOT of different accessories, as i like to call them. some were had-to-haves, and then a week or two later you were over them; other items we still use to this day. I'm sure items will be added to this list over time, but here are some of the must-haves in my opinion...

at one time or another, these items saved Momma's life:

balmex: so i know this is a weird one, but when you were about two/three weeks old you developed a bad diaper rash. i mean your bottom was raw! i cried the first couple times i changed you after it appeared. i felt so bad that you were experiencing pain at such a young age. like always, i researched the crap out of it and it was due to your body getting used to my milk/pooping all the time (breastfed babies poop more), plus something i might have ate -- needless to say, we tired every booty cream on the market and balmex worked the best! 

moby wrap: i was lucky enough to be handed-down two top-of-the-line carriers (ergo & bijorn) from a close family friend; however, after much research, and too many afternoons of you wanting to be carried around by me (and only me) while i needed to get chores done, i read that the moby wrap could be used to carry AND breastfeed, win, win!! it was about $40-$50 and i think i asked Dad if i could get it everyday for about two weeks. he finally caved...and while i didn't use this a lot (mostly because you switched your routine up and didn't care to be held all the time), you better believe the next baby will get his/her fair share of use out of it! i actually saw a lady in a store with her newborn wrapped snug in the moby and wished i had known about it sooner. it really is one of the best ways to carry a baby. 

ergo: right now [7-9 months, so far] this is what we have been using to carry you when necessary. it is comfortable and you seem to enjoy being in it too. this was one of the hand-me-downs i received, and it can be turned around where you kind of piggyback on my back. there is an updated version, ergo 360 i think, that i would probably want when we add a second baby ...just saying. anyways, i will put you in this (tummy to tummy) and it takes about 30 minutes and you are fast asleep. i think it mimics you being in my tummy. i would put you in this to lull you to sleep and then sloooowly slide you out, as to not wake you so i could get things done.

sophie the giraffe(s): i think these are must-haves on every baby registry, and they have definitely been favorites of yours at different times. both are teethers, you used the first one first. its easier to grasp and chew on; it wasn't until about 6 months that you found interest in the second [larger] sophie. i keep both of them in the diaper bag and pull them out when you are having a tantrum and you gnaw away on them.

wubbanub: aunt Mary gave you a wubbanub when you were a couple months old. i gave it to you and you had no interest in it so i put it away. when you were around 6 months old, i pulled it back out (you had learned to grasp objects by then) and you've been obsessed ever since! to be honest, i don't like the soothie paci on it - i read that it can give you buck teeth :/ but like i said, you are obsessed (Dada, we might need braces :) this is kind of mean, but i keep it in your crib (which you hate - the crib, that is; it is your own personal hell), along with Ovejito. i do this because they are your two favorite toys, and i want you to associate them with good...fun, awesome toys in an awful bed; hmmm, my crib might not be so bad after all. 

Stuffed animal from Target, we named him Ovejito (Spanish for little lamb): we were in Target one evening and i randomly grabbed this stuffed animal - it was literally the size of you at 7 months old - your eyes lit up and you reached for him and hugged him so hard. every time Dada and i showed you him you had the same reaction. it was love at first site! Dada didn't have the heart to take him away so he bought it for you. and that's when i knew you had Dad wrapped around your finger!! HA! you still have the same reaction when i pull Ovejito out of the crib (read story above). also, i named him Ovejito after the lamb on Sesame Street, Ovejita.

walker (without the toy bar :)): this single item literally SAVED MY LIFE! I'm not even joking! if i had to give up all the accessories this is the one i would cry over (and maybe the carriers). i didn't put the toy bar on it because i know you are way too advanced to be engaged by sometime so basic. you cruise the house with this, and it works perfectly because we don't have a big house, and its all hardwood floors, except for the rugs in your and my room, but that makes it so those rooms are off limits! and you can get some speed in this thing! i will put you in this in the morning, turn on some sesame street, baby gate the front steps, and pull the coffee table in front of the TV stand (because you like to play with the buttons on Dada's gaming systems and know how to eject the CDs -- i think its funny - Dad not so much). anyway, this is a life saver, and the one we currently use the most. 

namesake & story

originally i fell in love with the name Eloise Parker, and i still love that name, but you were destined to be Mamie from the start; it just sounded (and felt) right...

it's funny how little girls choose baby names for their unborn children; i have probably gone through a dozen or so, but this story is how we chose your name.

back story: i babysat for a family with a little girl named Mamie. i thought she was the cutest little girl, and she had such a sassy personality. i immediately fell in love with her name.

fast forward to us finding out that you were a girl; i decided that Dad and i needed to choose a name together; one that we both loved.

another back story: my wedding band has been in Dad's family for a long time; however not worn by many, other than its original owner and me (and hopefully you one day - although i will not pressure you into this; i know how it is to want something brand new when you start a life with someone ;).

here is what Grandpa sent me before Dad and I got married [12/14/13]:

The ring belonged to my mother's mother; my grandmother, Thomson's great grandmother.  We called her Mamie.  The inside is engraved "GCT to MEK".  Their names were Grover Cleveland Thomson (my name sake) and Mae Elizabeth Knight.  They were married in Savannah, Georgia on September 17, 1914.  I know she would be pleased to know that the wife of another Cleveland Thomson will be wearing it.

That would make Mamie your great-great grandmother! And last year, September 17, 2014, would make the ring 100 years old!! To say I am honor to be wearing this ring is an understatement!

Anyways, the name just seemed right. We wanted to chose a family name, and one that was unique. These days there are not many Mae's around (although I heard its becoming more popular - you are just ahead of the trend ;) 

Quite honestly I went back and forth about whether to nickname you Mamie. After you were born, i wanted you to just be Mae, but i kept thinking about how much i love the name Mamie. So i figured better now than never! You will always be Mae, but if i didn't start calling you Mamie, then it would never stick; i just love the name Mamie, and sometimes i even shorten it to "Maims."

the picture below is Mae Elizabeth. its crazy to think of all the decades she lived through. so much happened during her lifetime. and look at all that hair! i don't know how old she is in this picture, but i wish i knew! 

our weekend : 10/9-11/2015

 where, oh where, to begin. let's see, we got quite a lot done on Friday. you had your 9 month checkup, which consisted of two shots :( you absolutely did not enjoy them this time. (the past couple times you would cry a little and then you'd be quickly over it.) this time you cried the whole way out of the doctor's office. i really hope it doesn't make you hate the doctors, but who really likes going to the doctors. after your appointment we took Dooley to the vet to have her annual check-up and get her shots as well. and then we went home and just hung around the house. it wasn't until later that night that things took an awful turn. Dad and I ate dinner late, due to him hanging out with Uncle Lock wayyy too late. so when we finished eating, it was close to 11 pm. i immediately felt queasy, but figured it was from eating too late. about an hour later i was hunched over the bathroom toilet with the worst stomach bug :((( it was the worst i have felt in a looong time! after doing a lot of researching i reasoned that it was best for you to stay with me and nurse you. apparently i pass antibodies to you so your immune systems recognizes the virus if you catch. it's Tuesday now, four days later, and knock on wood i really hope your in the clear!! Dada came home form work yesterday with the bug. and when i got home form work, you better believe i sanitized any and everything in the house! I'm just really hoping we get rid of this yucky soon!

i also have to say that we have the very best Joanie ever! she comes to my rescue every single time i need her! i really don't think there has been a time that she's not helped me out in a pinch! and you absolutely love going to her house.

so this weekend turned into the weekend firm hell and now Dada and i are recuperating this week. i really hope we feel back to ourselves by this weekend!! i didn't take any pictures over the weekend, so i will post some that were sent to me last week. love you little girl!!

your last afternoon snuggle with Uncle Lock :( well maybe not last, but now Lock goes to work because he has a job!!

your FIRST BIKE RIDE with Noma!!! she said you loved it! and how cute are you with your helmet on! 

after your 9 month checkup, at the vet's office...passed out

Mamie's first selfie -- you were holding the phone and somehow managed to turn the camera on. i clicked the photo button, but you were crying because you thought i was trying to take the phone away. you're weirdly obsessed with electronics 

mamie & christine

this will be a never-ending story...

you have known each other since you've been in our tummies.

Christine was the first to be announced on Mother's Day 2014 at Sunday dinner, and the next weekend we found out you would become part of the family too!

at the time, all we knew was that each of you were there; we didn't know your sex, much less ideas of what your names would be.

we knew y'all would be best friends when we found out together that aunt Leigh and i were both having girls!

Dada and i figured out a name pretty quick. we didn't learn Christine's name until we had the gender reveal.

mae & christine, christeenie & mamie :))) get ready to do pretty much anything and everything together for the rest of your lives, or at least i hope it goes this way ;)

love you both so much, sister-frands!! xoxo!!!

this was the BEST WEEK EVER...you girls were born about 22 hours apart!! you were meant to be besties, or sista-frands. 

this picture was taken a couple days after you both came home from the hospital. this was y'all's very first meeting, and sadly i missed out on it. i tried so hard to come out and be apart of it, but i felt terrible., i think it's also when i realized that something was major wrong with the way i was physically feeling. it's moments like this that I'm glad we have cameras to capture the memories!

Riverside Presbyterian Church: baptism - March 22, 2015

Baptism - after all the excitement. i love this picture. you both look like little dolls!

this is another picture that just melts my heart! i wish i could remember how old you guys were in these pictures...i think you are around 4 months old, judging by what you're wearing. your outfit was one of my favorites!
it's from Gommy (Hobby Horse - size 6 mos.)

i know we were watching a pre-season Jags game, hence you "wild" outfits! you guys were soo tiny!! I miss you being this size :)

you are around 5 months in this picture (shrimp & grits size 6 mos. outfit) Noma bought you all matching outfits. i also know this was taken at a Sunday dinner because y'all are laying on the rug by Noma's front door, while we all ate dinner.

just having some girl friend chats!!

this might have been one of the first times you all were at the pool together. we spent lots of time at the pool the first summer y'all were born! i can't wait until summer 2016 when you will actually be running around wearing your floaties!!!

another pool day & looking like twinsies in your matching sun hats

sisters & "sisters"
i know you and C will love hanging out with the Schweagle girls!!  

this is your 6 month birthday!!!

i love C's big bow. i can't wait for your hair to get thick enough for a huge bow!

this was our last pool day of the summer. i think that summer 2015 was the best summer ever so far! it's crazy to think that the first pool pictures you guys could barely hold your heads up; this day y'all were crawling all over the place! you even dunked yourself in the middle of the baby pool!

this was taken shortly after the picture above (at the pool). we went over to leigh & carter's for a cocktail and you girls just couldn't hang!

there are soooo many more pictures out there! these are just a few that i rounded up, and Lord knows we will have more than we can imagine by the time you girls are 1...a little more than 3 months!! i know the time is going to fly by. you girls will probably have joint birthday parties until you voice reason otherwise. and even then you will always share a family birthday :)))) 

Sugar Mountain: 10-2015

I'm going to go ahead and start this by saying, a vacation is really not a "vacation" after you have a baby. maybe one day it will return to a relaxing time to unwind and just chill, but for now it probably cant be anymore stressful for me. there's all the packing, and accessories (i.e. baby gear), and the what if we need this or that, or what if the weather decided to change, or what if she blows out a diaper everyday...however, i should stop whining because we did *kinda* have fun up in the mountains. we decided to leave after work on Wednesday to drive through the night so you could sleep the whole way. it worked out very well for you. you cried for about 30 minutes out pf the 7.5 hours. we arrived at 3 am and were sooo tired, none the less you woke up at 7:30 am. we had planned to take you to do all the touristy stuff and then pretty much realized we'd be wasting our money. plus it was rainy and cold outside, and most of the "attractions" were outside, so we skipped on all of it. we ended up spending three days vegging out at the house. which was nice, but made me go a little stir-crazy :)

time for picture overload...

this was our first morning at the mountain house. Dad and i took shifts with you. i woke up first at 7:30 am, and then he left me fall back asleep to watch you the rest of the morning :)

we made a nice little play area for you so we could watch football and you at the same time.

here's one of the accessories i brought - a baby gate. probably over-kill, but we were told that the railings on the stairs were big enough for you to crawl through. it wasn't though, and we could have left the gate at home...

the beautiful view off the back porch!

our first morning there while i was washing dishes, you and Dada were outside on the porch. i glance over and he is learning down looking at you. next thing i know he comes running inside with you in his arms and tells me that you're choking on a leaf. i did the "finger swipe" and could feel it but it was too far down your throat. Dada shoved his finger so far down your throat and you instantly starting crying. ohhh the relief! it was a pretty scary moment and I'm so thankful that Dada was there. the rest of the trick was spent checking for mouth for something you might be chewing on. you're like a little goat! you munch on everything!! 

p.s. i found the leaf in your poopie that evening ;)

you loved plying with this stuffed bear. i love your reaction when you see a stuffed animal! you get so excited and hug it so hard. your favorite stuffed animal is Oveito (the lamb in the background). i named him that because of the little lamb on sesame street. 

 these pictures will definitely be some of my all-time favorites!! this day we took you to the Mast General store. long story short. three years ago on this very same weekend Dad asked me to marry him :))) we took a picture in this very spot with Dooley.

October 2012

 Dad pushing you up, up, up the hill!

These pictures just melt my heart. i could literally stare at them all day. i love every picture i take of you, but every once in awhile i take a picture and realize just how beautiful you really are...that sounds sooo vain, but its sooo true! your cute little smirk just makes my heart hurt it so damn cute! When you were born Dad and I would always say that we love you so much, it hurts. sometimes when i hug and kiss you i have to stop myself from squeezing you too tight. geeeeeze, i love you so much!!!!!!

when i took these pictures, Dada said, 'get the red tree in the background" -- you can kiiinda see it over his shoulder. in real life it was such a pretty red tree.

i just want to go ahead and note that it wasn't as cold as it looks. in all the pictures you don't have socks/shoes on, and I'm like dressed for the chilly-cold. the pictures above you did have shoes on, but you took them off and chewed on the Velcro.

that booty though!! when we laid you down on your make-shift bed, that little bottom just popped right up! this picture cracks me up! and you do sleep like this all the time :)

you had just woken up from a nap and i scooped you up and held you, and you ended up falling right back asleep. so i just held you and snuggled you. i love when you sleep so soundly on me. i fell like this is when you get your best sleep. 

last, but not least, we stopped by great grad-daddy's house on the way home. he made Dada and i breakfast (grits, eggs, bacon, and sausage) and he even skipped church! he just moved up to chapin, sc and it makes me sad that i cant see him whenever anymore. he loves you so much :) you are his 5th great-grand baby, but 1st girl grand baby. it was a quick, but short trip and i wish we could have stayed longer!!

this trip was not the most successful trip with you; we've definitely had better, but i know it will get easier the older you get. and i do have to say that you are becoming more and more fun. i just cant wait until you have teeth and i can feed you whatever were eating, and when you're out of diapers and can walk, and...I'm just kidding!!! it wouldn't be worth it if it was easy!! i love you baby girl, you teach me everyday how to become more and more patience; with you, Dada and even myself. love you more than anything in this world!!!!!