McKinlee: 10 Months ~ Lovestrong

Wow- McKinlee is already 10 months! I cannot believe this girl is that old. Motherhood takes a bigger toll on my emotions and my body way more than I ever would have though, and yet it's the most rewarding thing to do. Anytime I start singing (she loves my opera voice), McKinlee will mimic my falsetto voice while staring intently at something in her hand. It's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. Anytime I walk to another room to put away laundry or toys, it's not long before I hear her little hands and knees crawling my direction. She honestly brings so much joy to our lives. I'm grateful she's ours!

Sleep: This girl is still our great sleeper. She wakes up around 8:45 then naps around 11 or so. She'll sleep for an hour ish and then she goes back down by 3. Her last nap is at 7ish and she falls asleep for the night at 10 or 10:30. We still have a very relaxed schedule, which works for us since she's our one and only right now. She doesn't always take 3 naps.. we kind of just feel it out. I can tell when she's tired a lot more easily now. I have been loving getting her to bed earlier because is gives Stafford and I some more grown up time :) So that's been nice.

Size:
Weight: 15 lbs 5 oz (6%)

Height: 26.5 in (7%)
Head: 43.8 cm (42% !!!)

As you can see, McKinlee is a little top heavy. This must be why she face plants it when she gets tired sometimes. Baby girl is still in size 2 diapers. I just put away all of her 3-6 month clothes and we are now in 6 month, 6-9, and 9 month clothes. We're almost to 12 month clothes and I'm so excited. Each new size leap brings new clothes! I wish I could have that many wardrobe options! I also wish I could get clothes in my size on clearance for less than $5 each (lucky girl!).

Food: Stafford and I have been working hard at feeding McKinlee more and more table foods. She pretty much eats anything we eat in smaller pieces. I stay away from nuts and peanut butter since Stafford is allergic to certain nuts. I also have avoided plain eggs, milk, and honey. She loves her Gerber puffs and while babysitting we found her new favorite: Scooby-Doo Graham Cracker Cinnamon Sticks. She couldn't get enough of them! She also loves avocado, wheat bread, apple sauce, cheese, apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, grilled cheese, daddy's rice krispie treats, occasionally rice, and the occasional chocolate. She's also starting to eat meats. She likes lunch meats, pot roast and chicken. The pureed stuff is out of the question though. We make sure to feed her extra soft pieces and she does really well with them! We just bought some cottage cheese. She eats a couple bites, but that's about it. I'm pretty proud of how far we've come with feeding her new things.

Milestones: McKinlee's main form of getting around is crawling, but she stands as much as possible. She walks along anything she can and lets go now which is really exciting! The other day she totally took a step while free-standing and stayed standing!! I couldn't believe it! She can stand for a long time now and wants to take steps so bad. It's the cutest! It's crazy that we're at this point already. With all of this mobility comes messes in every room in our house of course. There are toys/chewable items on the floor everywhere. I've come to the realization that my lip gloss is no longer mine. This girl is so busy. She finds everything. I'm trying to baby proof a little more so I can leave her alone for a few minutes without worrying too much about her chewing on an important paper or something. She has crawled up a flight of stairs, but doesn't know how to go down yet. Luckily we don't have stairs in our apartment, so she doesn't necessarily need to know how to do them. This girl also waves her hands for "all done" but she may just be copying me. I'm not sure.

As you can see from my lack of blogging, we've been pretty busy! McKinlee definitely keeps me on my toes and I love it! The days I don't get showered until 6 pm are probably not my favorite, but it's all part of the journey :) We're excited to celebrate our first Christmas with a baby! You can check out our baby approved Christmas to-do list here. Hope you're enjoying the season!