eleven months

Dear August Rose, 

You are now eleven and a half months old! We will be celebrating your first birthday oh, so very soon.

At eleven months, you are still, of course, as sweet as can be.

I haven't updated about you in a couple of months, so there is much to report!

A couple of weeks after you turned 10 months old, you starting taking steps here and there. A week or so after that, you decided that walking was all you wanted to do. You were such a cute little crawler that I do miss seeing you do that, but you might be an even cuter walker!

Now that you can walk, one of your favorite things to do is go outside and walk up and down the driveway. You'll stop ever so often to play with (or eat) the sidewalk chalk, and then you'll go exploring again.

(This is one of my favorite pictures of you - you heard a noise in the neighbor's backyard and were so concerned. I love how your little pinky is in the air.)

Another favorite thing to do now that you can walk is carry various items all over the house since your hands are free to do so. You usually have a baby doll or a shoe...or a remote...or clothes from the laundry. You make a big mess doing this, but it is just so cute that I don't mind a ton.

Speaking of baby dolls, you now rock them, pat them, and give them kisses. Sweet thing.

The same week you started taking steps, you also started getting four teeth on top and you ran a low fever for three or four days.  It was incredibly sad to see you feel so badly. You are STILL working on those four teeth. 

You are now saying: Daddy, Mama, Hi, Bye-Bye (ba-ba), Baby (beh-bee), Uh Oh (eh-eooooh), and Cheese (teeeeee) whenever you see my camera or phone :)

Here you are saying "teeeeeee!"

You LOVE your daddy- like will stare down the driveway chanting his name, hoping for him to come home, but I think you might be a mama's girl, and I don't mind that one bit. Some of my favorite times of our day is standing with you next to your crib before naps or bedtime. We sway from side to side while you bury your face under my chin. You'll hang one hand to one side while the other pats my arm or touches my face. I sing "You are my August Rose, my only August Rose..." before I lay you down to go to sleep. I love being your mama.

Here we are around this time last year...

...and here we are this summer.

Baby girl, I am so proud of you. You have such a kind and gentle spirit about you already.



I am loving every second watching you learn and explore and carry things and say new words and play with Merit and play by yourself and love on your babies and turn into the little person whom we all adore.

I have loved your baby days, August Rose, and am relieved that a first birthday doesn't automatically turn you into a little girl just yet. Can't wait to celebrate you this next month. You are SO very loved!

much love,
your mama

dear august rose,

You are now nine and a half months old! I failed to get your 8 month letter written, so there is some major catching up to do. (I also forgot to take your 8 month chair pic, but I took these right before your 8 month birthday, so they'll have to do...)

Your eighth month was eventful, for sure! You got your first tooth about a week after you turned 7 months old, and your second followed a week or two later - both on the bottom and cute as can be. You started crawling the week before you turned 8 months old. You love being able to get around! You'll crawl from the kitchen, down the hallway, into the living room and into your room, then back again. Not long after you started crawling, you started pulling up. And THEN you started clapping. I felt like you were doing something new every single day there for a while!

Your ninth month has been full of fun, too. 

At nine and a half months, you weigh 20.5 pounds (77%) and are 28 inches long (68%). You've started cruising along the furniture, and you've also started letting go and standing by yourself for a few seconds at a time. Your little legs look so cute when you're standing.

You're pretty much eating only table food now. You're doing really well at feeding yourself, and I cannot get enough of of the way you concentrate and use your two little fingers to pick up bits of food. It's real cute. You have liked pretty much everything you've tried, but I think your favorites are peas and bananas. You're starting to use the sign for "more".

You are getting to where you play with and alongside Merit a lot throughout the day. You love her so much and always want to be where she is. She loves you just as much, but isn't sure what she thinks yet about you playing with her toys. I think she is in for a surprise once you're able to have a strong opinion about things yourself! You've been sleeping in the room with her for almost two weeks now, and so far, so good. Merit loves having "sleepovers" with you.

One of your cutest new tricks is waving and saying "HHHHIIIIII!" You almost always have your mouth wide open when you wave (always with your left hand), and sometimes you manage to get the "hi" out. You're also saying "dada" A LOT, "mama" a little, and you got really good at "papa" while we were in Abilene. Another cute trick is playing peek-a-boo. You laugh and laugh when someone plays with you. You'll mimic us and try to cover your eyes, then throw your hands out to either side. You haven't quite gotten the cover your eyes part down yet, but you look so precious trying.

In late April, we celebrated your first Easter. You had a great time watching Merit hunt eggs in our yard at home. Can't wait to see you join her next year.

We spent Easter Sunday in Jackson with Grammie, Popsy, and your Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa. You wore the sweetest little pink romper with an embroidered Easter lily that I had found at a thrift store about a year before you were born. When we found out you were a girl, I remembered that pink romper in the closet and was excited that it still fit around Eastertime.

At the beginning of this month, we spent a week in Abilene with Nina and PaPa. You were so interested in the cows when we visited the farm. I know you are one day going to love that place as much as I do.

Oh, sweet baby August Rose. I can't help but have the giddiest smile every time I pick you up. Usually because you're giving me one right back. You are beautiful in every way, and I'm so glad that you're mine. It is still hard to believe, but I'm glad nonetheless. 

I know you'll be one in no time at all, so I am trying my best to soak up these baby days with you. I find myself trying to memorize your chubby feet, the sound of you oohing over something you find interesting, or the look of your smile with only two little teeth. I love all of you with all of me, baby girl. And don't you ever, ever forget it.

much love,

your mama

7 months!

Dear August Rose, 

Happy 7 months, baby girl! The months are just flying by, aren't they?

This past month you got a little bigger. A little sweeter.

At six and a half months, you weighed 18 pounds (87%) and were 27 inches long (83%). We're so thankful for another healthy baby girl.

I feel like you are getting so big, but it helps this time around to have an older baby girl to remind me just how little you still are.

I'm pretty certain that your daddy is your favorite person in the world. He makes you soooo happy. You make a "da" and a "de" sound a lot, and I don't think it's coincidence that you often say these when you see him. Here you are visiting him at work one day.

We also hear "a-da!", "ga!", "n-da!", and one of my faves, "au-gie!" allll day long. You are loving that voice of yours.

Some of your firsts this past month included...

your first Valentine's day

All kinds of baby food - you have a sweet tooth like the rest of us, so your faves are sweet potatoes and any fruit.

Riding in the grocery cart like a big girl makes you so very happy. You'd think you were at a carnival or something.

I finally got brave enough to leave you in the church nursery. Your sister was 9 months old when I first took her, so that's progress! Of course, you did great.

And you met your Uncle Matt, Aunt Nik-Nik, and cousin Kai for the first time (during what I think was your 4th trip to Texas).

When I was taking your chair pics, you surprised me by pushing up on the arm of the chair all by yourself!

We just love you so much, Augs. 

You are learning so much it makes me wonder what all I'll be reporting about you next month. I'm thinking that crawling might not be too far away. And maybe you can work some "mama" sounds into your vocabulary?

The more I get to know you, the more I love each and every bit of you.

Thank you, Lord, for this precious baby. 

Happy 7 Months, August!

much love,

your mama