9 months

It's hard to believe that Banks is already 9 months old!

She is really on the move now and will be walking in the next few weeks.  During the day, she crawls around the house and follows me from room to room.  And if Meiko or Wrigley pass by she moves at mach speed to catch them.  She gets stronger every day and is pulling up to standing all the time.  This past weekend she starting trying to balance on her own and lasted about 5 seconds.  I am trying to resist the urge to put a helmet on her...it kills me when she falls and cries.  There have only been a couple real bumps and the rest just startle her. She is a little bit of a drama queen, but recovers quickly.  

This past Friday, Banks went for her 9 month well check.  She is doing fantastic...growing and progressing up the charts right on schedule and meeting all of her milestones.  There were no shots this time so that makes everyone happy! 

Here are the stats from the visit...

Height - 27 3/4 inches - 50th percentile

Weight - 18 lbs - 25th percentile

Head Circumference: 44.5cm - between the 50th-75th percentile

what's cooking?

I have been a slacker on the blog - sorry!  We have been having lots of summer fun and I have the pictures to prove it!  I will be uploading them soon and you can see just how big our little Banks is getting.  Its hard to believe that she is already 9 months old.  We go for our 9 month well check this Friday.

This girl loves to eat!  I am still making about 90% of her food.  We are trying new foods every week and have incorporated yogurt into her diet. Of course she gobbles it up!  I am starting to add some new flavors into our recipes.  This week I have made...

granny smith applesauce with cinnamon
roasted summer squash with olive oil and herbs
mixed vegetables with parmesan

The new veggie this week is spinach...I mixed it with pear and mango and Banks ate it like she was Popeye!  

yum! yum! yum!

Banks has been eating solids since she turned 6 months old.  She loves to eat and looks so cute in her high chair.  We started with the classic rice cereal - I chose brown rice cereal - but that didn't work for Miss B.  It really slowed things down, if you know what I mean...so we switched to oatmeal cereal which she LOVES!  We also have to make sure she gets her prunes at least every other day.  I laugh and say she has the breakfast of a 70 year old woman - oatmeal and prunes.  I am making a lot of her baby food, organic of course, with the exception of bananas (she didn't like the homemade ones), mangoes (its cheaper to buy them already made), butternut squash, and prunes.  I have scored some great deals on organic baby food in the pouches so I do have those for when we go to the beach and travel to visit family.  I try to make sure she gets 3 fruits and 3 veggies in every day, plus her cereal.  Anyways, here are the fruits and veggies Banks has added to her food palate over the past several weeks!

Apples - her first love :)
Pears
Bananas
Prunes - to keep her tummy happy.
Sweet Potatoes - her absolute favorite!
Butternut Squash
Peas - not crazy about them at first, but likes them now.
Avocado
Kiwi
Apricots
Peaches - didn't hate them, but didn't really like them either.
Carrots
Mango - her new favorite fruit this week, especially mixed with bananas for a tropical breakfast.
Green Beans - just added yesterday and she seems to like them.

Coming up next will be some more green veggies...zucchini, spinach, broccoli.  We'll also try a multigrain cereal to mix things up a little.  It is so much fun to see her try new foods, taste them, examine the flavor and smile (most of the time.)  I love being able to make her food and I think it will be fun to come up with more flavor combos as we go along!

7 months

Banks turned 7 months old last week...here is her newest pic!

Miss B is getting so strong!  She is sitting up really well and even rode in the grocery cart yesterday...and loved it!  She is starting to scoot backwards when she is on her belly and pushes herself up on her toes, but she isn't getting her knees underneath her yet.  She loves to stand and while you support her, she will take a few steps...especially if Maestro (our cat) is near by.  When she is in her bathtub, she tries to grab the side and stand up!  It won't be long before she is on the move.  I can see that childproofing is in our near future!

Catching Up in Pictures, Part 2

A few more pictures to catch up on the past month...
Granna (Brian's Mom) came to visit the weekend after Easter and we took an overnight trip to Charleston.  See my post HERE about that.  Banks also had her 6 month well check that week - see her report HERE.  Granna really helped me out by getting my front porch and flower beds looking great.  Banks really enjoys being on the front porch and seems to nap really good when we are out there.

On Miss B's 6 month birthday we went to the beach to enjoy the sunshine.  She was in true diva mode!

6 months old!

Granna, Banks and Daddy at WB

Wheeeeeee!!!!

I celebrated my first Mothers Day and it was perfect.  We went out for breakfast at my favorite place, Sweet and Savory.  Then we went to Home Depot so I could get some new accent lights for the flower beds.  And later that afternoon we took Banks for a nice long walk at The Loop. 

my sweet girl

Our weather has been great on the weekends and we have been to the beach a couple times.  Banks seems to love it...just like her parents!

her 1st time modeling the new bathing suit

We had our monthly photo shoot a little late this time, but here are a few pics.  Banks is sitting up now, as you can see!

Catching Up in Pictures, Part 1

Here are some pictures to catch everyone up on the past month...
We had a great visit with both of our families over Easter weekend.  It was quite the event since my nephew, Hudson, was also christened on Easter Sunday.  I have the honor of being his Godmother.  Its so hard to believe that Banks and Hudson are only 24 hours apart...he's so much bigger than her! 

playing with cousin Hud

We spent Saturday over in Greenville with Brian's family.  Everyone was so excited to see Miss B!

Banks with Granna and Grandad

Banks with Aunt Nat and Cousin Syd-Syd

Of course the Easter Bunny came to visit...

digging into her basket

the sad bunny

Hudson's christening was on Easter Sunday...such a special day for everyone.  My Mom and I went shopping and got Banks the perfect Easter outfit.  The church service was great...Hudson was such a little man.  Banks got hungry during the service, so Brian made a quick exit and fed her while I stayed for the christening.  Afterwards, everyone came over to my parents house for Easter lunch. 

Gotta love her!

Daddy's Little B-Bug

Banks and Hudson with Fancy and Grumpa

Fancy and Little Fancy

Me with Hudson on his big day

what's happening

This has been a big week for Miss B...

She spent her first night away from Mommy - see previous post.
She turned 6 months old this past Sunday (I need to upload the pics)
She has mastered rolling to her tummy and does it all the time - even in her crib.
She is sitting up more - especially in the bath tub, on my lap, and on the changing table.
She had her first taste of cereal.
She had her 6 month well check today!

Today Banks had her 6 month well check and third round of vaccines.  I always dread the shots but look forward to seeing how much she has grown!  She is doing fantastic!  She weighed in at 14 lbs 10oz...has grown to 26 inches...and her head circumference is 42 3/4 cm.  She is now in the 50th percentile for height and head circumference, but still in the 25th percentile for weight.  Such a dainty girl!  But for such a dainty girl, she handled her shots amazingly well!  She had 3 total - didn't even whimper at the first one, but did start screaming when the second one went in and cried for about 10-15 seconds after the third one.  Then she was back to her smiling, sweet self.  She was a little needy and tired this afternoon, but I expected that.  She is such a trooper!