Lil Miss is 8 months old

Teagan is 8 months today - I can't believe it! and she is doing just great. Her personality continues to shine and we are loving it. This past month it seems like Teagan is growing up way too fast. She mastered crawling within a week and went on to learn pulling herself up and standing. Yesterday she even took a couple steps with the assistance of a dragon scooter/ walker toy she received for Christmas. I have a feeling that she'll be walking on her own way too soon as well.

She's really starting to repeat what she sees. Her ability to clap is improving. She now will clap pretty much whenever you do. Her feet are constantly moving with excitement. The other day Grandma C and her were sitting on the ground both moving their feet in unison as a game. This past month we've also noticed that she's a lot more talkative. Constantly blabbing, laughing, making noises - finding her voice. She'll catch us off guard sometimes with a huge screech or sound and we just have to laugh. I've often wondered how her voice is going to sound when she can say words - Even more now I think we have to start baby proofing the house. We've replaced some outlet covers and put a lock on the bottom freezer. Up next is more outlets and the oven door locks. Now that she is pulling herself up on EVERYTHING I'm noticing more dangerous areas for her at our house. Do they make covers for bath tub knobs because if they do - we need them.

She got her first hair cut this month. Just a small trim but it made all the difference with styling her hair. It's long enough to put into a pony on top the head like Pebbles Flinstone and short enough that it's not out of control flying away like it was before. Hopefully with the trim it will grow out nicer this time around.

She is currently wearing 9 month clothing and will soon be getting into 12 month. I've noticed her slowing down - it seems like she's been wearing the 9 month clothing more than she ever did her 3 or 6 month clothing. I'm sure she'll be in 12 or 18 month clothing just as long, if not longer.

Her daily schedule is something like this -

Wake up for the day between 7 and 8. Depending on how early she wakes up she may take a mid-morning nap for about 45 minutes. If she can make it until around 10 or 10:30 - we're lucky enough for a 3 hour nap. She'll eat cereal before her nap and have lunch afterwards. She'll wake up from her main nap around 2 and be ready for another sometime in the evening. Dinner is around 7:15 and bed time is usually around 8 or 8:30. She sleeps all night (most nights, if she's not teething).

Teagan loves; Cabo, Cabo's water dish, splashing during bath time, Tickles from Daddy and Smiles from Mommy. Oh and JUMPING - she cannot stand still. More times than not when she is being held, her knees are bending and she is bobbing up and down with a huge smile on her face and laughing.

Teagan does not like; Water being poured over her head at bath time, Shoes (she always kicks them off), Getting dressed - it's something about putting her arms in the long sleeves, putting her coat on etc.

This whole month it seems that Teagan is teething - trying to get those top two teeth to come in. Three or so weeks ago her top gums were so inflamed I swore they would pop through any day. They're still up there causing her discomfort and pain - thank you Orajel and Tylenol. (Update) we noticed tonight that her top left is just starting to pop through. :)

Teagan's First Christmas

What a wonderful day!!!

I was trying to be creative and put the details of the day into a poem that somewhat resembled "Twas the Night Before Christmas" but I did not feel the creative juices flowing well enough to get all of it out. After all, the day was very long and very tiring.

Teagan's first Christmas started on Thursday the 23rd when we headed out to visit Grandpa Cumpata. Thursday was the night that we celebrated Christmas with them. It was a full house as all the sisters were present and accounted for. Kristina, Karen and Alex (with baby in the making), Shawn, Keri, Bennett and Cooper, Kelly, Teagan and I rounded out the places at the table. It was exciting to see Karen and Alex get some much needed stuff for the soon to be new house. Kelly and I got the camera that we wanted for so long. It is so much better, and as soon as we figure out how to download the pictures, we will be sure to post them. We think the camera will use the same cable as our current camera, but need to experiment with that. Keri and Shawn got some gift cards and small items for the house. The gift cards were to allow them to go out and get the new front door that they really want. Kristina received a new laptop computer and accessories for that. Teagan got some clothes and toys... including a faux fur that looks adorable on her. I hope she fits in it for a little while longer. I would hate to see that we could only use it once or twice.

Friday night was the annual Cumpata family celebration. These celebrations are quite the scene. There are so many people gathered in one place it becomes quite a challenge to keep conversations straight. I continually find myself repeating stories, and I can never remember if I told each person the story already or not. There are also kids running around everywhere. We added to the number of little ones this year. Everyone was captivated by Teagan. The family oohed and ahhed over her... her dimples, her chunky cheeks, her ever-present smile, and the fact that this little girl, not yet 8 months old, is doing a REALLY good job of pulling herself up. They were amazed that she could take a few steps if you held her hands. If this trend continues, it looks like we will have an early walker. After appetizers and dinner, Santa came for a visit. He sat and read a story and handed out presents. Teagan once again decided Santa is nothing to be afraid of. She sat and studied him while everyone around her clapped for her attention to get a good picture. Once all the gifts were opened, it was time for the adults to have their gift card exchange. It is like a secret Santa thing that we do with whatever the theme may be. In the past, we have done CDs, DVDs. This year was gift cards. We all had a good night, but it was a long night. I still had to go home and wrap presents.

Saturday was the BIG day. The day we had been waiting for. Teagan's first Christmas.

Teagan woke up around 8:00. She slept in due to the long night with the Cumpata Family. She, Kelly and I headed down stairs to clean up and get ready for the rest of the family to arrive. We did some last minute vacuuming, and furniture re-arrangements to accommodate everyone. We had anticipated people arriving around 9:00, but they did not make it until closer to 11:00. This meant that we had to put Teagan down for a nap. In the end, this was the best thing for her as she would not have made it through the gift opening had she not had a nap. While we waited for her to get ample rest, we had our normal breakfast stuffs of bagels, quiche, cookies and leftover salsa and chips that Kristina made. We also had some leftover fruit pizza that Keri made. It was a large breakfast that could only be topped off by a Bloody Mary. Finally, it was time to wake Teagan up.

I am not quite sure what Kelly and I actually expected out of Teagan, all I know is that we were pleasantly surprised. I fell like we expected her to react a little to the presents, but we were happy to see her actually tear some of the paper. We especially love when she saw her gift and had amazing expressions on her face. She looked as though she was waiting for this exact present for months. Her face lit up when she saw her very first Cabbage Patch Kid. She adored the glow worm, and she looked intrigued by the various games and toys given to her. She also had fun crawling around to check out the spoils received by others. She loved the paper and card board. She wanted to taste and touch everything. More often than not, we found her going after Cabo's toys and bones. She also, for the first time, decided she was allowed to play with the Christmas tree. She had left it alone for the month that it was up, but now, it was of great interest. Kelly and I were happy that we did not go overboard on the first Christmas. We showed great restraint in our purchases, as we knew that the family would go a bit crazy on her.

Following the celebration at our house, it was time to run up for a quick visit with the Rosario side of the family. We got to mom R's house and met a wild and crazy bunch. Tim, Jen and Molly were in from Ohio, Anthony, Amy, Taylor, Vincent and Clara were in from Wisconsin and brought their dog Tasha too. All of us joined Mark and mom for presents and a little visiting time. Mom, of course, went a little overboard in buying gifts for Teagan. I do have to say, Teagan does love her bear and scooter. The scooter will no doubt be the tool Teagan uses to become an early walker. The first time she stood behind it, she took several distinct steps. It was a bit amazing. I ran to get the video camera, but it was already too late. She was done with that for the night. After we opened gifts, we sat around talking and then gathered for the family picture. Teagan was somewhat asleep during the pictures. It was not long after the picture that we ended up leaving. Teagan was way beyond tired and needed sleep badly. It was rough for her to fall asleep in the car, so we knew she was over tired.

Once we got back to our house, Kelly, her family and I sat down for a wonderful dinner of scalloped potatoes and ham. Teagan was at dinner, but she seemed to be in another world... perhaps it was one where she was dreaming. Once it was time for bed, it took both Kelly and I to rock her and soothe her enough to actually fall asleep.

As the day drew to a close, the family members started leaving and Kelly, mom C and I watched a movie before calling it a night.

Overall, it was a wonderful day. Everyone seemed quite satisfied with the day. We love having the family around and this was another one of our favorite moments.

I hope all of you had as great of a day as we had.

Patrick

Let the Christmas Festivities begin!

Well here we go, we're beginning what is Teagan's first Christmas. I'm totally interested in how she'll react to presents and tearing the wrapping paper. I have a feeling she'll be quite still, not sure what to think of it all and not really realize that the paper needs to come off the box and into the mouth.... I mean garbage.
It began last night with family driving in from Kentucky. Grandma C, Aunt Kristina and Aunt Keri, Uncle Shawn, Bennett and Cooper arrived around 4pm. It will continue today with last minute Christmas shopping, and then after Pat gets home from work tonight we'll be heading to Poppa and Nana's house for their celebration which will include all the Aunts and Uncles above and Aunt Karen and Uncle Alex. ---- Since she is pregnant and has stopped flying for the airlines, this is the first Christmas in years that Karen will be joining us for the celebrating.
Tomorrow, Christmas Eve is the annual Cumpata side family party with all the extended family - what fun. There are a lot of little ones running around these days. And Christmas day will be filled with morning presents at home with Grandma C and my sisters/family's followed by heading up to Grandma Rosario's since every one's in town for her this year too!

As always the holiday is filled with chaos, and clutter... running from this house to that house. I wouldn't change it for the world. We're so lucky to have family and friends to share this time of the year with.

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Kelly

Another boy!!

Congratulations to my sister Karen and her husband Alex on finding out they are expecting a baby boy! Well ..... so..... Teagan wont have any girl cousins around her age but boys can be fun too right? And she'll have plenty of protection when she gets older. Maybe she'll be able to trick Bennett, Cooper and baby boy Aschoff into playing barbies and dress up for a little while.

Oh my!

Well we knew she could do it. She's been practicing on Pat and I for days. Using us a jungle gyms, pushing off us when we're laying or sitting, crawling all over us. But today was confirmation. The moment that it was really clear to me....

I had just gotten her home and placed her in the middle of the family room. I saw her crawling in my direction towards the kitchen. In the time it took me to bend down, pick up my shoes and turn around Teagan had pulled herself up on the rocking chair foot stool. Our little girl can pull herself up.... All on her own! The crib the other week was ... well... the crib. She had yet to do it to any other furniture.

She's growing so fast! I'm loving and hating it. Every mile stone is wonderful and a great accomplishment. I've often said that it's amazing how much a baby learns in their first year. But I can't believe she's at this point already. Soon enough she'll be walking with assistance from furniture and people. Oh my!

The World is Brand New Again

As we approach the holiday season it is hard to find time to sit and write about our life. Things seem to be happening so quickly it is mind boggling. Countless people have warned us "treasure these moments because they go by quickly." Were we naive enough to think we were immune to this phenomenon?

It seems we just celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday. Teagan was getting better and better with crawling, she was working out some of the kinks with her fine motor skills for eating puffs, and she was, as always, a happy, happy baby.

Fast forward a few weeks and we now find Teagan crawling wherever she wants to go. She especially loves to spend time at the sliding patio door especially if her best buddy Cabo is out there. The patio door provides a lovely sound when she pounds on the glass, which totally amuses her. She spends a good deal of time in her toy corner that we made for her, but above and beyond that space, she love to play on her jungle gyms. She has recently discovered her two favorite play things are mommy and daddy. She has to be in the proper mood, but when she is, the laughs are abundant, the smiles hurt your face, and the tears may start to flow from laughing so hard. I am not quite sure what it is, maybe it is the noises we make when she is crawling and grabbing and pinching us, but something makes her giggle. Her giggle turns into a laugh, and the laugh becomes a joyous, bouncing good time.

Teagan is working quite hard on her next move. It is the one that is most likely to cause a concussion, but is the most important move left to make in her life. That move is standing. The move that is needed the start walking, running or climbing. One day this move will help her prove to her college roommates that she is ok. This is a way important step in her life. IT is already here. Our little peanut has already gone from being a lump on a log to a mobile toddler that is rediscovering the world around her.

We have new things to watch for. Teagan is easily distracted so everything catches her attention. I thought she was crawling to me one day when I walked in from work. She was excited, cooing and now moving towards her daddy... or so I thought. What could have been a move towards greeting daddy for the first time was rudely interrupted by something that was in Teagan's way. It was small, she should have just passed it by and continued, but the paci was way too interesting to pass up. Now crawling after Cabo can be interrupted by throwing a piece of fuzz past her face. She wants to see, do and touch everything. The world is her playground, and for now, that playground is still indoors most of the time. I cannot wait until we take her outside to experience the snow.

I think Kelly and I have always been noticing that time is flying by, but I also think that we have been embracing each step. We have wanted to rush some steps, but we have realized it will happen when she is ready, not when we are ready. We will sit and impatiently wait for her next milestone. Not sure what it will be. My guess is her first word as she has been having random 5 minute conversations with herself as she continues to find and express her voice.

One thing has stayed the same, we are still the happy little family. She is our precious little girl and we couldn't be more proud of her.

Until next time...

Patrick