This morning I asked Mary James if she wanted to go vote with me.  She seemed very excited and answered “YEAH!!”  She then started saying “BOAT!  BOAT!  Poppy’s Boat!  Isaac, Jacob…BOAT!  Man did I feel like a horrible parent.  Thank goodness she’s only 23 months old so she quickly forgot about boating, er voting.

Reminds me of when I was little and my mom said we were going to Wendy’s.  Being a typical 5 year old, I assumed she meant we were going to my cousin Wendy’s house in Atlanta.  Three and half hours away, mind you, and it was dinner time, but I still didn’t think food Wendy’s.  I was sorely disappointed when we pulled up to the hamburger joint.

Speaking of boating, we went out on my father-in-law’s boat last weekend and had a blast!

So, I don’t forget I wanted to write down some of words Mary James is starting to say.  Not a thrilling blog post, but this is more for me and Mary James. 

Her first word was “Bye.”  Other favorite words at the moment (she’s 15 m0nths old):

Da-DI!

Mama

Lights   (She just learned one this due to all the Christmas lights, which she LOVES!)

Dog

Meoooow  (Her word for cat….we have a deaf cat and she has a very strange, LOUD meow)

Duck

Bug   (She seems to think any little thing in the floor is a bug.  This is probably due to the swarm of ladybugs that have moved in our house.)

Bell-buh (belly button) – MJ loves her belly button…its her favorite body part to “find” at the moment.

Ear

No  (For either NO! or nose)

Want down (quickly becoming a favorite) 

Want more

Milk

Juice

Spoon

Sock

Shoes

Baby

Of course, many of these words have a toddlerish spin on them.    Mary James is babbling up a storm as well, and will “talk” to anyone who will listen.  I just nod and say “uh huh” and ask questions to keep her going.  I can’t believe she’s already 15 months old!  Where has time gone?!

She went for her 15 month well-child visit yesterday and weighed 19 pounds and was 29 inches tall!  Still 10th percentile but HEALTHY!  And hey it’s not like genes have programmed her to be tall.  Most people in the family are average height, although one of my granddaddy’s, Ben’s grandpa and my grandma were all 5′ 4″ and below.  Short people rock!

Well, gotta go!  We’re headed to my mom’s to cook Christmas goodies!  Mmmm!

WOW!  Where has the past year gone???  (Not to mention the last month of my horrible lack of blogging.)  *Ahem*

My baby girl turned one at the end of August.  What a blessing she has been to our family.  It has definitely been the BEST YEAR YET!!!  Here are some pics of her first birthday party!

August 29, 2008…less than 24 hours old.

August 29, 2009….what a difference ONE year makes!!

Birthday cake…YUM!

Mary James’ cake…the child LOVES kitty cats!  Wonder where that came from?

Yippee for cake and ice cream (thanks Grandaddy)!

Daddy and MJ

Investigating her new hippo!

Happy Birthday “May J”!!!

As a new mom, sometimes it seems like each milestone brings me back to the unknown.  I know babies are supposed to crawl, and then cruise and walk.  My daughter had been trying a few days to crawl, started crawling and then immediately started pulling up on EVERYTHING.  And even trying to climb things.  Don’t get me wrong I not complaining at all.  I’m thrilled!!!

But, I also feel like I don’t have a clue as to what I’m doing.  Again.  Welcome to Motherhood, right?  I can be sitting next to, holding on to her, and she still manages to bump her head?!?  My mother-in-law was like “Honey, just wait, until she comes in with a skinned knee.”  Wait, she’s going to get HURT?  Really, I knew this would happen, just not how I would feel.  So, I’ve pretty much been non-existent on my blog in the past week trying to readjust to my role as the mother to a newly mobile little girl.

And thanking God for the blessing He’s given me!

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This post is for my family who are far away and won’t get to see Mary James crawling.  So without further adieu….

Crawling Cutie from Erin Murray on Vimeo.

My darling daughter, I cannot believe you will be eight months old today.  You have been on this earth for seventy-five percent of a year!!  As I type, you are sitting (unassisted) next to me in bed playing with a book and the television remote.  Oh the irony.

You have changed so dramatically since you were born.  From a sleepy, quiet newborn to an inquisitive, bubbly baby.

Again, I don’t want to forget how you are changing so I’m documenting it.  Possibly boring to others, but I want to remember.

My loves:

* You giggle when I giggle.

* You say “Ba ba ba” “Da da da” and “Di di di” (you especially like di di di when you are upset)

* You can wave and clap.  You have been waving since you were seven months old!

* You LOVE the kitties and the doggies.

* You can pincer grip your cheerios.

* You grunt happily when you are eating something you like.

* Bath-time is one of your favorite times of the day.

* You grin at people, and then bury your face into my shoulder.

* You’re trying to crawl, and get quite upset when you don’t move…and a rolling you go!

* You love buttons (laptop keyboard, remotes, calculators).

I love you my sweet girl.

Umm…you have to expand the video to see it (pres the button with the four blue arrows). ?!?!?!?!  As my “tech support” is snoring, I suppose it will stay this way until tomorrow.  Sorry.

Oh, and the quality isn’t the best, but the video camera wasn’t nearby.

7.5 months from Erin Murray on Vimeo.

Many nights, before I head to bed, I go into my daughter’s nursery to check on her.  I give her a kiss and say a prayer thanking God for this wonderful gift.  Ben and I still can’t believe what a blessing we have been given.

Often I want to snuggle my sweet, sleeping angel.  I have truly looked at the crib and wondered, “Will it hold me too?”  Especially the nights/early mornings when she’s crying but not truly awake.

Not to mention ALL the stupid informative baby books that say you shouldn’t pick up your baby if they wake up from sleep (this is only after you’ve checked to ensure they aren’t sick or hurt).  It’s this time that I especially want to crawl over the railings.

That way I’m not technically picking her up from the crib, I’m holding her “in the crib.”  Okay, so I might be taking things a little too far.

And on the whole “not picking up a crying baby at night while they’re sleeping in the crib” bit.  Well, I think this works on some occasions.  And by all means I don’t think you should pick up your child for every whimper at nighttime.

But come on.  Babies are only itty bitty for such a short time.  So I say pick them up, kiss them, snuggle them, LOVE them with every ounce of your being!  FORGET “crying it out.”

I know when she graduates from high school her perfect sleep schedule will not be a favorite memory.  Who cares?

These are things I want to remember about her sleepy time…

Her downy soft, sweet smelling hair.  Her long, dark eyelashes.  Her chubby cheeks.  Her baby soft skin.  Her little sighs.  The smiles that grace her face as she sleeps.  The slow, rythmic whispers of her breathing.

This week my Wordless Wednesday documented a common sight in our house.  Mary James “loving on” one of the cats.

Annabelle is the cat receiving the baby pats.  She is the perfect kid-friendly-cat!  Anna-B is sweet as pie and more importantly she can’t hear a thing.  Yup, she’s your classic blue-eyed, white furred deaf kitty.

I told my husband we should totally breed Annabelle with another deaf white cat.  We’d have the perfect cats for kids!  Oh wait…just a slight problem…it’s completely UNETHICAL.  Oh well.

I do think Annabelle can hear some extraordinarily high pitched sounds.  Maybe.  She hasn’t had the BAER test (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) to know for sure what she can/cannot hear.  I was going to have her tested while I was in vet school.  But… A) There was no time and  B) She freaks out when she’s not at home.

And yes, she has recently been shaved/sheared.  I actually shave her myself.  Annabelle is not one for cleaning herself, and she tends to leave massive blobs of white fuzz everywhere.  Oh, and don’t you think she’s totally cute naked?!

As you can see by her elated expressions, Mary James totally LOVES the cats!  She babbles loudly at them and reaches to touch grab them.   And if they meow?  She kicks her little legs, pumps her arms, and squeals, like “Mom this is the bestest toy EVER!”

I hope this trend of calm kitties and one thrilled baby continues.  Hopefully, we won’t use up the kitties’ patience!

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