{Somewhat} Wordless Wednesday

Sporting her new bath robe

=Happy Wednesday!=

~8 Months~

Here I am again, writing another post on how old my little lady is getting and the changes she's made over the past month. Quite frankly I feel like I am writing these way too often! But, I guess that's a momma for ya! :-)

• For eating, Mellany is still taking in about 6 oz of formula every 3-4 hours. She's recently tried oatmeal, squash, pears and apples and loves all of them! So far, we haven't had a reaction so we're pretty lucky in that. I am making the majority of her food and I am so glad that it is working out for us to do that! It is so easy, though a little time consuming, and so much cheaper! 
• She is still napping and sleeping great! She wakes up around 6:30/7:00 and eats breakfast before getting ready for the day and heading to the gym. She gets some playtime with other kids and momma gets a workout before coming home to have a little half hour to hour-long nap and mid-morning bottle. Around 11:00/11:30 she has lunch and is down for her afternoon nap around 12:30/1:00. She will nap in the afternoon for about 2 hours and then have an afternoon bottle. About 5:30 she is ready for some dinner, then a bath given by "da-da", a bottle and in bed by 8:00. We are really thankful that this routine has been set.....makes this OCD momma very happy!
• As for gross motor skills, Mellany is sitting great with very little assistance. She is constantly rolling, even on the changing pad, the bathroom floor before bath. She is starting to get up on her knees some, she'll rock back and forth a little bit, and does a little army crawl, but other than that, most of the time she doesn't really show a whole lot of interest in crawling. 
• With fine motor skills, Mellany can reach out an grab anything she wants with great ease. Even if the toy is a little bit out of her reach, she will spin in circles and roll until she gets it. 
• LOVES to scream...sometimes we have a screaming conversation :-) Her latest thing is a deep growl-like sound. It is very apparent if she is playing with a toy....it's like she's disciplining it or something. 
• Starting to jump--in the jumper and jenny jump up. She loves toys that move and make noise and is really starting to understand cause and effect with toys that you pull and vibrate on their way back to "normal". 
• Thanks to her cousin Daxton, Mellany has an OBSESSION with the TV Remote and Cell Phone. If she sees one of them she immediately gets excited and starts whining to have it. Luckily, I found one of my old blackberries that we could give her. It keeps her busy for a REALLY long time.....I'm not sure what it is about the phone and remote...maybe the buttons?, but she loves both of them. 
• I think we have reached the point where she realizes she's doing something she shouldn't. For example if I leave the room while she is on her changing pad (which is on the ground because we didn't feel the need to purchase one), she immediately rolls over--but only after I leave the room. As soon as I come back in, she smiles real big. I think the "no" stage will be starting shortly. 
• The girl LOVES to talk and loud! Lately, she has really started to say "da-da". And it just makes us melt! Even if you say, "ma-ma", she will respond with "da-da-da-da-da-da". 
• She loves to have her feet played with and has become very ticklish under her arms, on her feet and on her thighs. 
• Just call her Miss. Social! The girl loves the camera and will stop whatever it is she is doing if she sees a camera appear. And not only that, but she smiles too. This is great because we have gotten lots of great pictures. Mellany also loves watching other people, interacting with other people and the attention that she gets from others. The girl must know what is going on at all times, wherever she is....it's pretty funny, but is a great sign for this momma because she is so observant with sounds, sights, etc. {She will also let you know if she isn't getting enough attention by whining, coughing and even flat out crying.}
• After many months of teething, we finally have 2 teeth!! They have just broke the surface and boy are they sharp! Chewing on momma's finger is no longer an option; thank goodness for teethers!
• Mellany is a momma's girl through and through, at least for now. And really, it makes a lot of sense. Her and I are together about 10 hours every day, so we really wouldn't expect anything different. But, it is sometimes heart-wrenching when Johnny wants to hold her and she sees her momma or aunts/uncles and grandparents. So, we've realized that if she starts to get whiney while I'm in the room, I just leave--and the whining ends and she's happy. 
• When she is falling asleep she likes to rub your arm and/or hold your hand.
• Thanks to her Uncle Bagley and Aunt Mae-Mae, she now will put her hand to her lips and make the "indian" sound (not sure of a better way to describe it). She will also make "farting" noises on just about anything....your arm, shoulder, even the couch.....it's a pretty cute, drooly mess! 
• Her first vacation took place in this past month and it was a huge success! She didn't really like it at first, but after the initial adjustment, she was loving it! Although, she didn't really like her first "boo-boo" on this vacation. While getting her diaper changed, Mellany rolled a little bit too far and rolled right off the bed she was on and rolled right onto the hardwood floor. This happened the day of her Aunt Amy and Uncle Derek's wedding and it made for a long night that ended early for her and I, but other than a little bruising, she is just fine! 

8 Month Photo Shoot {See what I mean about loving the camera?!}

Mr. & Mrs. Fly!

We travelled to Captiva Island over the past week for Derek and Amy's wedding (Johnny's sister) and we had an amazing time! We thought the trip was going to be a little rough initially because Mellany wasn't really a fan of the drive to Omaha, nor did she like the hotel there. But, thankfully, the next morning she was back to her normal happy self and we were on our way to paradise and were excited for Miss. M's first official vacation!!!

We were a little apprehensive about flying with a 7/8 month old, but she once again, made us SO PROUD! She took her bottle, slept and played on each and every flight we had. She didn't throw a fit once! We even had complete strangers giving us "thumbs-up" and complimenting us on how great they thought she did. We even had one lady look at us in complete shock when the plane landed, as she had no idea there was an infant in front of her. Huge relief for this momma and daddy!

Once we got off the plane in Ft. Myers, FL. We stopped at a Wal-Mart to stock up on food for the trip. After that stop, Mellany decided she did not like the car seat she was riding in (you were so right, Sam, we will be bringing our own car seat on the next trip) and screamed for almost the entire rest of the 30 minute drive! She cried, momma cried and dad was never so excited to be at our destination! Luckily, there weren't many times that we had to drive somewhere, because any time that we did, she cried and cried and wanted out of the seat....talk about long drives!

Once at our destination, we spent hours at the beach, the pool, visiting with family, eating good food, exploring the island, relaxing and celebrating the marriage of Derek and Amy. It was truly paradise. It was such a great trip and we hated to see it end. We are so happy for Derek and Amy (& Daxton too) and couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate them! We will drive back to KC in a few weeks to take part in their reception and we're looking forward to that as well!

We took quite a few pictures, hope you enjoy!

Napping in the Omaha airport

First visit to the ocean/beach

Dinner with Daxton

Pool time!

Total relaxation while eating...

Breakfast with Baby Nick

...holding hands...

Snuggles with Great Aunt Nina

Loving the pool floatie

Nick and Baby Nick

Playtime with Aunt Nina and Nana

Sunset on Captiva Island

Derek & Daxton, Johnny & Mellany, Nick & Baby Nick

The Villa's

Isn't he sweet?!

Picture time while relaxing in the room

Breakfast with Great Uncle Raymond and Great Aunt Nina

Another photo shoot in the room

Parasailing = AMAZING! We loved it!

Hanging out with da-da after some fun with Nana while momma and daddy went parasailing

Pool time with Great Aunt Nina and Great Uncle Raymond.....they just love our little lady! {And she loves them just as much!}

Barrett's and their babies! 

Dinner time at the last dinner....I'd say she's pretty relaxed from her vacation! (This is pretty much her normal eating position now....she just loves those feet!)

Lastly, I thought I would post this video of Mellany in the pool. I just think it's so sweet....I think she'll definitely be a pool rat in the summer like her momma was!