Rylie Kay – 10 Months

Ten months! How in the world can it be?! This month our sweet girl has grown an incredible amount and even got her first three teeth! The first two came in within the first week of the month and my goodness they are sharp! The third followed about a week or so later and they seem to just keep popping up. Needless to say, this teething business has left us a quite tired! The combination of irregular sleeping patterns and some symptoms from a little cold threw us off a bit since it was the first time she has been sick. It has been fun though to watch her figure out her teeth as she constantly moves her tongue over them. With these new teeth have also come new foods. Her preferences for solid foods seem to change by the day, but she enjoys all of the baby foods we have given her so far. Bread, however, is always a winner (who doesn’t love bread?)!

At the beginning of the month, we bought her a little car that she can ride on and push. It has all kinds of fun buttons to push, but her favorites are the ones that play songs. Every time she pushes them, without fail, she sways back and forth and has the best smile on her face. If you even hum the song it plays, she will start dancing. We just love it! It has been really fun to see her take a stronger interest in her toys and to see which ones she likes the best. Her absolute favorites are her stuffed animals, Elly the elephant, Houston the horse, bunny foo foo and her zebra blankey. You can ask her where they are and she will look around the room for them. Once found, she picks them up and gives them a big hug. We simply adore watching her do this!

During this month’s photoshoot, Rylie Kay learned that she can climb! There was a lot of picking her up and re-situating her, which of course she thought was so much fun. This month I also had to bribe her for the first time with some snacks. She was very entertained by putting the puffs on the chair and eating them from there instead of from her hand. Oh my girl!

The first video shows one of her favorite things to do, make raspberries (or whatever it’s called)! She also does this if she has a toy that moves. And the second video, well that’s just Rylie being Rylie! Enjoy!

And the beloved outtakes!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Rylie Kay – 9 Months

Oh Rylie Kay! Our sweet baby is growing so fast and seemed to change so much this month. She has completely mastered crawling and is really fast! Every time we leave her in the nursery at church, they always comment on how fast she is. And boy do we know that! I think she’s pretty impressed with how fast she can go and loves to look down when shes crawling, either to go faster or to watch her legs. It’s so funny to see her do it. She isn’t walking yet, but she loves to stand and walk around things while holding on to them. It definitely won’t be long before she’s off!

She loves puffs and stealing my water bottle for a nice big gulp of water. She doesn’t quite get the whole tipping a normal sippy cup up, but we’ve been so surprised that she’s able to drink out of a real water bottle with a straw. Maybe that’s a normal thing, but I don’t recall seeing it a lot! No teeth, but all of the signs are there (aka hello drool) so we think we’ll see one for sure within the next month.

Of course we just love every little milestone she hits and each new skill she learns. I never realized how gratifying it would be to teach her things and then to see her do them on her own. One of our favorites is playing “catch” with her. She loves to throw the ball to you, sometimes haphazardly, and is so proud after she does it. She can’t wait to get it back and start all over again. She loves to clap and wave. She often waves back at herself, but I’m hesitant to correct her because it’s just so cute!

I think the outtakes below really show how her nine month photo session went, but she did sit still for a few good ones! As shown in the video, she’s incredible animated and loves the sound of her own voice. Oh how I’d love to hear what she’s trying to tell us because she’s always so excited to share. We love our precious little girl and are so blessed to be her parents!

And here are the outtakes! Had to bribe her for some smiles just a bit with her favorite book near the end!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Rylie Kay – 8 Months

OK, eight months seems so old! Sometimes I look at Rylie and think she looks so grown up already. And then other times I see her completely differently and she looks like such a tiny baby. One thing is for sure though, this girl is tall! Because of this, she looks much older than other babies that are close to her in age.

At eight months, Rylie crawls on her knees, but still does the army crawl if she wants to go somewhere fast. Her movements still look very methodical and planned on when she’s on her knees. Still no teeth, but they’ve got to be coming soon! All of the signs are definitely here! She eats pureed baby food 1-2 times a day and has mastered grabbing and eating puffs by herself. We may try breaking up food into small pieces soon too. I’m so hesitant to move on to the next step in everything, but it’s so much fun to see her progress and be able to do things we’ve been working on. She can wave really well and is starting to figure out that she can wave with just her hand and not her whole arm. So cute! She pulls up on things by herself and can stand for awhile if something has her attention. While holding on, she can also take a few steps to get something she wants if it’s out of her reach. She also LOVES to make noises with her mouth and I was thankful she did it once during the video below because she does it all the time. She can entertain herself for quite awhile making all sorts of funny noises.

Taking her eight month pictures was the most challenging yet! I picked her up and sat her back down from a standing position more times than I could count. These pictures are SO her right now though that I just went with it. The outtakes at the bottom are what the 20 minute photo shoot really looked like! I love how you can see her handprints on the back of the chair  in some of the pictures. She was definitely everywhere! Oh how we love this sweet, stubborn and energetic girl!

Outtakes! She did lots of exploring during this photo shoot!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Rylie Kay – 7 Months

At seven months, Rylie Kay is definitely mobile! She has the army crawl down and we have been told by several people that she’s the fastest they’ve ever seen! Although she will get on her knees to crawl, she usually just falls forward and goes into army crawl mode. We love how she goes extra fast when she sees one of us and that she’s now able to move to where she wants, when she wants. Of course this is good and bad! When she’s headed toward something she’s not supposed to have (trash can, iHome/clock, fan) she looks back at us, smiles and when we say ‘no’, she smiles even bigger and then continues on her way. She’ll learn in time, I guess!

Still no teeth, but she has shown a lot of the signs that they’re coming! Based on how much she drools and puts stuff in her mouth, we’re actually surprised that we don’t even have any little white buds yet! Her hair continues to be a pretty strawberry blonde color and is starting to even out. We’re interested to see if it turns any more red as she gets older.

At the end of her seventh month, Rylie went to the beach for the first time! We went for a long weekend with Van’s parents and had a great time. Rylie LOVES the water, especially the pool. She enjoyed the ocean, but not as much as the little pool we had set up under the tent. We’re so thankful that our friends suggested we do this and even let us borrow their stuff! She could still enjoy the beach without getting a ton of sand in her eyes/mouth/ears/etc! All three of us are looking forward to many more beach trips in the future!

I thought she was difficult to photograph in some of our previous monthly photoshoots, but seven months definitely proved to be the hardest! She did NOT want to sit still and look at the camera at the same time! No way! She had to explore the chair and everything around it. One of our favorite things to watch her do is feel different textures. She looks mesmerized as she rubs her hands on things, especially soft things. As a softy lover myself, I’d say she gets it from me! She does the same thing with Van’s arm hair and it’s so sweet to watch her rub his arm. She’s still very much a daddy’s girl, which is fine by me. So precious!

Here’s a look at our sweet and very active seven month old! Enjoy the pics, video and of course the out takes at the end!

‘

‘

And a fun little comparison of one month, four months and seven months!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hard to believe that next month she’ll be eight months old! NOT ready for that!

Rylie Kay – 6 Months

Already a half of a year old? How can it be?! At times it seems like Rylie Kay has been in our lives forever, while at other times it feels like she was just born. I can’t say enough what a true blessing we consider her to be. It’s no doubt that we’re proud to be her parents!

At her six month check up, she weighed 16 pounds 10 oz (65th percentile)  and was 28 1/2 inches long (99th percentile!!). We knew she was tall, if by nothing other than the fact that so many of her pants could pass as capris, but we were surprised to find out that she’s in the 99th percentile!

She can now scoot around to pretty much anywhere she wants, which is fun and nervewracking all at the same time! She is of course drawn to all of the things she can’t have (computer cords, phone chargers, outlets, etc.) and is proving to be stubborn in that she just keeps going back even though we constantly pull her away. Sounds like it’s time to baby proof! For awhile she just scooted around on the carpet and didn’t go on the hardwood floors or in the kitchen. But once she realized she could go there too, she was off! We also started pureed food after her six month appointment and she has done pretty well with it. She’s still such a mess every time we feed her though that I’m often left thinking that bottles and breastfeeding are just so much easier/better! We are learning right along with her though and hopefully soon it won’t be such a chore. So far we’ve tried avocados, green beans and peas. We’re excited to see her reaction to other things and to introduce fruit eventually.

Her six month pictures were so much fun to take. She was very smiley this day and just in a great mood pretty much the whole time. She was definitely over it by the end though and the video at the bottom just cracks me up. I don’t know about you, but when I get frustrated, putting my toes in my mouth always seems like the best idea! Ha! Enjoy these pics of little miss Rylie Kay at six months old!

And of course, the outtakes!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Rylie Kay – 5 Months

We are having so much fun watching our sweet girl grow! The months go by so quickly and before I knew it, another month slipped away and she’s now six months old! Stop growing baby!

At five months, she began to roll all over the place. We could no longer walk away for a few minutes and return to find her in the same spot. She has been rolling over for quite awhile now, but she recently learned that she can roll to get things that she wants. About a week before she turned six months old, she started scooting around on her tummy. Once she gets that determined look on her face, she’s gone! At about the same time, she began working on her first tooth. It’s at the very early stages, but she is showing a lot of signs of teething: drooling constantly (although she’s been doing that for awhile!), putting everything in her mouth, not sleeping as well (boo!) and even refusing to nurse for several days at a time. That last one is difficult because it takes three times as long to feed her. Let’s hope it’s short-lived!

She has also started getting upset when something she wants is taken away and she usually smiles when told no, although she doesn’t have a clue what it means yet. Her changing pad is right under the window and we have to keep the blinds up when she’s being changed or she will pull on them. She has such a strong grip that I have no doubt that she could easily bring them down!

These pictures really show her personality, especially the outtakes where she’s being a little pistol! Oh how we adore this girl!

Click the slideshow below for outtakes that show how this photo session REALLY went down!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Rylie Kay – 4 Months

Well now that Rylie Kay is almost FIVE months old, I figured I better post her four month pictures! Our sweet girl is getting more and more interactive by the day and we are having so much fun with her. Maybe I say that every month? She makes all kinds of silly faces and loves to stick her tongue out. She has also become fascinated with her feet and tries to get them any chance she gets. She can’t quite sit up by herself yet, but she can roll over easily and will stand for awhile if held up. I’m hoping this isn’t the case, but we think she’ll start crawling around six months. I guess we’ll see!

Once again, it turns out that I have quite a few favorites from this four month photo session. Enjoy!

 

Ten on Thursday

Wowza! These past two weeks have disappeared before my eyes! I seriously can’t believe it’s already May and that summer is just around the corner! We have had a lot going on since I last posted, but I think today I’ll just share some cutie pics of Rylie girl. Then again, I guess that’s what I’ve done since she was born so it’s not much different, but just go with me on this one!

1. It’s so hard to believe, but Rylie is over four months old now! She got her four month shots last week. Unfortunately, our appointment ended up being at exactly the time that she was hungry and ready for a nap. So she was extra happy about her shots…not! We hated to see our sweet girl so upset. Glad that’s over with! She’s still long and lean weighing 13 lb 10 oz and 25 inches long!

2. She has become so much more playful over the past few weeks. Her legs are just long enough where she can jump in her jumperoo and it makes her so excited every time she does it. She has also learned to turn around in the seat and likes to spin the toys as she tries to get them in her mouth!

3. Right before we left for Arizona, she started sticking her tongue out all the time. This happy girl just cracks us (and herself) up!

4. She can now roll over easily from her tummy to her back and from her back to her front. Something is wrong with the sound on this video, but you still get the idea! She thinks she can crawl too and gets frustrated when she doesn’t go anywhere! I have a feeling that we aren’t TOO far off from crawling, which is exciting and terrifying and sad all at the same time!

5. Rylie takes after Van in a lot of ways (good sleeper is the main one!). Another that we have recently discovered is that she is hot natured. She gets hot so easily and then is annoyed by it. She had gotten warm one day so I ran my fingers through her hair a little and thought she looked so sweet with her hair like this! Clearly this helped cool her down and she became her smiley self again. Of course here she goes again with sucking her thumb with her hand open! Love that!

6. With all that has happened in Boston, I have been watching the news a little more lately to keep up-to-date with the craziness. Rylie decided she likes watching the news too and turns her head completely around to see what’s going on. She actually stays like this for awhile like she’s really watching it! Note to self: Limit the TV while she’s awake!

7. On Saturday we gave her rice cereal for the first time. We went all out and fed it to her with a spoon as opposed to in a bottle and she LOVED it. Of course now that she knows what’s going on, she tries to grab the spoon and doesn’t want to let go if she gets a grip on it. When I try to get the food off of her chin, she chases the spoon with her mouth and starts smacking. It’s quite the scene (and mess)! Van loves feeding her the rice cereal so I’ll let him do that and I’ll stick to the milk – much less messy!

8. We try to read at least one book before bed and we can’t get over how much Rylie seems to enjoy it. She moves her face right up to the page and even holds the edges of the book. After seeing us turn the pages, she has been trying to do it too. Smart little cookie!

9. While we were in Arizona, we got her to giggle several times and managed to catch a few on camera. She was laughing at Van here and then I was able to make her laugh as we walked through the airport in Memphis during a layover. These are some of our favorite moments since we have really been looking forward to her giggling and laughing!

10. Here’s a little sneak peek of her 4 month pictures! I took them WEEKS ago and just haven’t had time to share. They’re coming though, promise!

My goodness we love this sweet girl! Her personality is really starting to come out and it’s so much fun watching her grow and develop. Thanks for stopping by!

Rylie – 3 Months

Three months? Are you serious?! Rylie is developing such a little personality and we just love it! If you smile at her, you’re almost guaranteed a smile in return and probably even some baby babble too! We love this precious girl so much and are so blessed to have spent the last three months with her. I think I took even more pictures this time around because she just kept smiling and making cute faces. I had a hard time narrowing down my favorites, so at the bottom I included a little gallery with several more pictures that were taken.  I’m finding that I end up with quite a few more blurry pictures as the month’s go on. I have a feeling that before long it will be pretty difficult to get her to stay put for these pictures!

And a cutie headband from Makenna for good measure…

And just look at how she has changed each month! Still pretty little, but growing FAST!

Here are just a few more of my favorites!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And here are two videos of some 3 month baby babble! Please excuse my obnoxious Mommy voice!

A Daily Dose of Cuteness

After taking a quick glance at the extensive collection of photos that I have taken of Rylie, I thought it would be fun to put them all together in a photo-a-day format. I’ll be updating it weekly so be sure to check out the ever-increasing cuteness of our sweet baby and watch as she grows! Click the link or the image below to view the pictures. There is also a tab at the top of my blog that will allow you to get there easily.

A Daily Dose of Cuteness