Per Request

I have been asked by several people for a blog update. So here it is! :) I obviously have not been very good at updating it lately...which I knew would eventually happen when I started it. Why??? I am not really sure why...other than I guess I don't make the time. I don't really have an excuse other than that. We moved into a new house in October, so since then things have been crazy busy...we had the move, Callie's 1st birthday, and the holidays all within a couple months. We are still trying to get settled into our new house...it is a slow process, but it is coming together a little at a time. It is nice to finally have all of our things in one place all together! This is the first time since we got married it has all been together! And Miss Callie...well she is 15 months old! I can't even believe it! Time continues to just fly by! She is the most amazing thing ever and we just adore her! Here is what she is up too right now: She is a busy little lady who is on the go most of the time....she is walking everywhere and is able to climb up our stairs all by herself! She loves music and loves to dance. She loves our dog Jax and starts saying his name as soon as she wakes up. She is a JABBERBOX!!! I counted all of her words the other day and I honestly came up with at least 30 words she can say! I am not exaggerating! I would say that at least half of those would be understandable by other people. We try to talk to her about what we are doing and read to her all the time, so I attribute her language development to that. She loves her kitchen, her baby dolls, and her most favorite thing of all...Little People! It is just crazy to me how much she loves these things...she has a ton them and she just gets them out and lines them all up in one spot...then she will take them one by one and put them somewhere else. She is a great eater...is still on the small side...she wears a size 4 shoe, is pretty much in 12-18 month clothing, is 21.7 pounds and 31 inches tall. Her hair is growing and we are just barely able to do pigtails! So cute! She LOVES jewelry, but hates hair accessories! She is finally a great sleeper...sleeping about 11-12 hours at night and taking 1-2 naps per day totaling about 2-3 hours. My most favorite thing about her...she is the most loving child...she is constantly giving hugs and kisses and she still loves to snuggle up on my lap!! I know she is growing up, but I hope that is something that doesn't change for a long time!!! Here are some pictures from her 12 month photo shoot...I have more current ones, but these were already downloaded on my computer...so they were easy!

So sweet and innocent

One of my favorites!

9 months old and on the move!

Yesterday was Callie's 9 month birthday! It doesn't even seem possible!! We had her 9 month appointment yesterday with our pediatrician and she gave us a great report! She said that Callie is doing everything she is supposed to and guesses that she will be walking by her 1 year birthday! Very exciting! She has changed so much, especially these past few weeks. Here is what she is up to now:

• Crawling!! It is a mix between an army crawl and actual crawling, but she can really get across the floor fast. Her favorite things to go after are the dog's tail and our DVD's!
• Can say "Dada", "Momma", "Buuuba" (what we call the dog), and on occasion "Neighna" (Nana)
• Can wave hi and bye bye
• Still loves peek a boo and her jumperoo
• Loves reading books
• Is finally able to put herself to sleep and we have been seeing MUCH longer night time sleep! YAY!! She did amazing with this...I knew she needed to do it, but didn't want to have to listen to her cry it out too long. I also didn't want to give up rocking her! Selfish I know! After starting to feel like a jungle gym every night, I knew it was time. The first night she cried about 20 minutes. That was it! I was shocked! The next day when I put her down for her first nap...she fussed for about 2 minutes, her second nap was about 2 seconds, and that night at bedtime she didn't cry at all! So amazing! We are so proud of her!
• Is trying more food...still loves her veggies but starting to try more table food. Her favorite thing is pasta!
• Is still teething...she is trying to get all 4 of her front ones in at the same time...one of the bottom ones has finally broke through the gum!
• Can pull up on things
• Loves bath time and likes splashing!
• She is a nosey girl!! You can see her checking things out and she sticks her nose up in the air...just trying to get a peek at something! It is so funny and cute!
• Here are her 9 month stats: Weight - 18 lbs. 15 oz. (54%) - the doctor was so happy that she actually went up in her percentile...her last one was 33%. She said that usually at this age you see a decline since they are on the move more. Yay Callie! Length - 28 1/2 inches (84%). Also up a little from last time!

I haven't done her 9 month photo shoot yet and her professional shoot is this coming Saturday, but here is a few pictures from this past month! Hope you enjoy them!

You can't tell by the picture, but she is actually sitting on the shelf of this stand!

Me with my girl and Jax

Daddy and Callie

Callie playing with Daddy's blackberry before the Purdue game

Callie playing before bed....notice Jax is keeping a watchful eye on his sister!

Callie - 8 months

Whew! This past month has flown by and once again I find myself getting behind on my blog. The past month Callie has changed so much. She is definitely a busy little lady! She is pretty much jabbering up a storm and go, go, go from the minute she wakes up. There are days when I feel like I can barely keep up with her, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Here is what Callie has been up to the past month: went on her second vacation to Dale Hollow, had a pool play date with some of my coworkers and their kiddos, still LOVES her jumperoo, babbling...has actually said "Mom, Mom, Momma" and what sounds like "Buuuba" (what we call Jax sometimes), working on trying to crawl...gets up on her knees and rocks...can definitely get around but not officially crawling yet, can pull up onto things, eating new foods...had pancakes on her 8 month birthday and LOVED them, teething...trying to get her top teeth in, still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, can give kisses, loving Jax more and more...smiles when she sees him - babbles and bounces up down like she is having a conversation with him...it is too cute!, can now drink out of straw cup, likes to roll cars or blocks/balls back and forth with someone on the floor...like I said she is just changing so much everyday! I know there is so much more that I didn't mention, but should probably finish this up soon before Miss Callie notices I am busy doing something else!! Here are some pictures from the past month. Say Cheese! Just love her smile!

Loving her Jumperoo

Standing up against the couch by herself

Out to lunch with mom and dad

Trying to get our 8 month pictures, but as you can

see they are getting harder and harder to get!

Hiding behind her doggie

Callie at 8 months

Sweet girl

Best buddies!

7 months old

The past 7 months has gone by so incredibly fast! Too fast! I wish it would just slow down a little! Our little one is keeping us quite busy these days. This past month we took her on her first vacation to my parent's cabin at Dale Hollow Lake. She did amazing on the trip down and back. We only stopped once both ways for her to eat. She took her first boat ride while we were there...she did pretty good with that...just didn't like the wind blowing in her face. I also finally gave in and let her take her first swim in the lake. She liked it, but the poor thing looked like a marshmellow puff with her life jacket on. I don't think she could really even turn her head! She did have a good time playing in the boat though! She also slept amazingly well there...actually better there than she does at home! Mommy was also able to get caught up on some much needed sleep and JR and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary!! It really was a great trip!

This is what else Miss Callie is up to these days: still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, loves her jumper, sits up so straight and tall to play with her toys, pushes straight up on her arms and rocks back and forth when on her belly...just not sure how to work her legs yet, can stand up a few minutes by herself if you put up against the couch, loves to read books, loves food...eating 3 meals a day and sometimes a snack...her favorite is peas and sweet potato puffs, drinking pretty well from her sippy cup independently, loves peek a boo, loves taking horsey rides on your legs, has some separation anxiety, babbles up a storm, LOVES Jax and just smiles at him and babbles away...like she is having a conversation with him....I could go on and on with what she is up to! She is such a joy and we adore her!! Here are a few pictures from this past month. 1st Fourth of July

Hanging out with Jax

Our sweet pea!

Our 2nd Anniversary

She wasn't too sure about her hat

The life jacket is almost bigger than she is!

Crazy hair!!

Our Family

7 month pics with mommy

It is so hard to get her to sit still for the monthly pics now!

Callie's 1st swim

Sorry I am so far behind on the blog! Miss Callie is keeping mommy busy, busy, busy. We took her swimming the first time at the end of June. She wasn't real sure about it at first, but by the end I think she was actually enjoying herself! She almost fell asleep in her floatie! Here a few pics from the day. Waving hello

All kicked back in her floatie

Almost asleep

Big smiles

Our little miss

Callie's 6 month pics

Here are some of Callie's 6 month professional photo shoot pics! Enjoy! One of my favorites!!!
So pretty!

Love her hair in this one!

Little lady

Love her little feet!

Another favorite!

So sweet and innocent!

She wouldn't quit playing with her shoes!

1/2 a year old!

It is so hard to believe our little miss has been here for 1/2 a year! 6 months old! It has gone by way to fast! Every stage has its fun parts...this past month has been a month of lots of growing and learning. You can actually watch her looking around and processing things...she is a nosey little thing! She doesn't miss anything! This past month we have started using our exersaucer and she LOVES it! She actually looks for it when she wakes up in the morning and starts bouncing up and down in our arms with excitement! It is too cute! Since about 5 1/2 months she has been able to sit up by herself! She is very good at it and really enjoys playing with her toys like this. We started stage 1 foods...she LOVES veggies and has her days with fruit. Some days she likes it...other days she doesn't. She would prefer fresh fruit. We have tried some in a feeding bag...she has had peaches, pears, and bananas. This month we are starting stage 2 food. Sleeping...well that is still an ongoing work in process, but it is getting better. We got something called the Graco Sweet Slumber Sound Machine for her room...that seems to have helped a lot creating some white noise. We use it during her naps and at bed. Most days she is taking 2 naps. The first one is anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. The second is usually 1 and a half to 3 hours. At night she is going to bed between 7-8....still getting up at least once if not twice through the night...and then waking up for the day between 6:30 - 7:30. Let's see...what else...she LOVES Jax now! She looks for him and will babble...like she is talking to him. She will literally turn her head upside down to find him, she is reaching for him and tugging on him...he is such a good boy and doesn't seem to mind too much! She likes books...her favorite is The Barnyard Dance, loves bath time and bubbles, loves Mickey Mouse and starts dancing when she hears the theme song come on, has developed some stranger anxiety...there is so much more, but these are the highlights. Here are Callie's stats from her Dr's appt this month...

weight: 15 pounds 1 ounce - 33rd percentile...the Dr. said this is probably because she is so active! length: 26 1/4 inches - 70th percentileLOVES her exersaucer! Thanks Aunt Jenny and Uncle Evan!!

Eating a banana

So cute in her little skirt!

Love her smile here!

Sitting up all by herself and playing with her toys

All ready for church - check out the shoes Nana bought her!

Sitting in her high chair, practicing with her sippy cup

6 month pics with mommy

"Mom...I don't want to sit still by the dog...I just want to play with him!"

One of my faves!

Callie Michelle at 6 months old