10 months

once again, time is flying!! (and i'm a little late on this post because we went on vacation!! - will post about that later)

Ruby Belle is now 10 months old and growing SO fast. she continues to delight us more and more each day!

• she is BUSY!!
• loves to laugh and giggle
• understands "no" (yep, she's mischievous! and likes to play with wires and outlets - thank goodness for outlet covers!)
• still not saying anything i'll call her 1st words, but babbles and "talks" all the time!
• still not very good at clapping or waving "hi/bye" on command
• has reverted and will only sometimes give "kisses"
• loves to crawl up on everything
• crawling like crazy
• walking with assistance (push toys) - she LOVES to do this!!! and gets SO mad when she gets stuck on something, but is quickly learning to maneuver around furniture better
• got another tooth...her first one on top so now she has 3 teeth
• is becoming much more of a pickier eater...but not terribly picky. (see previous post "feedin' time"
• i think her picky eating habits are really a result of wanting to be more independent. she is really liking self feeding
• likes watermelon, canteloupe (both take forever to eat...it's like she sucks the juice then leaves the rest in her mouth)
• will take some bites of stuff we're eating, but nothing consistent
• wearing 3 and 4 Pampers diapers...but she poops out both sizes - this is kind of new
• still wearing cloth diapers! NOT pooping out of these!
• have not mastered or even doing really well at the sippy cup....think i'm gonna try straws next (i read where they are better for babies anyway...we'll see how that goes!)
• eating 4-5 times a day still (usually 4 bottles of 6-7 oz and then maybe one of about 3-6oz, eats fruits, veggies, cereal and some bites of whatever we can find that she'll try that day)
• LOVES Cheerios and any kind of puffs always!
• wearing 9-12 month clothes
• taking 2 naps a day
• still sleeping great through the night! goes down around 8pm and gets up around 6:30-7
• i'm pumping 4 times a day still...thinking of going to 3 times...and will quit at the beginning of September!!! (i can't wait!!)
• does not want to sit still for pics!! (excuse the quality...taken w/my iPhone this month)

feedin' time

about a month ago, i attempted to make my first baby food. i have been meaning to do it for about 3 months now, but just now got around to it. (i had to go buy a food processor first...i didn't have one or even a blender) i made green peas and sweet potatoes. i was SO proud. however, Ruby Belle is less impressed. it's like force feeding at it's finest...and that doesn't go so well with a 9 month old! i think i probably should have tried this a month or 2 ago!! why Gerber sweet peas and water is better than mine??? who knows!?! guess i'll keep trying since i have a lot in my freezer!! until then we've moved on to finger foods. MUCH more fun for her and hours of entertainment!! easy, confined entertainment...messy, though! i think she's just becoming more independent and wants to do it herself. unless it's Gerber #2 baby food (nope, she won't eat #3's on most days either!) then she puts her hand up and shoves the spoon away!!
so, it's mostly play time these days when it comes to trying new foods but that leads to bath time!!! that girl could play in the bath for hours!! she LOVES the water!!! maybe she'll end up a swimmer!!! (i don't think she has a choice, right?!)

WonderLOVE

I have never felt something so amazing before. i just LOVE her more than anything i could have ever dreamed of. today we had just gotten to church and were in the middle of the opening singing and i just lost it. i couldnt' stop crying! i just pictured her beautiful, fun, sweet smile and i couldn't imagine life without her. or anything bad happening to her. so, i prayed and prayed that she would just have the most fruiful and wonderful life...and cried and cried just because i love her so much! really...it hits me at least once a day how much i wish i could hold her, cuddle w/her, kiss her, squeeze her, just love her! it really makes my heart melt more than any other thing has before, and i love it. and i love her more and more everyday! along w/that comes the wonder...

• what will she look like when she's 5, 10, 18, 25, 30??


• what will her interests be?


• will we get along?


• will i ever get any sleep once she starts driving?


• will she love me as much as i love her?


• will she like to hang out w/me as much as i love to hang w/my mom?

I just love her so much and am SO excited to have a lifetime of learning about her and loving her!! I am SO blessed!

(trying on our new shorts...shirtless redneck style!)

Payton family reunion & 9 month photo shoot!

so we had a family reunion last weekend in Branson. Justin's mother's side (we did his dad's side back in April). the reunion was fun...LOTS of people! there are 6 sisters on that side. they were all there, plus their kids and their kid's kids! there were 2 other babies to hang w/Ruby Belle, but plenty of 3-12 yr olds (and all the adults) that were always willing to give Ruby Belle plenty of attention! it was a hot weekend, so we spent one day at the pool and the rest of the days just hanging.

here are some photos

i was also able to sneak in a photo shoot with my sister-in-law. she's an awesome photographer! here are some shots!

exercise...where have you been?!

i've missed you SOO much!! i've just realized this week how much i miss you! i exerciseed all through my pregnancy and even after, but once i went back to work, it became a once or twice a week thing instead of a 4, 5, 6 day a week thing. now it's warm out and i LOVE it!! it's even better when it's 95 outside because i love to sweat! so, lately work has been more of a 40-50 hr/week instead of 45-55 hr/week. (yes, those 5 hours make a BIG difference when you're choosing b/t exercise and your child!) and i've been getting back into the swing of regular exercise. truly it hasn't been terribly important to me b/c i lost all of my baby weight plus some within 5 months (the plus some was probably muscle i lost since i wasn't really exercising much!) AND i wanted to spend the time i had with Ruby Belle. However, i do feel a bit guilty b/c i have lost most of my cardiovascular abilities. so, i'm trying to get a little back on the wagon, aiming for 3 days a week instead of my "before-baby" 5-7 days/week. besides, i've got to get back into the swing of things before we start thinking about trying for baby #2!

9 months

9 months...seems so significant since that's about the time it took to bring this little baby into the world (well, 40 weeks!!...that is NOT 9 months!) So, we had our 9 month doctor's appointment and everything still looks great!!

9 month stats:

weight: 17lbs 13oz (45th percentile)

height: 27 1/4th inches (50th percentile)

Ruby Belle is getting SO big. and SO much more fun and shows more and more personality every day! (right now she's playing by herself and i just looked up and she's chewing on a toy and spinning around in circles on her booty...something she just apparently learned how to do and thinks is fun b/c she's been doing it all morning!)

• smiles more than anything
• laughs/giggles at herself and when tickled
• loves to play peek-a-boo and giggles like crazy
• can wave..not exactly on command though
• just started giving kisses back when you get close and act like you're going to give her a kiss. she just leans in and puts her mouth on yours. (sometimes!) SO CUTE!
• puts everything in her mouth...caught her with a dead spider...YES, A DEAD SPIDER!! in her mouth a few days ago! SO gross!!!
• speaking of putting things in her mouth...i think we're going to really have to start watching her...she's a bit mischeivious!
• knows the word "NO" when you tell her, but it doesn't always stop her!!
• crawling everywhere
• pulling up on eveything...and when she does she often looks around to find you and then sort of waves and smiles
• busy, busy, busy!
• i think she may be a show off :)
• can take a few steps if you guide her
• still has only 2 teeth
• still wearing 6-9 months...can wear some 12 month
• still wearing #3 diapers and also cloth diapers
• eating 5 times a day - eats about 30-32 oz of breast milk and a fruit, a veggie and some cereal each day
• i'm pumping 4 times a day
• she takes 2 naps usually a day...one around 9 or 10 and the other around 1pm. sometimes falls asleep on the way home from daycare , too
  
  

a few new pics