3/4 of a year!

9 months. i cannot believe it (the same cliche ALL moms say). at 9 months our girl is still just as sweet as pie. making her fuss takes work, but she's not what i would call laid back per se. she is a constant giggler and now kisser which is oh so sweet. she does preferentially kiss her own reflection more than anything else, but mommy steals a few from time to time. she started crawling and pulling up a few days after she turned 8 months and she is REALLY on the move now! she has started cruising on the furniture and in her crib and doesn't topple nearly as often. although, as expected, she rarely makes a big deal about a fall even if it leaves a red bump on her head. lofton has also started playing peek-a-boo either with Pop Pop's hat or ducking behind furniture and popping up when i say "where's lofton?" she is eating stage 3 baby foods and some finger foods although we're not proficient at the pincer grasp yet. over the past month lofton has become less interested in her bottle and this week it progressed to outright refusal. i am lucky to get 8-10 oz of actual liquid down her. we've tried different bottles, sippy cups, the works. she now gets rice cereal or oatmeal 2-3 times a day and baby yogurt to try and make up the slack. she says "ba ba", "blah blah", and "da da". she also goes "Mmm hmm" when you're feeding her as if to say "that's right! give me the good stuff. no more of that bottle crap" (although i'm quite sure she is too lady like to use such language...). she sleeps about 12 hours a night although she often wakes up around 5 am and plays for a bit in her crib and then falls back to sleep...sometimes still sitting up :) i could go on forever, but in short, she is wonderfully and perfectly made and i'd take a baker's dozen.
the 9 month photo shoot was interesting to say the least. first of all, about 1 day before she turned 9 months she decided that sticking her tongue out was the funniest thing ever and will do it forever and laugh hysterically. secondly, sitting in the chair is a thing of the past. we DO NOT EVER sit still. probably why we're still chilling at the 3rd percentile for length (25.5 in) and weight (14lb 10.5oz we'll hang on to the .5). i made several close catches as she dove off the glider...

practicing her ballet in a 3-6 month onesie that is too big...

i am hilarious

hopefully by 10 months we will be over the tongue thing...

LOVE

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. " John 15:9

just a few pics of my little love (and one of my big love) as we approach Valentine's Day. a day to look past all the roses and candy. a day to really cherish those that we love. a day to remember who taught us about love and continues to teach us how to love each and every day. thank you Lord for the gift of love...

xoxo

8 Months...

Lofton Elizabeth turned 8 months old on January 19th. I am officially ready for the pause button. The best word to describe my little doll right now is BUSY! I can say that she comes by it honestly. She didn't have much of a shot at being laid back :) Lofton began rocking on her hands and knees right before she turned seven months and started really scooching around right before she turned 8 months. And since I am a few days late with this post I can add that she is full blown crawling! She is so tiny and cute I can hardly stand it. AND she plays for a few minutes and then crawls right into my lap. xoxo... I also took the bumpers off of her crib since she began using them to pull up, die laughing, and then go crashing down. It took a few days to adjust since there were so many new things she could see and explore with the bumpers missing, but we're doing well now :)
She eats pretty much anything and we started meats this week (pureed and mixed with something else yummy of course). Still sleeping 11-12 hrs a night and still conking out around 6:30. yep, do the math. she often wakes up in the 5 o'clock hour.
Lofton did have her second ear infection in one month... yuck! the dr. says 4-5 in a year is when we start talking tubes. her daddy had them twice so we'll see. she has cut her second tooth and a third one is on the way i believe by the massive amount of chewing and drooling in our house.
I have been on an elective rotation this month and I have elected to play mommy 95% of the time and i don't have a single regret!

new year's party animal

red cheeks in our 8 month shots due to the excessive drool...

Snow Day!

Lofton and I jetted off to Houston for the weekend to see my med school roomie brandy, her 1 yr old cutie davin, and attend a shower for her NEXT little one due in only 4 weeks! she is going to be a busy mama. did i mention that she's in residency?? :) lofton was a champ on her first plane ride (of course) playing the entire way there and sleeping the entire way back. our flight sunday morning was a little turbulent due to the storm on the way, and shortly after we returned home it was snowing! dewey wanted to stay indoors, but i insisted that we bundle up lofton pie and head outdoors. it lasted for approximately 5.2seconds... she was tired and not her usual SUPER curious self. the pictures are smile free, but memory recorded nonetheless :)

she really could bend her arms, but i thought this was so funny...

3 peas in a pod

Christmas

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, but this time it was extra special because we had a new little bundle to share it with! We started off Christmas Eve with a visit to Mimi and Pop Pop's house (Dewey's parents). We hung out for a little bit and opened presents early so that Christmas morning could be all about Lofton! Later we planned to go to Christmas Eve Service, but the weather was yucky and we didn't want to be on the roads so we headed to Gigi and Papa J's house a little early. Jeremy, Marti, Parker, Peyton joined us for dinner and fun. Lofton wasn't quite herself, but I thought it was simply because she skipped her nap. We headed home and had a rough night with 4 middle of the night cryings!! That hadn't happened in forever. By Christmas morning, all was forgotten (by Lofton at least!) and Mimi and PopPop came over to see if Santa showed up. He did! Lofton must have been VERY good. She had a fun time with all of her presents...and the wrapping :) After a much needed nap, we went to Gigi and Papa J's again where ALL of the family joined us as well as Marti's parents and grandparents for lunch. Then the grandkids (sans little bit) performed a skit on the real meaning of Christmas written by Papa J. It was precious and a definite new tradition. Lofton was still a bit fussy and vehemently refusing naps and that's when we saw it... her first tooth! Thanks a lot Santa! We made it through and all in all it was a great time. Can't wait to do again with a whole houseful of kids :)
Santa came!

First Baby Doll


Jeremy and Peytie Pie

Mitchell Clan Christmas Eve

Toys!

So happy I could dance!

Ooooh! ELMO

Bottle Break

Tiff, Kendall Claire, and the teething girl :)

Mimi and Lofton

Precious Girl

Still working on that tooth....

All 5 grandkids!

7 Months

well, 7 months and 1 week really... Lofton has changed so much this past month. She is developing quite the little personality and it is oh so fun. she loves playing peek-a-boo, she is sitting up very well (although she still topples from time to time), and rocking on her hands and knees in anticipation of crawling. Currently she will spin in circles on her tummy and scooch backwards. Child proofing is in our near future for sure!
We delayed solid food until 6 months since she was a little premature and oh so tiny, but she has taken to them like a champ! Lofton Elizabeth now eats rice cereal, oatmeal, green beans, peas, carrots, squash, bananas, apples, pears, and peaches. She generally has 5 bottles a day (i have officially weaned and we've made the switch to formula, freedom!!), cereal and fruit for breakfast, and 2 veggies for dinner. We're about ready for stage 2 foods. We cried it out at 6 months for 20 minutes one night and have since slept on average 11 hours a night. why didn't we do this earlier?? i just wasn't ready and i am ok with that :) lofton also giggles constantly and makes a "ba" sounds when she wants something. her favorite toy is the remote...
In less exciting news, Lofton had her first ear infection. I took her to the doctor because she had been coughing FOREVER and her lungs sounded fine, but her ears looked pretty bad. She never ran a fever and wasn't even fussy so how will I know?!! 8 days in to the antibiotic she broke out in a head-to-toe macular papular rash. poor baby! it didn't seem to bother her and dr. y (and dr. carly and dr. aubrey) says it may be a simple reaction to amoxicillin rather than an official allergy... her re-check was a few days shy of her 7 month bday and she weighed 13lb 4oz, practically a giant! i did pack up her 3 month carter's last week b/c the pants are too short. at this rate we'll be in the infant car sear for awhile...
below are a few pics. i took MANY more, but most were blurry b/c sitting still just isn't in the cards these days, but oh she is cute. we love you more with every day lofton elizabeth!

up next...our first Christmas and Santa's special present!

Give Thanks!

our first thanksgiving as a family of 3 was wonderfully hectic. i ran to the hospital for rounds from about 7-9 and tagged dewey when i got home so he could go for a "quick" 8 mile run (marathon prep....). we then headed over to my MIL's house and had a yummy thanksgiving lunch while miss priss napped. after a few hours of fun we bundled the little one up and drove to my SIL's house in murphy. lofton fell asleep as soon as we got in the car and i begged dewey (successfully) to keep driving so she could get a good nap in before all the fun. so an hour later we knew WAY more of the northeast portion of the metroplex than we ever planned to and we arrived at jeremy and marti's house well rested and ready to play. sweet marti invited everyone so i think there were 20 people there which made it loud and hectic as all holidays should be! dewey ate (again) and i enjoyed the wine. we squeezed in a couple of pics :)

4 generations of chatty kathys

christmas card sneak peek

since thanksgiving lofton has...

1)enjoyed her first ear infection :(

2)tried several new foods

3)currently experiencing a head-to-toe rash that is either from a virus or a penicillin allergy. the jury is still out

4)spent 7 straight days with mommy (and 5 with daddy!) which have been absolutely delicious

7 month pics will be just around the corner...