Conlee is 9 Months Old!

I realize this is a totally random picture, but how cute is she in this coat?! This was a gift from Luke's parents, and it's been too big until now. It's getting cold on our afternoon walks, and since Conlee refuses to wear her warm hat, I made her wear this! 

Anyway, she's 9 months old, and we can't believe it! It's crazy to think that she'll be 1 in 3 short months. Of course I'm already planning her birthday party, so stay tuned. It's sure to be the social event of the year! 

Our 9 month check up got rescheduled since our dr. is sick, so next week I'll post her height / weight stats. Here are a few facts about sweet Conlee at 9 months:

She has 5 teeth and 3 more are going to break through the skin at any minute! 

She is on the MOVE! She crawls everywhere, pulls up on everything, transfers herself between her toys, walks along the edge of the couch and her crib all while holding on for dear life, pushes her little walker toy around the room and is getting better and better at taking steps behind it, she can hold my hands and take 2 - 3 steps toward me before her legs buckle, and last Sunday she stood alone without holding anything for about 7 seconds! Whew...it's exhausting to watch her!

She is a GREAT eater! Basically, her favorites are cheese and carbs (big surprise, right?!), but she loves broccoli, grilled cheese, deli turkey, salmon, rice, meatballs, asparagus, sweet potatoes, tater tots, buttered toast with jelly, yogurt, chicken, avocado, pasta and I'm sure anything else we would put in front of her! She won't open her mouth for baby food, but she still loves the Gerber Yogurt Melts and veggie dip flavored Lil' Crunchies. 

She's a dancing machine! She loves to rock her body (could this be because of all our Justin Timberlake and Beyonce dance parties?!?) and clap her hands. Anytime music comes on, she starts moving. Brent and I laugh really hard when she gets her head into it...she starts moving her neck back and forth, and she'll dance and dance until she falls down...we love it! 

She's a talker! We have conversations back and forth all day. If I imitate the sounds she's making, she'll start laughing and doing it back to me. She also loves to fake cough and thinks it's hilarious when she does it and I come running in from the other room. Yes, I think she's manipulating me already! 

Every day is such a joy with her, and I'm so thankful to be her mommy!!!! We love you, sweet Conlee! 

Mother Goose Music Class Finale

Yesterday was our last Mother Goose music class! We've had such a great time going every week, singing songs, playing instruments and playing with our friends! We're going to start right up again next Tuesday for the March session...all new songs = sweet relief for Mommy! I've had about all the "Mother Goose is on the loose, hey diddle diddle aye-a..." songs I can take for awhile!

Here's Conlee's class certificate...it'll be going in the scrapbook for sure!

Conlee loves the teacher, Miss Beth. Yesterday she crawled over to her and climbed up in her lap. I had to sing all the songs without her, while she was swinging and swaying with Miss Beth!

Conlee with Miss Beth and our buddies, Amy & Charlie Adams and Christine & Charlie Wilkinson

Sometimes we play with the instruments, and some times we just eat them!

Conlee literally crawled around the whole class...she is DONE sitting quietly in my lap! I didn't realize until after I took this picture that C was hanging out in the background by herself! 

Miss Beth had a bubble machine for the last class. Some of the kids loved it, and some didn't quite know what to think! 

Charlie Wilkinson loved it! 

Conlee...not so sure! 

The last song of the last class (until we start over again next Tuesday of course!). 

Weekend with Gigi & Paps!

Ginna and Luke came to visit us this weekend, and we had the best time! We are fortunate enough to celebrate Ginna's birthday together each year, and this was the best yet. The addition of Conlee to the celebration definitely makes everything better! Gigi & Paps got to spend time with Conlee doing all of her favorite things...

Going for walks and swinging on the swings...Conlee's not sure what to think about having 2 people push her!

She loves giving high 5s! 

Bath time is still a favorite time of day. Conlee introduced Gigi & Paps to all her water-loving friends: Fishy, Myrtle the Turtle, Harry the Hippo, Cornelius the Crab, Octo-mom the Octopus, and her new three water puppies, Jake, Emma & Jack! (all animals named by Brent)

Happy Hour -  A Hodges' Family favorite!

 

We had so much fun...we're already looking forward to our next visit! 

Happy Birthday, Gigi!

We're having SO much fun this weekend with Gigi and Paps! My Gigi and Paps are so funny...here's a little clip of the action. Stay tuned for more pictures soon! 

Bible Study Babies

It's hard to believe when we started this bible study 5+ years ago, hardly any of us were married, and none of us had children! Of all the bible study girls, this is only a tiny sampling of the sweet babies! Here we have Mia Murphy, Lily LaRaia, Charlie Wilkinson, Conlee and Roma Schwarz. We had the best time at Jenny's house tonight...thank you for the super fun play date! 

Charlie, Conlee & Roma...Conlee wanted so badly to crawl off the couch, but Charlie kept holding her shirt. Thanks for the help, sweet Charlie! 

Sweet Lily was enamored with Mia! How adorable is this picture?!?!

 

Conlee's Maiden Voyage!

Yesterday we went boating in San Diego Bay with the Fraziers and the Clarks. It was Conlee's first boat ride, and she loved it. I was a little worried because we skipped her afternoon nap so we could go on the outing, but she was thoroughly entertained by the water, birds, other boats, and of course she loved spending time with her buddies, Audrey & Piper!

Courtney, Audrey, Piper and Jess

Conlee, Piper and Audrey decided to take a turn at the wheel...we didn't tell them we were already docked!

These are my favorite pictures. Conlee discovered her mommy's chocolate chip cookies! I think I've created a monster!

Please note the cookie crumbs in her hair! She was staring at the cookies with awe and wonder!

Beautiful shot of the downtown skyline. I know the rest of the country is basically frozen solid, but it was 75 and sunny here!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! We've had the best time celebrating Valentine's Day with Conlee this year. It's so fun having one more little valentine around the house! Conlee is wearing her absolutely adorable new dress from Gigi & Paps. She was by far the cutest baby in the nursery at church this morning! 

Conlee and I made this valentine for Daddy at Ali & Mia's Valentine party. We also went to the Ceramic Cafe and Conlee helped me make this little plate for her daddy. It's the perfect size to hold his keys, wallet and phone when he walks through the door after work!

Brent and Conlee got me these beautiful flowers and a very sweet card!

 

We had to snap a few with the hat...she's just so precious, if I do say so myself!

 

Sweets With My Sweetie

Jess & Piper invited us over on Friday afternoon after our nap to help make some sweet Valentine's treats! By the time we got there, Audrey and Piper had done all the work, and Conlee just got to sample their goodies...she was in heaven! The girl loves cupcakes, cookies, icing, etc...I can't imagine where she gets her sweet tooth! 

Jess helping Audrey, Piper and Addie decorate their cookies

All the big kids got to stand up in their chairs, but Piper let Conlee borrow her highchair for the cookie decorating. Even though she can pull to standing, we're not too super confident in her ability to stand up long - term in a chair! 

Addie & Conlee discussing their cookie decorating techniques

If we get as much in us as we get on us, the day is a success!

 

Another 1st for Conlee...climbing up the stairs! She did great!

Piper and Conlee in the playroom. Piper has SO many fun toys...we had a great time playing with the big girls!