Through my lens...

I have lots of vacation pictures to post and want to write out the details of our trip to Marco Island, but I wanted to share a few of the recent pictures I've taken of LG first. She is getting SO big, and I have been watching her a lot lately through the lens of my Canon.

Her sweet smile.

The way she chews on her fingers!

How beautiful she is!

Those two little teeth poking out when she's really happy!

That tongue! 

I don't ever want to forget the little things about her at this age! I cannot believe she is almost 9 months old!

Beach Baby!

I have so much to share from the last few days here on Marco Island. It has rained a lot due to Tropical Storm Andrea, but we have had the best time anyway! It has been so nice just to enjoy family time together!

Today, we saw the sun and were able to walk down to the beach for pictures! I wanted to share a ton few of them with you! 

This morning, Londyn Grace was too interested in the shells and sand to look at the camera! We saved the first little shell she picked up! Watching her discover new things has been so amazing!

Then Daddy helped her feel the water. It was cold!

Watching these two play together brings my heart such happiness!

Then Daddy took a few pictures of Mama and LG together!

A sweet lady walking by offered to take a family picture for us!

After that, Sweet Pea was ready for a nap. She was out before we even made it back to the house!

Tonight after dinner, the sun was still shining!! We were so excited to be able to go back to the beach to enjoy the beauty of low tide and of the blue skies that were finally peeking out from behind the gray clouds.

Lovey Lou wasn't as distracted by the sand and shells so we snapped a few more pictures!

These pictures are so precious to me! I can't wait to have some of them framed! I can't stop thinking about the fact that she will only be this small for such a short period of time and how this vacation will be the only one where she isn't walking and talking and wanting to do her own thing. She has been such a joy this week! Not that she isn't always, but getting to see her in a new environment, without all the distractions and busyness of home has been so special!

I will share pictures from Tuesday through Thursday later, but I am too impatient and LG looked too adorable to save these!

Eight Months...

this smile still melts me!

I think each month passes quicker than the last. Londyn Grace is eight months old!

I still can't believe how fast she is growing!  She is still a lot smaller than the average 8 month old weight wise, but she is getting so big! She weighs 15  pounds 11 ounces. I'm not sure on her length because I can't get her to stay still long enough to measure her! (Her doctor's appointment isn't until mid-June, but I will try to measure her today!) She wears mostly 6-9 month clothing! She has come a long way from the tiny preemie outfits she wore back in October.

This month, LG cut her two bottom teeth! The first started peeking through the day she turned seven months and the second wasn't far behind! You can see them when she smiles really big and they just make her already precious smile even cuter! She took the pain that comes  with teething really well! Other than nawing on everything she really wasn't fussy through it at all!

She usually nurses every three hours, but is doing a lot of snack nursing these days! She loves her milk! Goosey goes crazy when it is time to eat! She is so curious though! Nursing with the cover when we are at church or out and about is a challenge because she wants to see what's going on! She is becoming quite the little monkey, trying to sit up, playing with her feet or anything else she can get her hands on while eating! It's so sweet when she plays with my hair or my

see those teeth?

necklace while she eats! Such precious moments!!

As far as solids go, we've tried a few new things but are really feeling like "solids before one are only for fun!"  (Don't worry our doctor is on board and in favor of this!) She seems very satisfied and is growing very well so we plan to keep Mama's milk her main food for now. Some days we do a fruit for breakfast while other days we do a veggie at dinner. She is most interested in playing with the spoon though! She has tried bananas, strawberries, watermelon and If you follow us on Instagram you saw her reaction to the lemon Auntie M. let her suck on! She can't seem to get enough carrots! She usually eats two cubes of food (since we make her food) but eats three cubes of carrots! She also loving sweet potato happy puffs (gluten, wheat and diary free) once in awhile while she sits her high chair watching mama work in the kitchen! She is doing really well with her pincer grip!

Her hair has grown a lot this month so she wakes up with some crazy bed head every morning! As far as sleep goes, she is now going down around 9:00-9:30 and waking up around 11:00 to eat. We are rocking and singing to sleep each night. I try to change the song up, but this little stinker has a preference because she only falls asleep to a song I made up for her! :) She loves to "sing" along! She has been staying awake when Daddy leaves at 7:30! Mama is missing sleeping in until 9, but i love how happy she is in the mornings! Naps are still going really well. She is still taking three a day and they are lasting longer than they used to, sometimes over an hour. I feel very blessed that she is sleeping so well!

This month, Londyn Grace went to the zoo for the first time! Pop Pop, Mimi, Auntie M and cousin, Alyssa, came for a visit and we decided to check out the Turtleback Zoo! It is a hidden gem here in Essex County! We will definitely be frequent visitors! She also watched her first parade on Memorial Day! Our church had a float that the kids choir rode on, but we opted to help Daddy pass out lemonade to the participants instead.

Little Goose is starting to love music! A sweet lady at church gave her a piano/music table and she is starting to move her body when the music plays. She also loves mirrors! It's so funny to watch her interact with herself! She eats up attention from anyone and is so quick to flash a huge smile, but she gets super happy when children talk to her!! She has many adoring fans in the kids at church!

Within the last week, someone has started pulling up and getting into the crawling position with lots of rocking back and forth! I don't think it will be long before we have a crawler on our hands!

Londyn Girl is getting such a little personality! She can be so silly! She does this fake cough for attention! It is too funny! She also discovered how putting her hand over her mouth and taking it off and putting it back on while "talking" makes a really funny sound! I haven't caught it on video yet, but I will post it when I do! She loves waving to everyone, but will only do it when she wants to! It is incredibly adorable and looks a lot like a Miss America wave! Unfortunately, she is also starting to showcase the strong-willed side of her personality a bit. She will get frustrated if she can't get a toy in her mouth just so or if she can't have something like our cell phones or something we're eating. We are working hard on teaching her boundaries.

Yet again, I am amazed by the fact that it is even time for me to be posting another monthly update! I am trying my best to savor every moment because I know how quickly her baby days will pass!

In some ways the newborn stage feels like forever ago while in other I can't believe it's already gone! (It's crazy how having children changes your entire concept of time!)

Happy eight months, Lovey Lou! You become more precious to us with every passing day! Watching the world through your eyes has been so neat! Seeing you grow and learn new things has been such a joy! You wore your flip flop smocked dress today in honor of our first vacation as a family of three. We are so excited about taking you to see the ocean for the first time. I wonder if you'll like the sand and water? I'm a little anxious about your first airplane ride, but I think you'll do great! We leave bright and early tomorrow morning so I better go get packed while you are napping! 

     We love you more than words can say, Londyn Grace!

                                                                                         ~ Mama and Daddy