10m21d-GETTING GOOD AT STANDING

In just a few short days, Nevaeh has gone from standing 10 seconds at a time to almost a minute!  During this minute, she will even play with toys, move side to side and even inch up on her toes and back down without falling!  She hasn't quite figured out how to move her foot forward without falling.......but I bet it won't be long before I will be posting that she has taken her first few steps!

10m20d- FAMILY PHOTOS

 This collage is Nevaeh's (almost) 11 month photo!

 Nevaeh (almost) 11 months, Jordyn 4, Madelyn 5 (Jordyn's half sister with his Mommy), Alexis 5

 The family seems to keep growing, now that Madelyn wants to spend the night with the Courtney and Mike and her brother Jordyn.  It is cute to hear her call me grandma!

Courtney and Mike....oooops I mean Mommy and Daddy!

10m20d- CUTENESS!

SHEER CUTENESS!

10m18d- STANDING CAUGHT ON TAPE

How cute is this?!  She was so proud of herself, she even "cheered" at the end!

10m17d-SHE CAN PLAY FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME!

I need to remember to turn my phone a different direction when recording, otherwise it turns out sideways......not sure how to turn it......but you get the idea.....I love her laugh in this!

10m16d- STANDING A BIT LONGER!

As I've posted before, Nevaeh will stand for about 10 seconds at a time unaided......but today, I gave her a dog treat to hold and feed Chael.  I had my hands around her waist, when I realized she was standing steady, I let go and she was toooo engrossed in feeding the dog that she didn't notice.....She stood for about 30 seconds this time!!!!  Yay!  Gosh I wish I had the camera to catch this!

10 1/2 MONTHS- EYE HAND COORDINATION

Over the last couple of weeks I've noticed that Nevaeh is getting better at the eye/hand coordination stuff when playing.  She will put toys in and out of spaces (boxes, purses, bags....).  Today I watched her play with a push train.  It has a hole in the top of the engine where blocks can go inside.  Once the block is pushed in, the block will travel to the caboose.  Nevaeh has learned that she can push the block in and find it in the caboose....In fact she pushes it in and immediately looks for it in the caboose......She will do this over and over and over!  It is soooo much fun to watch her learn and discover!

10 1/2 MONTHS- RUNNY NOSE AND COUGH :-(

 Poor Nevaeh has a runny nose and cough.  In this picture you can see her breathing through her mouth!

Even though she doesn't feel good, she still plays like a champ by herself!

You can see in this video that she is getting steadier and quicker on her feet when practice walking with the dino.  Before, she used to walk on her tip toes and drag her feet.  Now she is more confident and quick!  We still play the standing game (unaided), but she doesn't get past 10 seconds.  She loves to play the standing game and will laugh and laugh when I catch her fall!  Such sweet giggles!  Wish I could catch it on video, but when I think about it, I am usually alone with her and can't video tape at the same time!

10 1/2 MONTHS-PIGGY TAILS!

10 1/2 MONTHS- WHO NEEDS TOYS?

 Nevaeh played with these pots for about 2 hours!  Who needs toys???  Ha!

Here's a picture of her pretending to drink out of the miniature crockpot!  Tooo funny!

She loves to play with Daddy!  He can really make her laugh!

10m11d- BABY COUSIN

She is very interested in her baby cousin!

10m10d- EXHAUSTED!

This picture cracks me up!  She played sooooo hard and fought naps all day ....finally she caved to sleep!

10m10d-PRACTICE STANDING!

Guess who was standing by herself?  Yep....Nevaeh was leaning against the coffee table with her belly.....reached for Mommy's brush.....started playing with it and and shifted her weight from leaning to a standing position between the coffee table and the couch.  She was so interested in the brush that she didn't realize she was standing by herself for quite some time.   Daddy said it was at least a couple of minutes before she realized that she was standing and grabbed a hold of the coffee table again.  :-) Woot!

10m7d-PLAYING

10m6d- LEARNING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS!

Just after I wrote in Nevaeh's 10 month milestone post, her jello legs have all of a sudden turned to sturdy legs.  I notice now, that she is standing more flat footed while she plays standing up (rather than on her tip toes). We even play a game where I say, "Let's stand Nevaeh" ....I hold her out in front of me, she positions herself into a firm stance and I let go......She "stands" for about 10 seconds......but that is 10 seconds longer than she did about a week ago! (Toooo short of a stand to take a picture of, right now)

The other night, Nevaeh and I were waiting in the car for Mommy as she ran into the store for a few things........Let's just say that Nevaeh didn't care much for the wait and let me know with the type of cry where her face turned beat red and her tongue vibrated back and forth! NOT FUN!  To get her to stop, I had to sing and play games with her.  One of games was "Where's your shoe, Where's your foot?".....because during her melt down, she took off one shoe!  Well to my surprise, when I asked her where her shoe was, she  stopped crying and patted her shoe.....Then cried some more.....I then asked her, "Where's your foot, Nevaeh?" ....She stopped crying and patted her foot......then cried some more!  We did this several times before she realized I wasn't getting her out of the car seat and that blew that game!  HaHa!

Last night, I had Nevaeh sitting on the floor with alot of her toys around her.  Among the toys were two books and her stuffed doggy.  I decided to see if the other day was a fluke or if she really did know the difference between her doggy and book.  I asked...."Nevaeh, where's your book?".....She looked at both books and patted a different book this time.....I asked..."Nevaeh, where's your doggy?"....She looked at all her toys and patted her doggy!.....I asked again for her to find the book and the second time she patted a different book!  How cool is that?  I am simply amazed!

One other thing.........The other day, Nevaeh was with Mommy and Great Grandma Richards.  Nevaeh walked the length of the couch to the end table. Played with the coasters as usual and then proceeded to go around the end table to the other side (which she knows she is not allowed to do).....Grandma or Mommy would say, "NO, Nevaeh" and each time, Nevaeh said, "YES"....it was hard not to laugh!

10m5d-SNOW DAY!

10 MONTHS- NEW WORD!

Nevaeh says a new word......tate (Caite), or tatee (Caitie)......It is soooo cute to listen to her!  She sure does have a special bond with her Aunt Caitlin!

10 MONTHS OLD TODAY!

Dear Nevaeh,

You are 10 months old today!  Wow!  Time keeps flying by!  You seem to be growing right on track, but no pediatrician's appointment to verify your weight and length this time.  You still weigh around 19 1/2 pounds....since you are growing and not gaining (which is normal at this stage) you have lost all of your baby fat....No more baby fat rolls on your arms and legs and your feet are not as chubby as they used to be....we can even get shoes on you now! Makes me a little sad because I know you will be a toddler and no longer a baby in a blink of an eye!  You can still wear 9 month clothes comfortably and size 3 diaper and size 3 or 4 shoe depending on the style.  You still only have two teeth (bottom), but we can see both upper front teeth ready to pop through any day now.  You have had a really tough time cutting these this past month with fevers and fussiness!  Hopefully your future teeth come in a bit easier for you!  As for food, you do well with finger foods like puffs, cheerios and mum mum cookies.  We've tried stage 3 baby food, but you spit it out or refuse to open your mouth....you even shake your head NO!  You will eat some food off of peoples' plates (mac-n-cheese, ravioli, veggies, bread and so on...) but put this in a bowl for you to eat and you may take a few bites and then refuse.....I think you like mooching off others' plates more!  Often I've gotten out the stage 2 baby food, mix it with rice to thicken it up and give it to you just to be sure you had enough to eat.  You still have a morning formula/rice bottle, lunch veggies and fruit, dinner veggies and fruit and then a bedtime bottle of formula/rice.  You can drink out of a sippy cup, but we find that you like dropping it on the floor from your highchair more than you actually drink from it.

We are amazed at what you have done this past month.  Just as you turned 9 months old, you decided it was time to "walk" with your push toys!  So far, you show no interest in standing by yourself and still have jello legs when practice walking with us....I think you dance around more than try to walk!  But it won't be long....I see you cruising the furniture with one hand on and one hand off with ease! You can even climb on and off the couch by yourself...which gives me a heart attack when you do this!  It is cute to watch you sit and play with your toys.  You love to sit on your knees with your feet tucked up under your butt!  You even "stand" on your knees with confidence and no swagger as you play!  You entertain yourself well with your toys, but you also like to be held a lot!

You are still watching the "Your Baby Can Read" videos, while sitting in your pink bouncy seat (which you have outgrown....but you don't care!).  Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds....You have been saying dada, mama, and baba for quite some time with meaning.  This past month you added bye, hi, dg (dog), sht (shirt), sit, bite, nak (snack) and woof, woof.   You can point to a book and your stuffed doggy when asked!  Such a smartie!

I couldn't let this post end without mentioning your hair.  I love your hair.  It is long enough to pull up into a ponytail and curl with a curing iron.....just like your Mommy's hair when she was a baby!  Lucky you!  Also not to go unnoticed is your sleeping habits!  We are LUCKY to have a good little sleeper!  You will sleep anywhere between 10-11 hours each night.  Sometimes you whine here and there, but if we put your pacifier back in....you stay asleep!  When you wake up, you are in the best mood....you will play and talk to yourself for quite some time before standing up and wanting out of your crib.  Don't get me wrong, you do have a demanding side to you....if you don't want something or someone, you will let us know with your big teary eyed cry or stiff body....but the neat thing is that it is short lived and you are back to your happy content self!  We are LUCKY and BLESSED!


LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!
Grandma Dason

9m29d- BOOK/DOG

Our little Nevaeh is showing off her new skills in this video.  Aunt Caitlin was babysitting today and Nevaeh was playing with her book and stuffed dog.  Aunt Caitlin asked Nevaeh "Where's your book?" and she pointed/patted the book!  Then Caitlin asked "Where's your dog?" and Nevaeh did the same to the dog.  Caitlin rearranged the book and dog into different spots and asked her the same questions....sure enough, she pointed/patted the correct object!  This video shows her doing the same thing when they showed grandpa and me later in the day.    I've also noticed that Nevaeh knows how to press the stuffed doggy's paws to get it to say different things.  Lately she has also been mimicking the faces we make (tongue out, lips smacking together, mouth sounds)......She is learning soooooo much!

9m28d-PEEK-A-BOO

9m28d- DOGGY SOUNDS

Our dog is named Chael (Kale) and Nevaeh knows his name.  She will search for him when we ask where he is.....Yesterday, Auntie Caitlin taught her how a dog sounds (woof, woof)....Nevaeh imitated her!  Caitlin was sooooo excited that she called me at work, but you know how that goes.....She stared at the phone instead of making doggy sounds.  Well........today we asked her again "What does the dog say?"  She looked for Chael.....smiled.....we said woof, woof and she repeated it.....then the dog barked and she giggled and said woof woof again!  Soooooo darn cute!

9m27d-LOOK AT THIS FACE!

Such a beautiful little face!

9m26d-BEAUTIFUL HAIR!

 Blessed with hair (with a bit of a wave to it)! If we don't pull it up in a ponytail, then this wave falls down in her eyes and drives me nuts!  Actually her hair is the type that if we comb it straight, it will dry straight....if we let it go, it will dry with a bit of a wave but not enough to stay cute on its own without pulling the hair up and out of her eyes!   Notice the long beautiful eyelashes!

 She loved gumming on this brush....Those darn upper teeth are giving her fits....still hidden beneath the gum line!  And I can tell they are hurting because she isn't herself.....temperamental and clingy (not to mention the fever and rashes lately!).....Yes, I know I said she was dealing with it well yesterday, but I've changed my mind after today......We are seeing little fits of her throwing herself backwards and winy.....I think she is finally tired of feeling this way!

 Her hair waves up in the back!  Wonder if it will continue to wave as it grows longer or go straight?

 Love this picture!-- GORGEOUS!

Auntie Caitlin added a bow!

9m25d-RASH, RASH, RASH

Nevaeh developed a whole body (head to toe) rash today.....so back to the doctors they went!  The Pediatrician felt it was a viral rash which usually shows up, up to 24 hours after a severe, long lasting fever....but tested her for Strep just to be sure.  Thank God it was negative!  No meds were given this time because this type of rash solves itself.  As for the monkey butt rash the ER doctor named....the Pedi just laughed at the term, because sure enough it is a yeast infection.  The ER doctor even prescribed meds for a yeast infection, but kept referring to it as Monkey Butt!!!  Courtney was telling her Pedi about this with a laugh, because the whole time, Courtney thought she was dealing with a bad diaper rash with a weird name!  Good thing we can joke about it.....and good thing the correct ointment was prescribed!   At least Nevaeh has remained a good natured baby through all of this....clingy, but still good!

9m24d-FINALLY FEELING BETTER!

Our little one has a tinkle in her eyes again!....But guess what?  No new teeth!....hmmmmm .....not really sure why she had the fever for a few days and the diaper rash in the creases of her legs is simply ODD...I saw it today (3 days later) and it was the strangest rash......more like raw skin in her creases of baby fat  :-(  ......Great Grandma thinks it looks more like a yeast infection, but the emergency room doctor didn't say anything about a yeast infection.....In fact his words were " Yep, she has monkey butt due to teething, just like my son used to get"....Monkey butt ????  Real professional huh?   At least she is getting better!

On a happier note, Nevaeh sat next to me on the couch.....rolled over on her tummy and continue to slowly slide off the couch until her feet touched the ground and then hand transferred to the coffee table, walked around the table and then crawled over to to her toys to play!  I was amazed that she got off the couch by herself!  When I brought it to Mommy's attention, she said, "Oh yea, I forgot to tell you, she's been doing that for several weeks, maybe even a month now".....As she played, I noticed that she got on her knees and "stood" straight up while still on her knees vs. in a sitting position on her knees with her feet tucked under her......While "standing" on her knees she is quite confident and solid with her motions while playing with her toys........but when it comes to standing on her feet, she doesn't have that same confidence and solid stance....in fact, she has jello legs.  Funny how she can stand on her knees and not on her feet....but then again, she is only 9.5 months old!    Looking back, I remember her Mommy actually walked on her knees before she learned to walk on her feet.  I wonder if Nevaeh is going to do the same?  Time will tell.