Emerson {9 months}

20.2 lbs -(75th percentile... down from 95th percentile at last check)

26.75 inches long (holding steady at 50th percentile)

1. As her stats show, she is still our little chunky monkey. She has got some legs (or rolls in place of legs?!). She is starting to stretch out a little. She actually has ankles now :) Love, love, LOVE my chubby baby!

2. She started sleeping better- 6 hour stretches at night, 2/2-3 hour naps, then she got 4 teeth in a (miserable) 2 week period, which threw everything off again. Boo. I have really never come across a baby that sleeps LESS than this child. It is UNBELIEVABLE. Seriously.

3. She is eating solid foods, but will not be "fed." She must feed herself or else she gets spittin' mad. (To feed her, I have to have 2 spoons to rotate. I give her a bite on one, which she voraciously grabs out of my hand and shoves into her mouth. She won't let go of that one for anything, so the 2nd spoon must be filled with a new bite before she will release spoon #1.)

3. She is scooting everywhere on her bum, or sliding backwards on her tummy. No actual crawling yet. (With Avery I was so worried if she didn't hit milestones "on time." With Emerson, I would just assume she stay stationery as long as possible- her sisters have so many little toys on the ground for her to get into. For now, it is just one less thing for me to worry about.)

4. Emerson does not give up smiles easily. She melts your heart when she does though. Her sisters are the only ones who can get her to break into the giggles. It is the best thing in the world to hear them all laughing together. (Her sisters can also get her screaming in seconds flat- pushing her over, "riding" on her back, taking toys away, walking away from her, getting too close... it is a love hate thing they have going on.)

5. Her eyes are NOT blue. I have no idea what color they are, or what they will end up to be (they are getting more and more brown by the day), but my blue eyed baby dream is officially dashed again. Yes, I have heard "I told you so" about a thousand times already from my gloating husband. They WERE blue for a long time... it was the closest we have gotten so far. Oh well, I love my brown eyed girls... all three of them. smile.

what a difference a year makes

We tried to start Finley in dance when she turned 2, but she got kindly kicked out of the class because she could not stay focused and was a distraction to the rest of the girls... I watched- it was true. Fast forward 11 months... Finley does dance class TAKE 2. She is doing amazingly well. She is paying attention, following direction (most of the time), and is having a great time (and looks so darn cute to boot). What a difference a year makes!

now playing {on repeat in my car}

Remember when I made the switch to primary songs/church music in the car because little ears pick up on EVERYTHING?! Well, my selection was getting a bit tired. Enter my new favorite Christmas gift. I love EVERY.SINGLE.SONG. To me, there is nothing better or more uplifting than simple, lovely, well arranged, beautifully sung hymns.

listen to clips/download/buy album HERE.

i {still} love my ducks!

My dad took all of the boys in the family to the Rose Bowl 2010: Oregon vs. Ohio St.

I was looking forward to going too, but unfortunately only 5 of the 7 tickets he put in for came through in the lottery. Avery and Finley were also disappointed that they did not get to go. Avery asked, "why do only boys get to go to the duck game?" My sister and her husband Logan came down with my dad, so the girls and I had fun with TT while the boys went off to the game.

They had a great time, except for the fact that we were handed a disappointing loss, of course. Maybe next year?! I STILL love my ducks! (the girls LOVE watching this video).