10 Month Cutie!

Hair getting longer that looks like it might just curl a little......

.....feet that are growing bigger and getting ready to walk....

....and hands that are so quick to be curious and even more fun just to hold onto if she'll be still long enough let you!

.       She's our little, brown-eyed, baby girl......

....and I can't believe she's already 10 months old today. We love our Darcey Ella! She's brought more joy and laughter into our lives than we ever could have imagined. :)

We Did It!!

So among the other every day life stuff going on around here I also decided to work on weaning Darcey off of the exercise ball last week. Don't laugh when you read that (even though I know you want to). This was a serious addiction for her! And becoming a serious hardship for us! 

Let me first of all say that I am extremely thankful for the use we got out of it while she was going through such a hard time. The fact that it could calm her down (at times) when nothing else would is well, nothing short of miraculous. I'll also add that I am grateful that we learned about using it before she was born rather than having to resort to "bumping" in a straight-back wooden chair like we did with Dathan and Delancey.(which we borrowed from my Momaw who did the same thing with her babies) Needless to say, as hard as holding a crying baby while bouncing on an exercise ball can get after awhile, it was way better than rubbing your back raw on a hard chair. (did I mention the marks it left on our then carpeted floor as well?) Okay, that's enough said about that I think. Not a pleasant trip down memory lane there. Ahem, where was I?! 

Oh, yes, bouncing on the ball. So anyway it was a life saver for us during all the horrible crying spells. (although granted there were days when I just held and bounced while she screamed anyway.....and I just cried too because I didn't know what else to do!) But fast forward to her being a 9 month old who weighs in at a whopping almost 24 pounds and holding her to bounce had become more than a little uncomfortable. And I really started feeling like she's doing well enough physically that it was more of a habit for her than a need for comfort. (On top of it being difficult for obvious reasons I also have chronic neck and shoulder pain most days so it was extremely painful getting her to sleep at nap time when that had flared up.) So I made the hard but neccassary decision to break her from it last Thursday. Cold turkey. No going back.

And I am more than happy to report that on this 5th day into it, she is falling asleep by only being rocked and sung to. Every. Single. Time. Am I excited about it?! Deliriously so. And what makes it even better than it not being painful is that I can actually enjoy the time holding her and putting her down now, instead of before when it was just something to get through. Just one more milestone to mark how amazing it is what the Lord has done in her life. I am so thankful for this healthy, happy, baby girl we are blessed to call ours!

Already 8 Months?!

It doesn't seem possible that our baby girl turned 8 months old last Friday! She is growing way too fast and learning something new almost every day it seems. I'm thinking she's trying to catch up to her big brother and sister! Here's a few things that she's up to lately.....

She loves to sing and play the piano. Of course her version of singing is a bit off-key and hard to decipher any words out of, but it's definitely her way of making music! Oh, did I mention that it's too cute as well? :)

She's pulling up to stand on everything and even letting go occasionally, which often results in falling down and banging her head so she's always getting bumps and bruises. (Thankfully we have the miracle homeopathic cream, arnica, which is completely amazing in that it almost totally does away with the bruising. If you've never tried it then you should check it out!) I love seeing her stand up and then bounce up and down all excited, squealing and looking around to see who's watching. She gets so pleased with herself for doing something new, it's just fun to watch!

She finally got two teeth breaking through the gumes on the bottom! That in itself is a tremendous accomplishment since she's been teething for months now and had such a hard time with it some days. (and nights) She's still acting like there's more to come so I'm not sure if those two just aren't totally out yet or if she's gonna get several close together. Guess we'll just wait and see!

Her sleeping has gotten so much better for the most part unless something is bothering her. She's slept through the night several times now so that is a huge blessing there. She's pretty good at taking naps during the day too unlike the older kiddos were so that helps to have breaks to do other things! She's also eating more 'solid' foods, although she doesn't have a big variety yet since she's still very sensitive with her stomach. She loves eating though and of course still takes several bottles a day as well.

My biggest amazement in seeing her turn 8 months has to be in looking back over how hard we struggled with her health issues just a few short months ago. I am beyond thankful at how much better she is doing and grateful that the Lord has helped us so much in that area. Things aren't perfect and I'm sure we'll always have some problems to deal with(since we all have such severe allergies)but it's such a relief to see the improvement that we have.

Mostly Darcey is just a happy, laughing girl who fills our lives with so much joy every day. Has it been a little hard at times adding her into this (sometimes crazy) family? Well, yeah, honestly it has. But is it more than worth it? Most definitely. :)

Getting Around...

Our Darcey girl has been busy the past few weeks! It's hard to believe how fast she is growing and all the things she can already do, but the proof is impossible to deny. :)

She loves to get around. Which is why she quickly has gone from sitting up, to raising onto her hands n knees, to scoot-crawling across the floor, to perfecting the actual crawling technique, and finally just this weekend.........

....standing up in the bed by herself!! Look at how pleased she is. lol Totally thinks she's something....and so do we actually!! :) She is an absolute handful sometimes but also so much fun. I'm pretty sure it won't be too long before the pulling up turns into letting go and then full out walking. Definitely following in her big sister's footsteps it looks like as an early walker. Now if we can just somehow keep her from all that climbing Delancey likes to do...... ;)

Oh, and for the record this weekend also included going to get a bigger bed. As you can see we have used the convenience of the co-sleeper for as long as possible! ((sigh)) Although those first few months were rough and seemed impossibly long, now it seems like her baby days are just flying by. So I guess I better enjoy them while I can!