The Schmitts

London :: 10 Month Update

Dear London,

This week you turned 10 months old, and I am still in disbelief that you are getting so close to turning ONE! Where is time going, my sweet girl?! You continue to be such a happy, sweet baby. You love to explore your environment and are constantly on the GOOOOO! Whether it's climbing up the stairs (a new skill this month!), learning to open up cabinets and drawers in the kitchen, or digging through toy baskets, you love to explore!

You have really started to enjoy more finger foods this past month, and are no longer satisfied with "boring" puffs and Cheerios. I use the term "boring" because when you see us putting them on your highchair tray you will often shake your head "no" and swipe them away, so I can only assume that you find those foods boring these days ;) You really love colorful foods, and seem to enjoy carrots and blueberries quite a bit! In addition to eating more finger foods, you have also learned to feed yourself baby food pouches and have even taken an interest in learning how to use a spoon.

Other big developmental updates include standing on your own for longer periods of time, waving "bye bye", raising your arms up over your head to show that you are "SO BIG!", and you are also beginning to point to things as well.

This past month was also special because it was CHRISTMAS! Christmas has always been Mommy's favorite holiday, and this year, it was extra special with it being your very 1st Christmas. We celebrated Christmas here at our house in South Carolina with Grandma Patty, Grandpa and Grandma Knight, as well as both of your aunties. We missed your cousin, Emma, while she was back in NC spending Christmas with her other grandparents. We spent the day opening up presents under the Christmas tree, playing with all of the fun new toys (including the bounce house, which we set up in the family room!), and we even got a surprise visit from Santa Claus that morning! It was an exhausting morning for you, so you were napping at the time of his arrival, but he brought you and Noah each a toy that he forgot on his sleigh the night before :) We made some wonderful memories together this Christmas season, and while I am sad to say goodbye to Christmas until next year, I am quite excited for the next months ahead as we approach your 1st birthday!

Until next time, here are some of my favorite photos from this past month.

Christmas shopping is exhausting ;)

Making a mess is fun! ;)

Formal photo in your 1st Christmas dress

Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas morning fun!

Standing!

Can you stay this little forever?! ;)

Feeding yourself pouches like a big girl!

You spotted a balloon at the grocery store - I just love your face here :)

Look who I found in the kitchen cabinet ;)

You are such a happy little shopper :)

I don't have any current weight/height stats for you this month (your next check up is at 12 months). You are now mostly wearing size 12 month clothing, but can still fit into some of your 9 month wardrobe.

I love you,

Mommy

London :: 9 Month Update

Dear London,

Last week you turned 9 months old! I am writing this a bit late this month, as it's been quite a busy holiday season for us. These past 9 months have gone by incredibly fast, and I can only imagine these next 3 months will go by even faster, as your 1st birthday approaches.

As I mentioned, we've had a pretty busy month, so let's get to the latest updates. A few weeks ago we celebrated Thanksgiving with Mommy's side of the family in Raleigh. It was a quick trip, but a great trip spent with family nonetheless. You and Noah really enjoyed playing with your cousin, Emma, and getting lots of love from your aunties and Grandma and Grandpa. After we returned home from Thanksgiving, Daddy (with a little help from Mommy) put up Christmas lights on our house for the 1st time EVER! Mommy put up our tree (and inside decorations) the weekend before Thanksgiving, so now our house is fully decorated and ready for Christmas! :)

In addition to our Raleigh trip, we've stayed busy doing lots of fun holiday activities, including a visit to see Santa, a visit to see the Christmas lights at the zoo, lots of cookie baking, and a few Christmas parties mixed in as well. You've managed to stay quite busy yourself learning how to stand for a few seconds at a time (I think we've timed you standing for a full 9 seconds!), cruising along the furniture, learning to feed yourself finger foods, and even learning some fun new gestures. You now know how to clap, shake your head "no", and can even give us kisses! It has been such a fun month with you! As if all that wasn't enough excitement, you now have 4 teeth with TWO more on the way!

Mommy & Daddy love you so much. We are so excited to celebrate your 1st Christmas with family next week, and can't wait to see what you will achieve this next month.

Until next time, here are some of my favorite photos from this past month.

Sibling love :)

Out of all the toys in the playroom, you always choose cars and tools ;)

Love that sweet smile :)

Always happy in the tub :)

Just a fun little photo comparison ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love walking into your room and seeing that sweet smile :)

Waiting in line to see Santa!

2015 Christmas Card Photo

Here are your 9 month stats:

Weight: 19 lbs, 14.5 oz
Height: 28"
Clothing size: 9 months (transitioning into some 12 month clothing as well)

I love you,

Mommy

London :: 8 Month Update

Dear London,

Today you are 8 months old! We've had quite the busy month with lots of fun activities throughout the month of October! Fall is such a great time to spend outdoors, especially here in South Carolina, as the weather has cooled down quite a bit since our 95+ degree summer days. This month we enjoyed apple picking in the North Carolina mountains, a visit to the pumpkin patch, several trips to the zoo, and just last weekend we celebrated your 1st Halloween. We celebrated Halloween twice actually - once at Boo at the Zoo and then again at our neighborhood Halloween parade. Because this was your 1st Halloween, I knew I wanted coordinating costumes for you and Noah, and since you both have a love for Mickey Mouse, I knew dressing you and him up as Minnie and Mickey was the perfect decision ;)

As usual, you've stayed quite busy this month hitting several big milestones, including pulling to stand and just recently, starting to (slowly) cruise along the furniture. You've also started saying "dada" this past month!

Now that Noah is enrolled in preschool 4 days/week, we get to enjoy a lot more one-on-one time together, which has allowed us to attend story time at the library once a week. You seem to enjoy it quite a bit, and it's a great opportunity for you to be around other babies your age.

I can hardly believe that it's November already! Next week we will be celebrating Mommy's birthday, and shortly after that, we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving and getting the house ready for my favorite time of year...Christmas!

Until next time, here are some of my favorite photos from this past month.

"Catch me if you can, Mama!"

Flying baby!

"Good morning, I'm ready to play!"

Gobble, Gobble! Your 1st hand/footprint art ;)

1st carousel ride (you loved it despite the surprised look on your face)!

"Hi, mama!"

Playing peek-a-boo with your reflection ;)

Pumpkin patch visit on a gorgeous Carolina fall evening :)

Cutest pumpkin in the patch ;)

Minnie Mouse twins :)

Happy Halloween!

1st day of storytime!

I don't have any current weight/height stats for you this month (your next check up is at 9 months). You are now mostly wearing size 9 month clothing and size 3 diapers.

I love you,

Mommy

London :: 7 Month Update

Dear London,

Today you are 7 months old! This month was such a big month for your development. Not only did you start crawling this past month, you are now able to stand up while holding onto something. You also had several other "firsts" this month, including sitting in a highchair at a restaurant, finger painting, AND getting your 1st tooth! You now have two little pearly whites in that adorable smile of yours ;)

Your bond with your big brother continues to grow each day, as I see the two of you interacting more and more. Just last week, we were on our way to Target, and the two of you were giggling together in the backseat. That melted Mommy's heart! I have seen a big improvement with Noah's willingness to share his toys with you, including his beloved die cast cars. In fact, the first time you crawled forward, you were going after one of his favorite cars ;)

As I mentioned earlier, you started crawling this month! After several weeks of scooting backwards, you started crawling forward right at 6.5 months! It took about a week or so of a combined army crawl + wobbly hand/knee crawl for you to take off flying across the room. Now, you are crawling EVERYWHERE and love getting into all of Noah's toys.

We have squeezed in quite a few fun activities during the past few weeks, including a visit to the zoo, road trip to Charlotte, and a few fun play dates with our neighborhood friends. We are looking forward to Halloween at the end of this month, and as you can see from the photo below, you and Noah are dressing up as Minnie and Mickey! :)

It's been quite a fun month for us here at the Schmitt house, and life with a crawling baby is certainly anything but boring these days! ;)

Until next time, here are some of my favorite photos from this past month.

Those sweet cheeks (your 1st time in the highchair)!

Trying on your Halloween costumes <3

Fun zoo day riding the choo choo train!

Creating your 1st art project! ;)

Your 1st princess dress...Snow White!

Looking quite adorable :)

Shopping with Mommy!

Looking like such a big girl!

Standing!

1st road trip...off to Charlotte!

Having dinner in Charlotte (our first family "selfie")

I don't have any current weight/height stats for you (your next check up is at 9 months). You are still wearing size 6 months and beginning to transition into 9 months.

I love you,

Mommy

London :: 6 Month Update

Dear London,

Today you are 6 months old! Wait...did I really just type that?! A half year old already?! Those were the fastest 6 months of my life. It's been another busy month in the Schmitt house, but what a fun month it's been! We managed to squeeze in quite a bit this month including starting solids, celebrating your big brother's 3rd birthday, and even a trip to Disney World! You are still a bit too little to get the full experience of Disney, so while Mommy, Daddy, and Noah headed off on our trip, you enjoyed some one-on-one cuddle time with Grandma Knight ;) We are already planning our next Disney trip and can't wait to show you what Disney is all about!

Your sweet, happy personality continues to shine, and almost every person you meet comments on how happy you are :) Your Daddy and I are so thankful for your smiles and sweet giggles. It seems as if this past month you have been even happier than in months prior, and we can only assume this is because you are sleeping much better these days. Thankfully, you are now sleeping through the night on a consistent basis. Most nights, you sleep about 11-12 hours straight, with only a quick wake-up here and there, which usually results in Mommy or Daddy putting your paci in and rubbing your back for a minute before you fall back asleep. Needless to say, we are all very thankful that your sleep has improved!

As I mentioned earlier, you had your very 1st bite of food this month...sweet potatoes! It took a few days for you to get used to eating from a spoon, and you definitely had your fair share of "Mr. Yuk" faces in the beginning; however, now that you've gotten the hang of the whole eating thing, you seem to really enjoy it!

This month you decided you didn't want to be stationary anymore and have learned how to crawl/scoot backwards. You have been trying SO hard to crawl forward, but haven't quite gotten there yet. You can make it quite far crawling backwards; however, we have a feeling that within a few weeks, you will officially be a forward-crawler ;)

Another (adorable) milestone that you recently achieved was saying your 1st "mama"! These days you are babbling up a storm with a ton of "ba-ba-ba's" and some "ma-ma's" thrown in there here and there ;)

Well, I think that's everything for this month! Noah starts preschool this upcoming week, so us girls will get to spend a little more one-on-one time together for a few hours a week. We are looking forward to fall, and hopefully getting the chance to vist some fall festivals, pumpkin patches, and maybe even do some apple picking as well.

Until next time, here are some of my favorite photos from your 6th month.

Sitting up is fun!