0 Uncle Brad!

Brad came and visited us last Wednesday through Saturday, and we all LOVED having him here. He hadn't seen the girls since June, and they've grown a lot since then.

Just for my own enjoyment, I asked Brad to change Georgia's diaper. Knowing that she likes to squirm and crawl away...making for a VERY challenging diaper change.

Thankfully, Georgia did not disappoint me. Uncle Brad had quite a time wrangling her and getting her to stay still so he could get the diaper off and back on.

Victory! I did make it a little easier on Brad...it was just a potty diaper. Earlier in the day, Georgia had done her drop-and-roll routine with a poopy diaper and I had gotten poop all over me. I'm so glad Brad got to experience the real sense of accomplishment I achieve every day.

There's something so lovely about watching people love on your children. Brad is SO sweet with Georgia, and it reminded me of how he was when Leighton was a baby too. (Not that he's not sweet with Leighton now, she's just older and so he's much more playful with her.) Also, on a totally random note, look at that beautiful, rounded shape of Georgia's head! We didn't even try to NOT let her have a flat head.

I think Brad had fun feeding Georgia. He definitely noticed the difference between Leighton and Georgia as far as eating goes. Leighton never ate that much baby food (and still isn't a big eater). Georgia, on the other hand, that girl likes her some food!

When my parents arrived last Friday afternoon, we all spent some time in the front yard playing. It was a beautiful afternoon!

I think Georgia remembered Brad from when we stayed with my parents back in March for two weeks while we had the foundation redone at our house here. Brad helped me a few times with the night shift because he is AWESOME that way. And Georgia warmed up to him right away when he came, so she must have formed a bond with him.

0 9 months old!

Georgia at 9 months: EVERYWHERE. She is straight-up crawling now. I believe I officially have marked October 16 as the first day she really crawled. And not just crawling; crawling and getting into everything along the way. I busted her twice yesterday with a used pee-pee diaper in her mouth. UGH! Anything she comes across goes straight to her mouth (like her 9 months sign below).

 I can just see the wheels turn in her head: "Ooh, look at this! Pretty, bright, soft! But how does it taste?" Poor girl must be getting used to having everything taken away from her. Chad and I snatch stuff up because she shouldn't have it, and Leighton takes it because she is still working on sharing. (I call her Leighton the Fox after Swiper the Fox from Dora, but she doesn't like it.)

For the record, this is a CLEAN diaper. I was just doing an experiment where I put things in front of her to see if anything didn't make it to her mouth. (Everything went in.)

I just have to say thank God for this playpen my mom got for Leighton that we never used (cause Leighton wasn't moving like Georgia is) because it is the ONLY "safe place" we have for Georgia. She can stand up in it and she just hangs for dear life on the side of the thing...eventually falling down. I was cracking up yesterday because she had her face all mashed up into the side looking out (it's mesh...no harm done) and she was just grinning from ear to ear.

We took her to her the doctor today for her 9-month appointment. She was on target and I laughed as I confirmed YES to every question: Is she crawling? Is she pulling up to standing? Is she pinching? Does she look when you call her name? Is she making eye contact? Is she brilliant? Does she know her ABCs and how to drive a car? YES! YES! YES! Here's her stats:

Weight: 16 pounds, 7 ounces
Height: 27 inches

I checked and Leighton weighed just ONE ounce more at her 9-month appointment (16 pounds, 8 ounces). How wild is that? Leighton also came along with us today because she's had a cough for the past week and it's been keeping her up at night. Dr. Kinalska gave Leighton a big ol hug when she saw her and said she's grown so much (and she also commented on how impressed she was with Leighton's verbal skills). Leighton got a flu shot, Georgia got her blood drawn, and none of it phased me one bit. I guess I'm a seasoned mom now. I don't like watching them in pain, but I know it's only for a split-second and then they are fine. Leighton REALLY likes the doctor now because she got a lollipop from the doctor AND an extra one in the lab. So hopefully she'll forget about the shot in the leg.(By the way, Leighton weighed 29 pounds today!)

Back to Georgia. She goes to bed every night by 6:30 (which is awesome). Unfortunately, she also seems to be waking up at 4 in the morning to eat and then goes back to bed. We're just so thrilled she's going that long that we aren't complaining about the 4 a.m. feed. But hopefully, we'll get rid of that one soon too. We've come a long way in the sleep department!

Georgia often busts out in the giggles when she's watching Leighton play. It's hilarious! Leighton notices and hams it up even more to make Georgia laugh. It's happened a handful of times and when all three of us are laughing together, I think there's nothing better in the whole wide world. It's absolute JOY.

Georgia is slowly making her way through baby food. She has a real love for anything with apples in it. Not so much a fan of veggies or meats. I think that's pretty standard. With Leighton, I made a color-coordinated chart with notes on all the foods she was trying and her reaction to it. Sorry, Georgia, I guess that's a perk of being the first baby in the family. I have no such chart for G. (I guess I can understand now why my mom never made me a baby book.)

We're really having a lot of fun with Georgia these days, even if she is keeping us on our toes. She's a happy little baby and I'm confident she knows how much she is loved, because we love on her every second of the day.

1 Tinkerbells at the Pumpkin Patch

When Uncle Brad and my parents were here this weekend, we took the girls to the Pumpkin Patch. I thought it was hard when I took them by myself a couple of weeks ago. And it was still just as hard with six of us (my cousin Max was with us too)! Wow it is hard getting a good picture of more than one kid!

That being said, it is hard NOT to get a cute picture when you have two adorable girls both dressed up as Tinkerbell! Here's all of our pictures from the Pumpkin Patch. Leighton had a ball running around in her costume; Georgia tolerated it.