Belly Squeezes

Dear Mackenzie,

Cute things you did recently:

1) Stepped on the pedal of the baby gate in your doorway--you already know how it works!

2) Squished your face against the skylight in the attic floor--you were playing in the attic with JieJie and sitting near the skylight when you looked down and saw me below on the second-floor staircase landing. I think it weirded you out to see me through the floor like that and you pressed your face to the glass and called out to me, as if you were trying to get to me. Your adorable face was squashed so much against the glass--you looked hilarious and so cute!

3) Went up to JieJie and kept squeezing her belly--hahaha!

Love,

Mom

First Steps?

Dear Mackenzie,

You took your first steps today . . . kind of? We were on your playmat when I put you in a standing position and let go. You stood on your own for a few seconds and then took two of the smallest baby steps before I caught you. So you walked! Or maybe it was more of a stumble forward into my arms? Either way, exciting! You are on your way to real walking soon!

Love,

Mom

Almost One!

Dear Mackenzie,

You turned 11 months old today, which means you are just one month shy of being ONE YEAR OLD!! I have already starting getting emotional over this huge upcoming milestone and cannot believe how much you have already grown. You are such a sweetheart and every day brings new changes. For example:

-Your legs are growing stronger. You can squat and are able to stand on your own for a couple seconds.

-Your vocal cords are also growing stronger. You squeal and scream SO loudly!

- You have two more teeth breaking through your upper gum, so now you have four teeth on top and two on the bottom. That's more than any of your siblings had at this age.

-You are a pretty good eater and when you don't want anymore food, you scrunch up your face, shake your head and swat the spoon away with your hand. It's cute, even though it's a bit annoying since I always want you to finish your food.

-You also swat your toothbrush away when you've decided that you've had enough brushing.

-You love Mum-Mum crackers and snack puffs and get visibly excited (your face lights up and you start bouncing up and down) when you see me get ready to give you some.

-You love pulling yourself up to standing in your crib and jumping up and down as if you are on a trampoline.

-You love playing with water bottles, lotion bottles, JieJie's headband and my hairclips. It's so cute when you pull the hairclip out of my hair and then try to put it back by just pressing it to my head, as if it was a sticker.

-You clap a lot, especially if you see other people clapping. You also clap when you see me come into the room!

-You like to crawl over to me and climb up onto me.

-You hold your arms out to your sides when you want me to pick you up.

-You really love your reflection and get the BIGGEST grin on your face when you see your face in the mirror!

-You wave hi and bye with both hands--a double wave!

-You like to play peekaboo, whether it's hiding behind a towel or peeking out from the side of your crib.

-You have started dancing! When you hear music, you sway back and forth to the tune.

Happy last month of babyhood!

Love,

Mom

Walking the Walk

Dear Mackenzie,

You began walking with your toy walker today! It was so exciting to watch you take those first (assisted) steps! And you had the proudest smile on your face, as if you knew that you were doing something awesome!

Love,

Mom

Baby Bumps

Dear Mackenzie,

How is it that everything you do is SO CUTE?! You have so many adorable mannerisms, including:

- moving your mouth as if you are chewing gum

- clicking your tongue against the roof of your mouth

- squeezing your belly rolls 

- tilting your head and smiling at me

- covering your face with your hands and peeking out from behind them when you want to play peek-a-boo

- holding your pointer and middle finger up to make the cutest baby peace sign

-getting a huge grin on your face whenever you pull yourself up to standing or when someone helps you stand up

-getting a huge grin on your face when you see your reflection in the mirror (I don't blame you; you are pretty dang cute!)

- getting a huge grin on your face, flapping your arms like a penguin and immediately crawling over to me when I come into your room (the BEST greeting!)

You are so happy and active and I love watching how you interact with the world around you. We were playing in your room one day when you looked into your playmat mirror. You must have seen something in there that really interested you because you then pressed your face so hard against the mirror trying to see whatever it was that you saw in it. And a few weeks ago, we went to the beach and it was your first time playing in the sand. The first time GuhGaw went to the beach as a baby, he ate a fistful of sand. The first time JieJie went to the beach, she cried hysterically when we tried to set her down on the sand. The first time Second GuhGaw went, he was fine and played happily with his trucks. You were pretty chill. You had no problem sitting in the sand but you did seem a little put-off by it--you didn't really touch it at all and didn't crawl around anywhere the whole afternoon, probably because it felt strange on your skin. As for the ocean, the water was really cold that day so when I tried to put your feet in the water, you stood on one leg with the other one bent--like a flamingo!

When we're not on the beach, you are crawling everywhere and pulling yourself up to standing all of the time. It's so exciting watching you become more mobile but all the accidentally hitting your face on your crib bars, falling backward on the floor, bumping your head on one thing or another . . . ugh!

Love,

Mom

First Wave and Scary Faces

Dear Mackenzie,

Yesterday, you waved goodbye for the very first time! We video chat with PoiPoi on the phone every day and when we said bye yesterday, you waved! So cute!

Less cute (but still kind of cute) was today, when we were watching the Food Network in the living room. You were chilling in your playard when Alton Brown's face suddenly came on up close and LARGE on the screen. You turned to se his big, bulging eyes on our huge screen and started WAILING. Aww, I'm so sorry you got so scared!

The last time I saw you that frightened was back around May. You were sitting in your high chair and facing the windows that look out into our backyard. Daddy had gone out the front door and then walked around to the back to check on the sprinklers. When you saw him through the windows, you started wailing so hard! I guess you hadn't expected to see anyone outside! You calmed down when I picked you up but you were so shaken, when Daddy came back in the house, you started crying as soon as you saw him again! Poor thing!

Love,

Mom

Grab and Go

Dear Mackenzie,

*sigh* You have reached the stage where you want to grab everything and anything that you see, so nothing is safe! When we went out last week, you kept grabbing at my face mask and trying to take it off my face. When I was looking at my phone the other day, you swatted at it and knocked it out of my hand. If JieJie is wearing her glasses, you try to pull them off her face. This morning, I had a cup of coffee on the kitchen counter and you grabbed the top of it, splashing the entire contents on the counter, my legs and the floor. Fun!

Love,

Mom