Happy Halloween!! I am so excited to celebrate my first All Hallow’s Eve as a mom! No doubt I will be dressing Annie up & showing her off to the neighborhood later this evening. But until then, we’re enjoying this regular Tuesday outside. Because it is one of the LAST cold days in Houston for a good while. I still can’t get over that the high for Thursday is back up at 86. But that’s another story.)
Today’s story is all about Annie. I am chatting all about life with her at 9-months & sharing some of the highlights of the past few weeks. She is growing SO fast & changes every day. So it’s no surprise I’ve got a lot to say about it below!
A few days ago Annie and I headed to Buchannans in The Heights to grab some pumpkins for the porch. I couldn’t resist snapping some photos amongst the pumpkins with my little pumpkin! It seems like only yesterday I remember telling anyone who would listen that Annie was finally the size of an actual pumpkin, inside my belly!
Y’all, her little-embroidered dress!! At least I can laugh about it after the fact, but when I bought it I was convinced it was an actual toddler DRESS. We had just moved into the toddler clothing section at Target and I was overwhelmed by all of the adorable options. I mean, this embroidered number looked huge! It must have been a dress, right?! Wrong! As soon as I put it on Annie and saw her pull up amongst the pumpkins, I realized something was just a tad bit off. Why was this precious little dress ridiculously short? Is my baby just that tall?
Nope. Come to find out it was a tunic top. lol And come to find out they make tunic tops for toddlers! But hey, in Houston this works perfectly as a dress! And now I know she can throw some leggings on underneath it when it gets cooler. So it’s actually sort of a win-win really. 😉
PS: Had to snap a few shots of my look in case you were interested in it too. This fringe sweater is a fun alternative to a simple cardigan & my oxford shoes from Cole Haan have a sneaker like bottom making them crazy comfortable for everyday!
Okay, now more about my lil pumpkin. How in the world is she already 9-months old? She now has SIX teeth, stands on her own and is determined to get wherever she wants to in our home. Super scary for mom & dad but exciting all the same. As she has gotten older, her personality has started to bloom and she seems more like a little girl every day as opposed to a baby. Motherhood has gotten easier in some ways and much harder in other ways. Sharing some of the highlights below!
Annie at Nine Months
Milestones: Like I mentioned above, she’s standing and on the move. Annie started crawling during Hurricane Harvey actually. We were at my in-laws for the week with a ton of downtime which helped to perfect the skill. She can now crawl SO fast that it even scares our two golden retrievers half to death whenever she does it. Annie has her top two teeth and four at the bottom already. Teething has not been fun but I can tell it is getting easier with each & every new tooth.
Talking: Yep, she’s already talking up a storm! While most of the time it’s your basic goo-goo & gaa-gaas, she says “Mama, Dada, Hiiii, Heyyyy, & Byebye! I know she 100% knows that I am Mama and Patrick is Dada. As for everything else, I think she’s just mimicking us for now but with each new word I’m completely blown away by how much she is able to take in from us. That baby brain sure is amazing!
Size/Looks: She’s much larger than a pumpkin now, that’s for sure! Annie is 28″ tall & 18 pounds. The doctor thinks she is going to be tall like her Daddy, but it’s still really hard to know for sure. Her hair has started to come in pretty quickly too. I’m able to finally put bows in it & there really is no need to tell y’all how much fun I’m having doing so. 😉
Mealtime: We went from mushy purees to actual solids much quicker than I expected, but she was ready for them. I’m still trying to figure out the best easy/quick/wholesome & hearty meals to give her, but some of our favorites have been butternut squash pieces, cottage cheese, bananas, & fajita fixings! Of course, she loves fajitas as much as her Mama.
Challenges: Working from home during the day is totally not a thing for me anymore, except for naptimes. Annie is on the go and requires 100% attention. When she was younger, she would play peacefully in her pack n play or find herself content for hours just staring at her mobile next to me. I was always able to crank out a bit of work here & there in addition to when she napped. These days she wants her freedom to explore, learn & grow & I am right there beside her. I find I’m waking up earlier & staying up later to get everything I need to do done. It’s harder to balance work-life & motherhood but worth it to get to fill my whole days with her.
Favorite Moments: The last time I did an Annie update, she was just 7-months. THere have been countless favorite moments in these last two months alone. If I had to narrow them down, I would say one was watching her stand on her own for the very first time. I couldn’t believe she was doing it & when I caught her eye she just looked SO proud. Oh & hearing her say Mama for the first time while holding her hands out to me was another heartwarming moment for sure!
5 Things Annie {& I} are Loving Lately
- A Lightweight Stroller: We just got the UPPAbaby G-LUXE stroller because we thought it would be great for a few trips we were planning on taking. Turns out that was one of the best decisions! While I love our VISTA, the G-LUXE fits through tight spaces and is easy to fold up and store away in a pinch.
- Floor Tiles/Play Mat: While our living room does have area rugs, we wanted something a little bit tougher for playtime & all of those falls we knew she’d end up having. I ordered two sets of multicolor floor mats from Amazon and we LOVE them. However, after the fact, I wish I ordered these. I love that the neutral colors don’t stand out as much and kind of sort of fit into our decor? I may switch them out because, at only $17 a set, it’s not too bad compared to these.
- This polka dot dress. This dress might be my favorite recent purchase for Annie. It’s by Boden and they make the most adorable baby (and grown-ups) clothes! I love that this dress is soft, adorable & holds up to her crawling all over the house. Paired with a red bow & shiny shoes, she’s set for the holidays too.
- A colorful & musical table. Now that Annie is standing and cruising around the furniture, we thought a little play table might be nice. (& boy were we right!) She absolutely loves this thing and will stand next to it pressing buttons and lifting levers for hours. It’s only around $40 and worth every penny.
- Our lobster. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before how much we love this portable high chair, but I can’t imagine motherhood without it! It’s a portable high chair that clips on to tables with lobster-like claws. We use it a lot when traveling but also here in Houston if we’re going someplace that we know might be a tight squeeze for strollers. Plus it cleans easily & is most-likely more hygienic than the average restaurant high chair.
- While we love our UPPAbaby strollers for out on the town, I honestly could not live without our BOB Jogger! There are several trails in Houston (specifically Memorial Park) that Annie & I frequent a lot. Our jogger is perfect for the rough terrain and unexpected bumps. It’s also a great stroller for our neighborhood as it makes for a smoother ride for Annie on the sidewalks and streets. I am not the biggest runner but I will lightly jog with her here & there. I love that BOB Revolution FLEX model has handbrakes and a wrist strap just in case. It definitely eases my mind when we’re on the go! Oh, last thing! It also has an attachment for the Britax infant car seat, which meant I was able to walk Annie in our jogger as early as day 1!
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As always, thank you for following along our little adventures. PS: do you notice something a little bit different on the site today? I’ve given it a few tweaks that I’ll chat about in more detail later. Hope ya like! & I hope you enjoy whatever it is you have planned tonight for Halloween!
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xo, alice
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photos by Ban Avenue
