Life with the Gilmore's: Kailyn- 8 Months

October 4, 2012

Kailyn has been very busy this month! Not only have Mommy and Daddy kept everyone's social calendar jammed packed, but she has been doing so many developmental things as well! Kailyn also spend most of the month on antibiotics fighting off an ear infection that we are 99% sure is gone now. We took her to the doctor while at the beach and after finishing that round, she got snotty again so we waited several days then took her to her pediatrician and sure enough, her ears were still infected!! The main event this month was going to the beach for the first time, which was amazing. We are already counting down to next summer. Kailyn also enjoyed several family outings including: The Botanical Gardens, The Fresh Beat Band concert, camping in Guntersville, and Will's 2nd Birthday Party. It has been a very busy, but fun filled month.

Along with cooler weather came Kailyn's desire to move and groove. She stays so busy when she is awake! She loves to sit in the floor and play toys, she will even lunge forward if something is out of reach. These days she will be playing sitting up and the next minute, she is laying down rolling across the room to get to whatever it is she wants. She is doing great at rolling. She is also getting up on all fours, even tucking those knees under her like she is going to crawl, then she will just flop back down on her belly and roll. But crawling should be soon, I wouldn't be surprised if she is crawling before 9 months. Wow- crawling?! I don't think we are quite ready yet. She still loves jumping in the jumperoo and playing in the saucer, but only for about 5-10 minutes at a time. But Mommy has to admitt that is probably her fault because Kailyn hates to be walked away from and be left alone and when she is in one of those toys, Mommy feels like she can run and do something quickly. Like I said, she still has that littly sassy temper. Don't walk away from this baby and she is happy as can be. She is finally getting to where she will sit in her high chair and let Mommy do the dishes- as long as you keep her Puffs (or Cheerios) in stock. Speaking of sitting in the high chair- this girl can reach! When she wants something, it is like her arms grown twice as long, no joke! When we are at a restaurant and she is sitting in the highchair, we literally have to clear her end of the table. She keeps those busy little hands moving at all times. The sweetest thing is when she is falling asleep, her hands are the last thing to stop moving. When she is eating her bottle, she usually grabs the edge of her bib and fiddles with it until she falls asleep. It is really sweet! Kailyn is just so interested and curious about everything right now. We can tell she is ready to crawl because she sees stuff and just throws her body towards it and wants down if you are holding her. She also looooves to watch Caleb play and is starting to grab his things. She will just watch him with such admiration and laugh at him lots too. He is sweet to her most of the time unless she messes up something he is playing with. Kailyn has also stopped using the bath seat and now sits up like a big girl in the bath tub. The kids usually bathe together and have lots of fun playing toys in the water. She is also getting more vocal, cooing, ooing, squealing, and laughing all the time. And when she gets mad, it sounds like she is saying, "Mamamamamama" I wonder what she really thinks she is saying- probably something not as nice! It won't be long until all of that becomes words...can time slow down?! She is also starting to learn cues like putting on a bib in the high chair means food, she recognizes the bath tub and starts squealing and kicking her legs (she loves bath time!), she realizes that sitting in her rocker means she is getting a bottle, etc. It is really neat to see her learning our routines.

Food: This month, Kailyn has really taken an interest in food. Her favorite things to eat are Puffs and Cheerios, probably because that is about the only thing we let her feed to herself and she loves that! It is so cute to see those little fingers grab a Puff and try to maneuver it into her mouth. She is doing a fantastic job with the baby food and we are moving up into the 3rd foods now. Mommy started doing oatmeal and a 3rd fruit for breakfast, then we are still doing a yogurt for lunch (the entire thing), and a veggie for dinner usually mixed with a little cereal. Since she has increased her solid intake, her bottles have decreased. She now gets only 3-4 bottles during the day and if she wakes up during the night and needs to eat, she will get one then too. She loves eating and is showing a lot of interest in our food lately. We have slowly let her try some tables foods like: Pancakes, Rolls, French Fries, Graham Crackers, Strawberries, Bananas, and Mashed Potatoes. She loved all of it except for the Mashed Potatoes, but we will definitely try them again soon. Mommy hopes to gradually move her from the baby food to more table food in the coming month. Wish us luck :)

Sleep: Can I get a hallelujah??? Once Kailyn hit 7 months, her sleep has improved dramatically. Mommy wonders if it has something to do with her having the ear infection and feeling better? Who knows?! All we care is that it is SO much better :) She now sleeps through the night about 50% of the time. She still gets up some nights around 1:30-2:30 and wants a bottle, but it only takes her about 15 minutes to eat and she goes right back to sleep. Mommy almost doesn't mind this because it seems like the nights she does eat, she sleeps a little later that morning. She is also taking solid naps now, which is amazing. We used to have to run upstairs and give her the pacie 1-3 times each nap, but now she goes to sleep and sleeps for about 2 hours. Most days she will fall right asleep with the bottle, other days she fights a little bit and just wants to play. Thankfully we have been able to lay her down and she will go ont to sleep on her own. Mommy never thought she would learn this trick! **And looking back at her 6 month post, she was still napping in the swing. Her swing is long gone, literally...we took it to sell at Kid's Market this month! She has been napping in her own bed for a while now, so we must have done that shortly after her 6 month post**

Fashion: We moved Kailyn up to a size 4 diaper and they are fitting great. It was time to buy a new box of diapers for her and Mommy had a lot of 4's left from Caleb, so we tried them and they fit, so we are sticking with them. Kailyn is still sporting the headband with bow look, her hair is definitely growing, but not near long enough to support the bow alone. She is also wearing a size 2 shoe now. She may have one pair of 1's that still fits. Her clothes are interesting right now. She can wear 6-9 months and 9 month clothes. But she has also worn a few 12 month outfits that Mommy got at the consignment sales. Maybe winter clothes are trickier than summer clothes? Think about it- summer clothes, shorts, dresses, short sleeves, etc. can fit long or short and it still looks cute. Butyou put on pants or a long sleeve shirt and you can tell if it is too long or short right way. Oh boy...fashion might be interesting in the coming months!!

Here is a typical schedule for Kailyn:

6:45- Wake Up

7:30- Breakfast

9am- Morning nap, Bottle 1

11am- Wake Up

11:30- Lunch

1pm- Afternoon Nap, Bottle 2

3pm- Wake Up

4pm- Bottle 3 (snack)

5:30- Dinner

7pm- Bath

7:30- Bed Time

It is so amazing to watch her learn and grow everyday. She is starting to act so much less like an infant everday. She still has her dimples and big eyes that shine when she smiles, Mommy will never ever grow tired of seeing that!! Kailyn, you light up our world and we are enjoying you being part of our family everyday. You are such a blessing to us and we are so thankful to have you! Keep it up, sweet girl- you are such a great baby!!!!

Here is Kailyn's month in review of pictures:

September 5, 2012- First Ferris Wheel ride in Pensacola, FL

September 6, 2012- Pensacola, Day 6. Sunset photo shoot.

September 7, 2012- Pensacola, Day 7. Fun in the pool!

September 8, 2012- Pensacola, Day 8. Post dinner pictures.

September 9, 2012- Pensacola, Day 9- Headed home!

September 16, 2012- Watching the water fountain at Bridgestreet

September 17, 2012- Playing at home on a lazy Sunday morning.

First ride on the carousel at Bridgestreet...tea cups may have been a little much, she spit up afterwards!

September 18, 2012- Playing in the jumperoo at home.

September 21, 2012- Bama pictures at the Botanical Gardens.

September 28, 2012- First Camping trip, Guntersville Lake

September 29, 2012- First hike in the woods. She fell asleep while walking (riding in the Baby Bjorn!).

More Bama pictures, this time on the golf course in Gunter's Landing.

Reality picture: Kailyn, you love to put everything in your mouth. You picked a blade of grass, choked on it, then spit up! Sweet Caleb was trying to stop you.