Another Month Goes By

Today, Suzie is nine months old! I know we say this every month, but we can hardly believe how big she is getting. Here are her stats for her adjusted age of 6 months:

Weight: 13 lbs 14 ounces (9th percentile)
Height: 26.5 inches (67th percentile)
She's long and skinny just like her Daddy!

In honor of Suzie’s 9 month birthday, I decided to post 9 of Suzie’s favorite things:

1. Baby Einstein
This one can be a lifesaver at times. When I really need to get something done and she is crying unless I am holding her, I just pop in a Baby Einstein video for her and she is immediately mesmerized by it. This video is of Daddy using Baby Einstein to appease her.


2. Her Hands and Feet
She loves her hands because they assist her in putting many things into her mouth. And even if she doesn't have an object, just putting her fingers in her mouth will do. She can also be entertained by just watching them. She also loves to play with her feet and has finally started using her right hand to play with them! You can see her playing with her feet in the video above.

3. Daddy
Every day when daddy comes home, Suzie has a special Daddy smile for him. It is so precious! He is definitely one of her two favorite people! Here’s a little video of her have a nice little chat with Daddy.


4. Sweets!
Suzie is a fabulous eater! I am so encouraged. Ever since I introduced fruit to her, she can’t seem to get the food into her mouth fast enough. She’ll even grab the spoon and shove it into her mouth. I guess she has a sweet tooth like mommy:) I give her half a jar of veggies and half a jar of fruit, two times a day. She eats it up within minutes!


5. Her Reflection
Just recently, Suzie has started to notice her reflection in the mirror. We’ll go up to the mirror and she’ll look at me in the mirror and smile and then notice herself in the mirror and just start laughing!


6. Burrito Girl
Suzie is very dependent on being swaddled in order to sleep. The hospital swaddled her nonstop so I kept it up when we got home, and now she cannot sleep unless she is very tightly swaddled. Once she gets her arms and legs out, she rolls over and is all done sleeping. It has become very tricky now that she rolls so much. We have to double swaddle her and try to wedge her into her bed so she can’t squirm so much! Here she is getting ready for a nap. We call her Burrito Girl!

7. Jungle Tunnel
This continues to be one of her favorite toys. I can bust out the Jungle Tunnel and she’ll grab at the toys and gab while I make dinner. She really squirms around in there too. Sometimes when I glance over, she’ll be halfway in the tunnel!


8. Mobile
Another lifesaver! Suzie just loves to watch the little animals go around and around. All of her babysitters take advantage of this one. They can distract her for a little while and make her forget that Mommy isn’t around.


9. Mommy
That brings us to probably her favorite thing…Mommy! And it is such a joy to my heart to have such a special bond with her. She loves to study Mom’s face, play peek-a-boo, be tickled, and just sit with and be held by Mommy. She is getting better at being held by other people, which is very good, but she’s still a Momma’s girl. I don't care for this pic of me, but her expression is so cute, I had to post it!

In this pic, I had just jumped out from around the door and yelled, "Boo!" She always laughs and squirms with glee when I do that.

She's has many other favorite things, but I just stuck with these nine for now. I guess that was a lot:) We’re doing great and praising God every day for His incredible kindness to us!

Easter

We had such a nice first Easter together. Suzie still can't go to church (hopefully by the end of the month!), but Kyle and I got to go to the Good Friday service together at our church which was such a blessing. Then on Easter Sunday, we went to my parents' house for a wonderful meal and a great time with family. Here is a video of Suzie's precious Easter outfit:

Kyle's mom was able to come into town last week and it was wonderful to have her here! By the end of the week, Suzie had completely warmed up to her and was sad to see her go:( Here are some pics of her time with Nana.


Also, Suzie can now sit by herself for a few seconds before toppling over. She doesn't know quite how to catch herself when she starts to fall, so we have to be there to soften her fall...or we let her sit on the bed where there's a nice soft landing:)


One really good piece of news is that we will be having less doctor appointments as of now! She no longer has to see her pulmonary specialist and she received her last RSV vaccination. Her pediatrician will also go a couple of months without seeing her now, so we will be traveling to Pasadena a few times less each month. We go to our NICU reunion in May and are very excited to see some of the babies that were in the NICU with Suzie. That's all for now!

Fun with Suzie

Suzie has just been so much fun lately. She smiles, laughs, talks, and wiggles all the time. She is usually in a good mood as long as she gets her naps in. She still is overwhelmed by other people, but will warm up to them after a little bit. She is getting stronger and closer to sitting up on her own. Her arms are still pretty weak so we're working on her being able to put weight on her arms to help her sit up. She loves to play with her toes and loves playing peek-a-boo with mommy. We have two big appointments this month, one for her eyes and one with the Neurosurgeon. So I'll be sure to post an update with any info. Here are some recent pics of our big girl.

Getting better with her right hand!

Just about to roll off the couch:)

Hi mom!

Suzie's new big girl bath tub

So tired!

Her funny "morning hair."