My baby girl is 9 months old!

9 months today! The only thing equally surprising to that, is the fact that I am posting this the same day! I still haven't posted pictures from CHRISTMAS... but I am waiting on family members for the digital pic files (wink, wink). I have been off all this week, so I now have the time to actually take her picture, blog, and other house-Mommy things. B and I are getting some much needed Mommy and Bug time. ♥

Ok, so Miss Thang. I would describe her as sweet, strong willed, silly, and feisty. Blair is at this really fun age where her personality is really shining through. It is so interesting to watch and interact with her on this level. Travis and I were just talking about how we miss her personality when she is not around. B has this really silly side of her that just cracks up her Daddy and I. We (Trav and I) are constantly laughing and always having fun, so I like that she gets that from us.

So far, so good... her ears have not been a problem. I am praying it stays that way. However we are going through our 9 month growth spurt which means lots of eating and sleeping. Not sleeping through the night of course, but needing naps during the days. And twice at that! Hey, that's what most kids do. Now if I could just get her napping at school...

Blair is also teething again, big time. Especially on the right side. We are trying those teething tablets in lieu of Tylenol. They seem to be helping, so that's good.

B is now big on clapping, blowing raspberries, and kissing! She loves to give "kisses" to her family. There were lots of kisses given out over the Christmas weekend. She does really well when we take her to restaurants or out running errands. As long as I am prepared with enough distractions and keep it relatively quick, she is a champ.

Crawling has now been mastered and now we are working on standing and balance. B stands on her own for 10 - 2o seconds at a time. She and I are working on her balance so she will be confident in taking steps. She loves to crawl after Raleigh and / or Kingsley and now assists with her laundry. Yep, my very own helper to pull clean clothes out of the laundry basket, one piece at a time.

Blair is still eating well and getting a mix of foods. I have now started to incorporate small pieces of table food. She isn't crazy about the small pieces of banana, but has liked the toast and pancakes. Next week we are going to try steamed pieces of carrots, sweet potatoes and peas. Yum! Blair still takes bottles in between meals & before bed. We joke that she is stock piling calories for the next day's activities and all the crawling she does. She is a busy little B.

This month was the most difficult yet to get her picture. She wouldn't lay still and kept wanting to grab the camera from me. So here is (the best of) what I did manage to get!

Blair and Chica

(from the Sprout channel... the story about this silly doll will be in the Christmas recap post!)

Looking forward to celebrating New Year's in a few days! After such an amazing 2011, I am excited to see what the new year will bring.

Happy 9 month birthday to my sweet daughter Blair!

Does life get any better?

Saturday night, after the Bug went to bed, Travis and I had the greatest evening! It consisted of take out from Pei Wei, Home Alone, and wrapping Christmas presents in the living room. It was so much fun and made me remember to appreciate the small things. I am grateful for these moments shared with Travis.

Tonight, when I got home from work, Blair was asleep. About an hour or so after getting home, she woke up. I grabbed a bottle and quietly went into her room to rock her back down (times like this she justs wants to eat, then go back to sleep). She happily (and still 90% asleep) snuggled up next to me to have her bottle. After she ate, she peacefully slept while I just held her. I held her with my arms wrapped around her, touching as much as I could of her. I thought about how wonderful it felt and what therapy it was for my soul. Just then, I caught the tune of a familiar song, playing. It was the lullaby rendition of The Cure's "Just like heaven." And that's exactly what that moment was.

I hope that during the hustle and bustle of the holidays, you too are able to reflect on your blessings and appreciate the small things in life.

Life couldn't be better! ♥

Movin' and Shakin'

We are cozied up in the house, eating pizza and taking it easy before the upcoming week at work. On Saturday, we went to visit Santa (picture soon to be posted) and have lunch. Blair did great sitting in his lap. There were no tears and she never shot me the worried / freak-out face, so I think it was a total success. I'll take it.

B has been busy, busy. She is always "movin' and shakin'" like her Daddy says. This weekend she has been standing up & holding onto the bars on the jumper. And she cruises around it, comfortably switches hands & holding positions, and sometimes stands on her own for a few seconds.

She continues to act like her old self, so we are hoping that fluid has drained out of her ear. Blair's been in such a silly sweet mood... she's got a fun personality, an amazing babble, and a toothy smile that warms my whole heart.

Cruising around the jumper

Playing with her toys

Standing like it's no big deal.

Love them!

How great is she?!?

These are some pictures from last week...

Sippy cup practice

Playing with Auntie Loren

Blair and Auntie Loren!

Being silly at lunch

Travis and I at the CTI holiday party

Love this face

Pulling Up & Weekend Recap

Friday night, we had Travis' Christmas party for Direct Energy at the House of Blues. Loren came over to watch Blair so we could enjoy the night out. Blair loves Auntie Loren and saved her next milestone for her. While we were hanging out and playing with Blair, she decided to pull up on the ottoman! Yep, just like that! Travis and I looked at each other in amazement. Looks like B wanted to show off for Auntie Loren.

So now we are pulling up on the sofas and she even started cruising a little. Sometimes she forgets that she needs to hold on, but that's ok.

We had a great time at the Direct party! The food was great and most of Travis' coworkers were there. Travis works with a lot of great people (and lucky for me - they have great wives!) and we enjoyed getting to see everyone. On Wednesday night, we have dinner with T's immediate group. We are really looking forward to dinner... great food, great wine, great company!

On Saturday, we had a total Christmas and "holiday" day. We made sugar cookies, watched the Polar Express, listened to Christmas music, and wrapped Christmas presents. It was wonderful to just hang out and take it easy with Travis and Blair. Absolute therapy. :)

Mimi & Pops returned from their cruise yesterday. They left out of Miami and cruised to St. Maarten (♥), St. Thomas, and the Bahamas. Nice! They have been looking forward to the cruise since the summer and had a much deserved vacation. How fabulous right before the holidays?!? And speaking of fabulous, George and Roslyn returned from their week in Grand Cayman! They were there celebrating their 10 year anniversary and I cannot wait to hear all about it. Haha, Blair is actually over playing at Gammy and GranDad's now! They missed the little Bug and couldn't wait to see her. So, Travis and I are enjoying a lazy day on the couch watching the Texans game enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Will post pictures from the weekend later...

8 Months!

My little bear is 8 months old!

Last Monday (yes, a week and a half ago), Blair turned 8 months old. She is at such a fun age and is doing so much! I can hardly keep up with all of the changes! During Thanksgiving weekend, Blair learned to clap. That may not seem like a lot, but when you are watching this amazing little person learn and master such simple things... it is so neat and exciting.

My sweet girl has been feeling better (more about this a little later) and is crawling everywhere! She has been trying to pull up on things, including my legs, but still hasn't figured out exactly how. She tries hard though! Today at school, she bumped her head trying to pull up on the book shelf. I am not ever surprised with these little bumps and scratches... Blair is into and busy with everything.

Lately, Blair has been sleeping better - getting up only once or twice a night. I will take it! She is still going to sleep on the way home from school - making our time together during the week ver little. That has been very difficult on me and I am still adjusting to this change. Still no naps at school. Last weekend (here at the house), Blair took naps like most babies do! She was up bright and early, then mid morning took about an hour to an hour and a half nap, woke up, played and ate lunch, then was back down for another nap in the early afternoon. Both days. Wow. "Normal" sleeping... never thought I would see the day! :)

Blair is now rocking 4 teeth... the middle two on top and the middle two on bottom! I have no clue which ones are next. She likes to give us kisses, which is very cute. The other day she was trying to kiss Raleigh (and almost got him and a mouthful of puppy hair!). And I think she would kiss Kingsley if he hung around long enough.

We are getting into the Christmas and holiday spirit around the Wright house. We bought the Polar Express & the Charlie Brown 3-pack and I am looking out to record Home Alone. The Christmas tree is up (though missing a few finishing touches), decorations are out and my pantry is stocked with all of the ingredients you could possibly need to make cookies. I am so excited to celebrate Blair's first Christmas! This year is big... this is the year where "it" all starts. Memories, traditions... I love it!

The weather is finally COLD! Very cold! Today it was in the low 30's when we woke up and only got to about 50 degrees. Brrrr. Blair is getting a lot of use out of the soft, fleece jammies that Mimi and Gammy got for her. And her owl hat is getting a lot of play. Socks are now a must (and difficult with a crawler), and we warm up the car for at least 10 minutes before getting in. On a sad note, most of the 12 month fleece onesie outfits I bought are officially too short. Looks like we will be going back to Carter's for 18 month clothes. I will be waiting for those after Christmas killer deals.

Today I took Blair to see Dr. Kavin to assess her ears. Keep in mind that she has been on 3, yes 3, rounds of antibiotics. She has been acting more like herself, so we had our fingers crossed. Dr. K brought good news and bad news. Good news - her ears are no longer infected and red. Bad news - there is still fluid. He says that hopefully the fluid will drain, but if she gets another ear infection in the coming weeks, that we will have to go to the ear, nose and throat doctor to discuss tubes. If they will make her feel better, I am all for it. My poor little girl, I am just ready for her to be feeling better!

Here are some pictures of our sweet little girl at 8 months old!

She was more interested in watching the trees outside!

Murray finally got her attention!

Check out my girl's top two teeth! She has the sweetest little mouth. It is her Daddy's. When I imagined what Blair might look like, I had hoped she'd get her Daddy's lips. She did!

I think she looks so angelic here!

Preparing herself for Murray to "get" her

Silly girl

The demise of the sticker:

"Wait - what's that?"

"It crinkles like paper (and my nose!)..."

"Yep, a sticker!"

"It tastes good!"

So our little mover and shaker is transitioning into the Nursery B room. Miss Donna is looking forward to having Blair in her class. She was one of the first teachers we met and knew we were going to like her. We love all of B's teachers... and I know that her current teachers are going to miss Blair a lot.

This weekend we are excited to attend Travis' work Christmas party at the House of Blues. Then we have a dinner with his group next week which will be a lot of fun too. Travis has a great group of guys that he works with. If all of the stories Travis tells me were half as funny as he tells them, then I want to work there!

Happy 8 months to our Blair Melisse. We love her so very much and brings us more joy and love we ever thought possible.

Blair's First Thanksgiving!

Quick Note: I started this blog post earlier in the week but never got around to posting it. Between chasing Blair around and trying to get the Christmas decorations out, blogging took a backseat. Even more so than usual.

Last week we celebrated Blair's first Thanksgiving! I got off work early and met Travis and Blair at home where we kicked off the long weekend with our new tradition of having Italian food the night before Thanksgiving.

Thursday morning we took flowers out to the cemetery for Gaga. Then we headed to Mimi and Pops' house to start cooking. We cooked and played all afternoon together and ate one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I have ever had. Everyone helped with different dishes and we feasted. The turkey was a 28 pound bird! The classics are there; turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes & gravy (my favorite gravy my Dad makes!), green bean casserole, and macaroni & cheese. This year we added corn casserole and sweet potatoes. I am still off sweet potatoes since early in my pregnancy with Blair, but Travis loves them. So I made those too! I made my first ever pumpkin pie for Travis. Dinner was awesome... I am thinking we need to do that meal again in a few months.

On Sunday we went to Gammy and GranDad's to celebrate and got to visit with Aunt Andressa and Daniel. Jourdan and Loren also came home for the weekend, so we got to see a lot of our family! George and Roslyn made a spread of brisket, chicken, pasta salad, beans, the works! After a yummy lunch we played with Blair while watching the Texans game.

Here are some pictures from the weekend! Four blissful days to spend with my favorite people.

I am very, very thankful.

Opening her Thanksgiving basket of fun stuff!

Her new Abby Cadabby book

Blair and Uncle Chris

Uncle Chris and Zoey

Blair and Zoey are having a conversation in Uncle Chris' lap. They are probably wondering why they are wearing the same thing.

Happy Thanksgiving (from a family full of LSU die hards!)!!!

Geaux Tigers!

Me and my girl (whom I cannot ever get to look at the camera while I am holding her)

Having a talk with LaLa Lamb

Supervising the cooking in the kitchen with GranDad

Sharing her teething toy with cousin Daniel

Blair and Aunt Andressa!

Daniel, Andressa and Blair (nearly 8 months)

Trying to get the teething toy from the Bug

Love this pic (and B is distracted by flowers... ha!)

Daniel, Andressa, Gammy, GranDad, Trav, B, Auntie Jourdan, Charlotte and Auntie Loren

My sweet, sweet little girl in her new jammies. Love this little girl to pieces. I think she looks like Auntie Loren when she was a baby!

Hope you and yours enjoyed your Thanksgiving too! :)