Life with the Leibrocks: March 2014

A very happy St. Patrick's day from our little strawberry haired cutie pie (who does have quite a bit 'o Irish in her by the way!)

We actually didn't do much to celebrate, I didn't even make it to the store to do the usual Irish boiled dinner, but I did grab some corned beef at the cafeteria at work and Matt did end up getting a beer with some fire fighter buddies that night. Oh well, we got Brinley in her cute Irish garb from Nana and that's all that matters, right? :) A lot different from past St. Patty's day celebrations but we wouldn't change it for the world!

Had to hold her so she wouldn't crawl away :) What a cutie though!

That smile

Loved riding around on Daddy's shoulders with her cute Irish bib!

Blurry, but I still like this one. She loves her daddy :)

Our favorite Irish girl!

It's crazy that it's already been 3/4th of a year with our little angel. I remember seeing 9 month old babies after you were first born and thinking that they looked so big and here we are, with our very own 9 month old princess!

This has been quite the fun month and we continue to be amazed by you everyday. You've come a long ways this month in interacting with us as well as learning to communicate. We swear we heard you say "mama," "daddy," and "hi" a few times but we can't be certain. You are also an expert clapper and will copy us when we say "yea baby" and start to clap. You are really good at "so big" as well and will raise your little arms in the air and give us that breath taking smile. Your smile is the best sweet girl!

You've also begun to make lots of different sounds with your lips and tongue like a "lol lol lol" it's hard for me to even imitate but you are constantly learning that you can make all sorts of different noises.

Another big development this month has been your eating. You are now almost completely on finger foods and have become such a great eater! You will eat everything that we give you to pick up including lots of healthy foods like chicken, cucumber, black beans, grapes, apples, peas, peppers, etc. Daddy has become a little less nervous about letting you eat foods on your own and you are such a good chewer with your two little teeth that we are really not worried. You really love eating and talk and smile up a storm while you're in your high chair. You can be a bit of a slow eater though and sometime take up to an hour! But you are very content so we just let you keep eating :)

You have been so great about trying a variety of new foods, but your new favorite seems to be cheese. Mommy says that perhaps there's a bit of a Wisconsin girl in you, but that makes Daddy mad :) You love all varieties of cheese including Munster, swiss, cheddar, Parmesan and mozzarella. We've given you shredded cheese a couple of times at restaurants and you really love picking up the little pieces and shoveling them in your mouth. I think you miss about half the time and end up getting tons on the floor but you are quite happy while doing it and mommy and daddy get to enjoy a great dinner while you are entertained! (We leave the waiter a big tip though because of all the mess ; ))

In other eating news, you have been practicing using your sippy cup and are getting better at that, although you still like it when we hold it for you. Also, you just mastered sucking out of a squeezy pouch today and you can hold it and eat it all by yourself. We were thrilled as this just make giving you a snack on the go so much easier : )

Another development this month has been your standing and climbing ability. You like to stand all the time and last weekend you began to climb the stairs for the first time! Don't worry, we were right behind you making sure you didn't fall. You are quite an explorer though and we have to keep our eyes on you at all times! When mommy was putting your clothes away in your room and turned away for just a second you had climbed into your rocking chair and were trying to get up on your diaper pail! Luckily, I grabbed you before you took a tumble.

Speaking of tumbles, you've had your first bumps and bruises this month as well. Just minor things, thankfully! And I guess it's expected as you learn balance, coordination, etc. You are overall pretty good about not bumping too much and are cautious when you stand to squat down and sit slowly. It's really cute watching you lower yourself back down. I'm thinking that you are going to be walking any day now as you have great balance and are already super strong. You are so cute crawling though that we hope you wait to walk just a little bit longer, but who knows, you may be one of those babies that walks at 10 months!

No new teeth this month, but it looks like your two front teeth are getting close to coming through...

You're not a fan of getting your face or hands wiped off after eating and can make quite a racket letting us know you're mad. You also have come to hate getting dressed or sometimes even having your diaper change. We think it's because you want to go-go-go and don't like us stopping you and trying to put clothes on you. We try and distract you with toys but sometime have to just let you scream and try and hurry! We are sorry honey, but we want you to be warm so we have to make you wear clothes :) Hopefully you will forgive us!

We are thinking you may have a bit of a strong personality though as you seem to know what you want and can get quite cranky when you don't get what you want. We will probably have to work on that as you get older, but for the most part your a very sweet, easy going little girl.

You're also still a pretty good sleeper and although you've gone through a few stretches where you wake up a couple of times for a few nights, you generally sleep about 12 hours. Around 7 to 7. If you wake up earlier than that you are really good and playing in your crib a bit until mommy or daddy comes to get you. You're a decent napper as well and have even slept for 2 hours at a time a few times, but your average is still 2 one hour naps per day.

You had your 9 month appointment last week and you weighed 18.8 lbs (50th percentile) and are 30 inches tall (99th percentile). Daddy says you are going to be a volleyball player like your Aunts Dana and Grace! You are still in size 3 diaper, but we will definitely be moving to size 4 soon as they are getting a bit small. You are wearing all 12 month clothes and even some 18 month clothes as some of the pants are getting too short since you are so tall.

You are also loving playing games with us and it's been so fun to interact with you. You still love "where's daddy" and enjoy it when daddy chases you while you're crawling and you also love to ride up on our shoulders. You like playing the mirror game with mommy where we lean down and look into your little vanity mirror and smile at each other. It melts my heart and bring tears to my eyes when you give me that big smile, so precious! :) I've had a few moments this month when my heart literally felt like it was going to burst with love for you sweet girl! You are just so amazing and your daddy and I couldn't love you more! We thank God everyday that he gave us you and it's such an honor to be your parents and to watch you grow. Thank you for coming into our lives sweet angel!

And of course, there are pictures : )

Your ad came out! I can't believe how little you look here and it was only 4 months ago. You are a star sweetheart!

Still love being out and about and sometimes you decide to catch some zzzz's while at the grocery store.

You really like playing in the tub and have recently started sucking the water out of the washcloths. Kinda gross but you get cranky when we take them away from you, so we sometimes let you do it.

Napping with Grandpa Garry

First time sitting in the big girl high chair at the restaurant. We were at Great Grandma Brennan's 83rd Birthday party. You loved being at the table with all of us and being right in the "action."

It was an Italian restaurant so we asked for some grated Parmesan cheese. You loved it!

Shoveling it in!

Great Aunt Michele holding you with Grandma's silly hat on

Checking each other out

Great Grandma Brennan was really happy to see you!

You figured out how to crawl into your hamper and roll around and had a BLAST doing it!

Cute little ponytail with your sweet Elmo outfit from Nana

You are quite the Daddy's girl!

On the first warm day, 50 degrees, we took you out to the zoo! So fun to watch you checking everything out. You are so much bigger now then when we took you in the Fall!