Mila: 9 Months!

Mila turned 9 months during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  I ran into a glitch when I was getting ready for this photo shoot.  My portrait lens in not communicating with my camera, so I wasn't able to take the close-ups that I had hoped for.  Huge bummer!  The show must go on, so here is the best I could do without it and with some photos from my iPhone:

Age: 9 months

Weight: 18.5 pounds

Length: 28.35 inches long

Appearance: blond hair, brownish eyes, 8 teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom)

Sleep: 2 - 3 naps during the day, starting to sleep longer stretches at night and typically needs 2 feedings (hopefully we can eliminate one of these feedings this month)

Eats: formula, baby food solids: pureed carrots, beans, peas, apples, sweet potatoes, bananas, squash, etc. HATES avocado, not yet eating chunkier food or pieces of food

Can: crawl (everywhere!), pull to a stand, clap (super cute, by the way), babble (Noa insists that "da-da" is her first word), put everything in her mouth, give eye contact, respond to her name, pick up small objects, try to imitate faces, and laughs a lot

I CANNOT get enough of her cheeks.  I think I kiss them at least 100 times a day.

During the day she plays a game where she'll crawl from one toy to another and proceed upon crawling to that toy, she'll stick it in her mouth.  She'll also find every little piece of lint or fuzz around the house (and proceed to put those in her mouth!), so I have to keep things swept and vacuumed or else she will find it!

I have a lot of pictures like the one below.  I'll get set up to take her picture and then she'll crawl away!  She is such an explorer and isn't afraid of adventure.

She'll also spend a lot of time crawling from one piece of furniture to another and pull herself up to a stand.  She gets such a kick out of this, especially if she is able to acquire a toy in the process.

Although she is now super mobile and always on-the-go, we are really enjoying this stage.  Mila is beginning to really understand the concept of sleeping long hours at night (we are hoping to get her to sleep THROUGH the night in the next month or two) and is napping on a more regular basis.  Generally she is very happy and she spends a lot of time watching her sister and exploring her world as best she can.  Even on some of the hardest days, Mila's smile can make the troubles melt away.

All Things Loved in November

It's the last day of November and instead of trying to write catch-up posts, I'm just going to do a highlight post about all the happenings this past month (it's been a busy one!).  These are all the things loved this past November:

First visitors: The grandparents came to Spain!  We were so fortunate to host Noa's parents for two whole weeks.  They helped us set up lots of Ikea furniture (I guess they like a good challenge?), played with the girls, explored new cities and towns (including Gibraltar!), and enjoyed Spanish life with us (mmm…paella!).  I hope they come back soon! We loved having them here.

Ruby turns 3!  I already posted about her birthday (see earlier post), but this was a big event in November.  We are so proud of Ruby and her birthday weekend was a really fun way to celebrate her.

Room Makeovers: We moved Mila out of her room and changed her walls from a dark, olive green to a crisp, clean white.  We also brought in a carpet and hope to get all the furniture in and some wall decor up this week.  Ruby's room is prepped and we'll be painting this week!

Family Trip to Ronda: We all piled in the car one early morning for a drive to Ronda, Spain.  This old city (founded in the 6th century BC) is probably best known for the bridge or bridges, actually, as three bridges span over a giant canyon.  Ronda is also home to the oldest known bullfighting ring.  It is a great place to walk around, take photos, and marvel at the beauty, architecture, and cultural icons of Spain.  I loved it and I know that we'll be back!

 8 month mark: Mila turned 8 months old and is on the go!  She is crawling and already pulling herself over toys (it's kind of like a cross between standing and doing a plank).  She puts everything in her mouth and can be pretty vocal at times.  We think she likes the sound of her voice.  Mila loves watching Ruby and will laugh when she does.  She is trying new foods and still trying to master a sleep schedule both day and night.  It's so fun to really see her personality emerge!  She's a very happy baby.

Other things: Ruby started riding her balance bike.  She mustered up the courage to tackle this challenge and can now walk and turn it.  The next step is to get her to sit and glide forward.  For now, we are enjoying this progress.  One step at a time...

We took the dogs to the beach for the first time during one of our family walks.  They hated the water, but loved all the new smells.  It can be challenging taking both of them at the same time, so I may alternate who I take on the walks in the future.  Here we are at "our" beach, only a 5 minute walk away!

Oh, and our friend Mandi stayed over the Thanksgiving holiday.  We love having extra doggy friends around, especially her!  She's a great dog and excellent with our dogs and kids.