The Lankfords: My baby is 9 months old!

Holy Cow!

This month has flown by! Probably because Mackenzie turned 8 months on Christmas Eve.. then we had Christmas celebrations and NYE and now its already January 24!!! Its hard enough to believe its really 2015. I think we waited so long for April 24, 2014 that I actually got a little sad when I realized it was no longer the year Mackenzie was born in :( Oh new mama problems...

Mike & I have been very busy this month. We celebrated NYE out with some friends {and were home sleeping by 10:30 in order to be up at 5:45 with M}. I started MOPS in Lake Zurich which I am super thankful for already - and can't wait to meet more moms & have some "plans" set in stone every other week. Mike and I traveled to Appleton, WI for a getaway he gave me at Christmas! It was a super cute town and I can see going back in the summer time. We went to see comedian Frank Caliendo who was super funny - appropriate as well which I was thankful for. Feeling refreshed after our night away. Mike and I try to "get-away" even if thats driving to Chicago or a neighboring town at least one night a quarter so we are starting this year off right!

Now on to sweet baby Mackenzie who will always be my baby... but is growing up and getting so big! This month has continued to bring us some ups & downs as we are still not crawling... She is just so frustrated and at times I leave her to try her best and encourage her and don't pick her up right away but she gets so mad and eventually breaks down to tears which I immediately pick her up then of course. Most of our day is filled with her wanting to just stand grabbing on to me or some of her new Christmas toys. The day after she turned 8 months she pulled up! Yes all the way! So we keep saying {mostly to encourage ourselves} that she will skip crawling and go right to walking. I know people say be grateful for the peace of a stationary child but I am looking forward to her moving & cruising around.
These days have somewhat been spent looking forward to things we can do in the future - trying to live in the moment and find everyday joy has been a struggle. At times I feel like I'm running in circles trying to keep her happy and myself sane.
Our schedule is the same for the most part!
Up @ 6:00am with a 7oz bottle
Solids @ 8 (1oz of prune and 2oz of yogurt)
Nap @ 9:00am
Bottle @ 11 - this is new... she is going 5 hours after her morning bottle & solids! We were just not finishing bottles if given any earlier.
Solids @ 12:30 for lunch (some fruit & veggie combo usually 3oz)
Nap @ 1:00pm
Bottle @ 3:00pm 7 oz
Dinner Solids @ 4:30 (veggies & some chicken 2/3oz)
Nightime begins at 5:45 and in bed sleeping by 6:15!

We have done new fruits - blueberries. New veggies - broccoli (she liked it but it was not nice to her tummy!) and some chicken!
Still in size 3 diapers and mostly wearing 12mo clothing besides pants those can be 9mo. Her onsies are starting to be hard to get on because she moves so much and her thighs are a little chunky :) :) So we do 12mo shirts and then her 9mo pants fit best.
She weighs 19 pounds and 12oz, 29 1/4 inches long! Her head was in the 90th percentile as well as height. Weight is still at the 50th - 75th. She is clapping and standing all of the time! She loves to look out the window, seeing dada come home from work and pulling up on her toys. She loves being around people and always has a blast in the nursery at church! Here are some pictures of this month.