Martin Visit Part 1

Ryan's parents came to visit us back in June from the 5th-14th and we had so much fun!  They were here the exact same days as they were the previous year.  They flew in on Janae's birthday and we went straight to Tom & Chee for dinner and then stopped by the store on the way home to stock up on Graeter's ice cream for dessert.  After that, we went home and did our normal bedtime routine, which was way more exciting with someone new to read books with.

The next morning, on Friday, Lucy got a fun ride in the stroller with Grandma while she went running. Ryan still had to work this day, so we went to the pool in the morning and then towards the end of the day we went to Ryan's work and visited him in his Columbus office.

On Saturday morning, both Lucy and Claire got to ride in the stroller with Grandma Nae, but unfortunately it was a much more difficult ride since Claire wanted to sleep but they kept waking her up and then Lucy wanted out. Oh well, it was a nice morning break for me while I got ready! :)  Then we all headed out to the North Market in downtown Columbus.  This was a fun place that is a large, indoor farmers market, plus it had a bunch of little Columbus shops and bakeries and little restaurants, etc.  They also had a ton of food trucks lined up outside, so after we shopped a little, we went outside and got really good food!

Claire: 9 months

Claire turned 9 months on July 3rd.  This cutie melts my heart everyday.  She is just so sweet.  Here's all about her at 9 months:

Height: 92%

Weight: 75%

Head: 50%

• Eating lot's of table food now.  LOVES bananas, avacados, strawberries, watermelon, and broccoli.
• Waves hi and bye and says it, too. (hi sounds more like a loud "haaaa" and when she says bye bye it's more of a whispered "buh-buh."
• Also says mama and dada clear as day.  Although I hear her say mama the most when she is upset.
• Anything Lucy does makes this girl laugh, even if it is not funny.
• Started bathing her without her baby tub- just plop her in the bath with Lucy.  They thought it was hilarious the other day when they bumped into each other's backs.  
• She got all 4 upper front teeth at the exact same time this month.  That was not fun, but it was nice to get so many done at once.
• Doing awesome at sleeping- two naps a day and sleeps through the night- but still waking up super early!  On average, it's between 5:45am and 6:15am.  
• Moving all over the place and walking along things and pulling up on things.
• Loves to play with toys! Will sit and be entertained for a long time by the right toy.  She loves to explore in our playroom.
• Definitely has a little stranger/separation anxiety, but not much.  
•  She gets SO excited when Ryan gets home from work.  So cute.
• Claire is at that stage where she is fascinated by other babies.  She gets so excite whenshe sees a baby smaller than her.

Claire: 8 months

So I'm about 1.5 months late on this one, but better late than never! She turned 8 months back on June 3rd.  I will try and remember what was specifically for that month.

• Eating a lot more but hate baby food (can't blame her).
• Takes a good morning nap and a good afternoon nap.
• Finally loves going to the pool too.  Will kick her little foot that she always kicks when she is enjoying it.  Will just sit on the side of the pool by me with her legs in and kick that one foot away.
• Still a little cuddle girl.  When she gets tired or sad, especially, she will suck her thumb and snuggle up to me.  I love the snuggles.
• Waking up somewhere in the 5am hour everyday.  It's killing me.
• Just started waving a little bit, but has to think a lot about it before doing it. :)
• Got her two bottom teeth and struggled with it.  Our girls do not do well with teething, and of course that causes worse reflux, too.

We just love this happy little girl of ours!

Trampoline time

Whenever we go to the Madsen's, Lucy books it straight past everyone and into the backyard to jump on the trampoline.  She loves it and I loves these pictures of all these friends!

Swimming

Now that the pool is heated, we go to the pool more days than not each week and we all enjoy it now!

Lucy's hair

I guess since I see Lucy everyday and do her hair, I don't really realize just how long it's gotten.  However it seems like I get comments everyday from friends and strangers about how long her hair is, which makes me look around at other kids her age and realize how true it is!  I'm lucky she sits still and lets me do her hair everyday.  I definitely had to train her to be that way from the very beginning, while using bribes like treats and tv shows, but now it's super quick and easy.  Oh I love having girls!

I have no say anymore

Lucy has a definite and very strong opinion every day about what she wears.  I dread getting dressed for the day just because it could easily turn into a massive meltdown just from the first thing I suggest.  Talk about drama!  So, rain boots to the pool and winter coats on hot/humid days.  Sure.  Whatever!