The Tenth Month

Princess Tiny is 10 months!

I'm super duper late posting this but the holidays got the best of me.

How is it even possible that our little girl is going to be one year old in a little less than 2 months?

I'm equally as excited as I am terrified and heartbroken.

I really didn't think I'd miss the infant days but I'm wishing I could have some of those first few days back more and more.

It's no secret that I had PPD/PPA right after giving birth and it made my first few months as a new mother filled with lots of tears, worry, and anger. 

But, I would still go back to those days in a heart beat.

I now know how fast it goes and how quickly things can change.

I remember calling my mom several times telling her what the problem of the week was.

She would sympathize with me and offer her advice and then say "just remember, it's only a phase. Next week it will be something completely different!"

Oh how true that is.

Babies grow fast. Too fast.

Here's what our Oaklyn girl has been up to this past month:

-She gets into anything and everything! Hunter always calls her "curious" as in, "Hey curious! What are you doing?" And, it could not be more accurate. She wants to see and touch everything.

-She stands and walks along the side of things while holding on. She will occasionally stand by herself for a second or two but once she notices she isn't holding on she falls to her bum. Little scaredy cat ;)

-She eats just about anything she can get her hands on! We've done a combination of baby led weaning and purees here and there and so far she has tried to eat everything we give her! Eating is her favorite pass time and she snacks all day long. I swear the kid is always hungry!

-She has the sassiest little personality and it is coming through more and more. If something is in her way she throws it behind her and continues crawling without batting an eye. It kills me every time! Some of her sassy traits are definitely funny but we unfortunately have a tantrum-throwing hitter on our hands and I'm working on starting early discipline. She really doesn't like the word no...

-She's sleeping better at night and has moved on to one long nap during the day. I thought I wouldn't like it as much but I actually love it! We can get more done throughout the day and as long as she's busy we can keep her up later.

-She pretty much hates the car seat. About 70% of the time she is in it, she's crying. She wants to be moving all over the place and she can't do that in the car. So if you were wondering... Yes, our road trip to San Diego was pretty miserable for all of us ;)

-She says "dada" "mama" and "oohhh" but her favorite is definitely dada. She usually only says mama when I walk out of the room and she's chasing me trying to get my attention.

-She falls down a lot and has already gotten quite a few cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

-Her favorite errand to run is going to Costco. I have to get her her own sample or else she'll eat all of mine!

-Her current favorite foods are corn, dill pickles, quesadillas, sliced ham, cheerios, graham crackers, and blueberries. We're working on veggies...

-Her smile lights up my world and her giggles are the very best! She thinks the word "stinky" is hilarious along with "silly" but her favorite is rubbing your head on her tummy. 

-She has three teeth and one about to pop through! She has her two bottom teeth and her top right. The top left is the one about to pop through. It looks hilarious!

-She's going through the separation anxiety phase and burrows into me if she's meeting someone new. She also looks at said person up and down and the second they look at her, she looks away.

-She had her first Christmas and got completely spoiled with toys! I would say that the ribbon, wrapping paper, tissue paper, bags, and boxes were her favorite though ;)

-She is incredibly smart and picks things up super fast. She has learned how to open cabinets and unfortunately the toilet lid. She imitates what I am doing all day long.
-She still LOVES to be wrapped on mama in the solly baby wrap.
-She also still growls and makes dinosaur noises all day long. 

-Overall she is incredibly busy and the perfect combination of sassy and sweet :)

Oaklyn really is the perfect little addition to our family. We love her more than we knew possible. We beg for time away from her, but the second we leave her we can't stop talking about her! She has filled a part of our lives that we didn't know was missing. She has taught us to be more selfless, and caring. I have loved watching her grow thus far and I'm so happy I get to continue watching her grow every step of the way. 

As for me, I'm wondering constantly what I ever did with my time before becoming a mother. Oaklyn keeps me on my toes and I feel like I'm always busy. I have never felt more important than I do when I'm taking care of her. Motherhood is no walk in the park, but it's every bit worth it. I'm no longer pumping at all and I really don't miss it! this past month I have loved showing my baby girl off to family and friends. She really is my greatest accomplishment :)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy