4th Tooth

We have a fourth tooth - yep that's right - FOUR.
We think she cut it last week. Wednesday she was tackling her over sized stuffed lion cub and we noticed blood on it's muzzle. We looked in her mouth but didn't see anything out of the ordinary so we let it slide. Saturday as we were heading out Pat was sitting in the back while she was in her seat and he saw a white spot. It's not where we thought she would have gotten her next tooth - it's next to the top she already has - on the opposite side of where we expected it to be. She now has both bottom central incisors (middle) her left top central incisor (middle) and her left top lateral incisor (between the middle and canine). I'm not quite sure when that next top middle is going to pop through but between now and then she's going to have a crooked but very cute smile!

9 Month Checkup

We took Teagan to the doctor on Saturday to see how things are going. Here is what we found out:

1. Teagan weighs 22 pounds 4 ounces. (above 95th percentile)
2. Teagan is 29 inched tall. (95th percentile)
3. Teagan's head is 18 inches around. (90th percentile)

The doctor says "looks like she is eating well" the moment he lays eyes on her. Overall, she is doing great, right on track doing all the things she should be doing. Ears, eyes, nose look good. Her herniated belly button is doing fine. Getting better each time. He said they will not feel concerned unless she still has the herniation past a year and a half.

Speaking of the 1 year mark, that is our next appointment. We were informed that we could begin mixing in whole milk a couple of weeks before her next appointment. That way if there are any difficulties we can discuss them at the 1 year appointment.

Overall, Teagan is doing great. Happy and healthy and very loved.

My Pumpkin is 9 months old today!

Wow - 9 months has flown by! It's hard to believe that it took 9 months to grow her and now she's been here for 9 months. This past month has been a great one. We've had lots of great experiences and Miss Teagan is definitely learning some independence.

As stated earlier Teagan now pulls herself up on items. Nothing in our house is safe from her adventurous side. Recently she's begun to let go when she's holding onto items - she'll stand for 3 seconds and then wobble and land on her bottom. Her smile is contagious! She loves Micky Mouse... or should I say the show Mickey Mouse Club House on Disney. We have it on in the morning while Pat and I are getting ready for work, it's on during Saturday morning cartoons and if we think about it, it's available via On Demand and we can watch it anytime we want. As soon as she hears Mickey's voice she whips her head towards the TV and makes the best, excited cooing sound ever heard. The smile is as big as can be and she watches intensely.

Random things:

• She's learned to wave buh-bye!
  
• She's taken her first, second and third shower & really likes the water sprinkling over her body
  

We've expanded her diet. She now has had quite a bit of non-baby food.

• Any soft / steamed fresh veggies are great.


• She loves home-made mac & cheese.


• Noodles are very easy for her to eat.


• Bread


• Fries (sweet potato and regular)


• Mashed Potatoes / potato chunks
  
• Soups - cream and broth based


• ice cream


• pickles


• cheese


• brown rice


• She even had a couple pieces of cupcake the other day at a birthday party

Speaking of the birthday party, it was at that party that we realized Teagan could drink out of a straw. She was enjoying a nice apple juice box. We've now invested in straw sippy cups and she can't get enough of them. I can't tell if it's the fun of the straw or the taste of the juice she likes most.

Stairs were once a major obstacle, but now they are a minor inconvenience at most. Usually they are fun, exciting ways to exercise and get nice and tired. Baby gates have finally been successfully installed at the top and bottom of the stairs. We have also begun working on cleaning up the basement to make an additional space for her to play.

Curly Mop

I love this lil head of hair. Look at those curls! I wonder what it's going to look like when she's older. Right now once it dries it turns pretty straight - any wave most days makes it look like she has bad bed head. On this night when she got out of the shower I really wanted to find some moose or gel or something to keep the curls formed once they dried but I had to remind myself she's only 8 months old - there's plenty of years to do her hair :)

Independence

It has been brought to the forefront more and more lately. We have been witness to it, but we passed it off as cute, funny or as teething. It seems that our little miss sunshine is growing up in leaps and bounds. We are still astonished by our little girl. We still sit and watch her as she learns more by the second. The more she learns, the more she wants to learn. The world is her playground...

and if she has it her way, it will be HER playground rules too.

Sure, sometimes it is frustrating, but you have to take the good with the bad. It is funny to watch Teagan go for the dog food because she seems to like either the hardness of it for her teeth, or perhaps enjoys the taste. We laugh at how she listens when we say "no touch" but waits for 8.4 seconds and goes for it again. As if this time it will be okay for her to play in the dog's water.

It is a bit annoying to try and change her diaper or clothes when all she wants to do is crawl around naked, but it is a part of testing limits and doing what she wants to do. The independence bug has bitten Teagan and bitten hard. She is getting more adventurous. She wants to climb the stairs, she wants to follow Cabo, she wants to explore the world around her. She has been sleeping less and less at day care. She wants to play with the other kiddos as much as possible. The benefit to all this playing is that she is working her into a nice sleep schedule.

It really is amazing to watch her learn and grow. As always, can't wait to see what comes next.

Patrick

Happy Daddy!

Our little girl made me feel so proud, happy, thrilled, excited and rewarded yesterday. It was yet another first in the life of Teagan. When I got home and came inside, I was met by my dog. Cabo is always excited to see me when I get home. Next I was greeted by Kelly. She was sitting on the floor and, as usual, was not as excited to see me as Cabo. Don't get me wrong, she does not despise that I came home, she just doesn't jump around waiting for me to pet her or play with her. After saying hello to them, I was greeted in a most unusual way. It was a smile and then a scream. Teagan had given me her version of a greeting... or so I thought.

What followed was unexpected, but very much desired. It was something that I had been waiting for. I thought it was going to happen once before, but that dream was crushed when something shiny got in the way. This time was different. Immediately following the scream, Teagan took off like a crazy person. She was on a mission and that mission was to get to daddy! She started crawling my way, and then ran into an obstacle. I thought for sure my dreams were going to be crushed once again. Teagan crawled directly into Kelly's outstretched legs. This surely was enough of a distraction. I thought "no way is she going to make it here with so much in the way." I was shocked when I saw Teagan trying with all of her might to get OVER Kelly's legs. It was a bumpy ride, but she finally got over the legs. Now she only had to negotiate the ever changing "Cabo" obstacle. Sure enough, she made it. Cabo almost cleared out of the way. Teagan made it to my feet where she sat down, shook her legs like she always does when she gets excited. She looked up and continued to smile and scream.

I only had one choice... I had to pick her up. And then I had to hug her with everything I had. And then I had to smile, celebrate and lock that memory in my head. It was everything I thought it would be. She made my day. I look forward to many more of these moments.


Ahh yes, Daddy's Little Girl... Thank you Teagan.

Patrick

3 Teeth

Just a quick note that a couple days ago Teagan's top left tooth did decide to make an appearance. She now has three teeth.