11 Months Old!

I think I say this every month but I simply can't believe how fast time is flying by! I am in total disbelief that my little baby girl is 11 months old. It is becoming more and more apparent that she is no longer a "baby" - especially when we shop for clothes since she's now in the toddler section! AHH! I don't know that I'm ready to have a toddler - I want my 8lb, 5 oz newborn baby back! :) Here are a few things we are experiencing now... we are starting to wean from breastfeeding. I'm down to 3 feedings a day and will be cutting down to 2 and then 1 very soon. I can hardly talk about it without crying. I have just loved having that time with her and am sad it is coming to an end. But, she is definitely letting me know she's ready. We used to spend about 30 min or so feeding... now we spend a maximum of about 5 or 6 minutes. She's become very proficient and fast! :) Because I started weaning I called the Dr. to find out what I should supplement for those feedings and he told me since she was only a month away from turning 1 that it would probably be okay to start her on whole milk. I introduced her to it yesterday. I only poured her 1 oz of it and she barely drank half of it... I don't think its quite as sweet and creamy as mommy's! But, she didn't seem to have any allergic reaction to it so that is fantastic! Jorja is getting closer and closer to walking every day. She actually stood by herself without holding on to anything yesterday for about 8 seconds. I started getting so excited and screaming which in turn made her excited and she started clapping and smiling and lost her balance and fell. It was so cute! She loves pushing things around that move and still continues to cruise the couches like it's her job! My goal is to have her walking on her own by her birthday party! We'll see if that happens! :) Since the last month update she can now proficiently sign "more" (and she actually says it while she's signing which is way cool... it sounds like "mo" but we know what she's saying.) She can also sign "please", "all done", and we are starting to get "thank you" but aren't quite there fully! In addition to "mama" and "dada" (and the lion roar) she can say "bye" and wave to you. She can also "Praise the Lord". It is actually quite funny because during the day I play praise and worship while we play and often she will stop and clap and then I'll say "Praise the Lord" and she'll raise her hands in the air and start bouncing them up and down. I LOVE IT! But, what is really funny is that now whenever she hears ANY type of music she will immediately raise her hands and bounce them up and down... I don't think she quite understands which music is Christian and which isn't... but, if my baby girls wants to praise the Lord in all things I say go right ahead! :)

Here are a few pictures from our 11 month poster photo shoot. The older she gets the harder it is to take these pictures. All she wants to do is play with that silly poster! I finally had to put her in the bumbo so I could get some pictures! Only 1 more month of making posters and taking pictures... sad!

tuckered out from a hard day with the paparazzi. :)

Happy Father's Day, Shane!

I can't even begin to describe how much Shane adores and loves Jorja. It is amazing to see what such a little girl can do to a grown man! She definitely has him wrapped around her little fingers already. :) It is just priceless to watch his face light up when he gets home from work and she says "dada". It is awesome to see him go a little weak in the knees when he holds her in his arms and she rests her head on his shoulder. I think it's amazing and sweet that he cries when she's sick or hurt because he can't stand to see her in pain. I love to watch him play with her as he tries to figure out what makes her giggle so he can hear her do it over and over again. It has been such a joy and a blessing to watch Shane fall madly in love with Jorja. The relationship between a father and a daughter is one that is uncomparable to any other relationship. God definitely knew exactly what Shane needed to bring out the joy that lies deep within him - a baby girl named Jorja! You are an absolutely wonderful Daddy, Shane. Jorja is the luckiest little girl on earth! I love you and fall more in love with you each day as I watch how you love, protect and care for our precious little sugar bear! :) Happy Father's Day!

Shane's Father's Day card from Jorja

Shane went to go wake up Jorja from her nap and she wanted just a few more minutes of rest time on Daddy! So sweet!

Getting ready to go out to eat to celebrate Shane!

Jorja was actually sleeping on Shane's chest but when she heard me come in the room she woke up. But, I still think the picture turned out cute! :)

Jorja and Daddy playing on the couch together! So in love!!

Photo Shoot w/ Jenn at Studio G Photography

My friend Jennifer is a WONDERFUL photographer in Kerrville and while Jorja and I were visiting her we did a few photo shoots with myself and Jorja. We actually took pictures for Jorja's First Birthday (even though it's not for another month) because we wanted to have some pics to put on our invitation to her Birthday Party! We also took some other pics with Jorja outside and a few with mommy!!! I think the pics turned out FANTASTIC! If you are any where near Kerrville and need your picture taken you better call Studio G... and I think Jenn will travel if you are are at least in Texas! :) Thanks, Jenn for a WONDERFUL time with you and your kiddos and for enduring THREE photo shoots with me and Jorja to capture the best pics. You are an amazing photographer and an even more amazing friend. I love you!

My sweet (almost) birthday girl - I can't believe she's almost ONE! AHH!!

Jorja wan't too fond of the cake at first...

But she eventually warmed up to it!
One of my favorite pics from this session. She is just so captivated by the piece of cake on the floor. TOO CUTE!

Front of the Birthday Party Invitation - a little highlight of some of my favorite pics! I LOVE IT!!

Splish Splash I was taking a bath... then all of the sudden...

This week we are visiting one of my best friends, Jennifer and her family. She has 2 foster kids that she is in the process of adopting and they are C-U-T-E, cute!!! Jorja has had a little bit of a rough time adjusting to not being the only kid around to catch mommy's attention but overall we are having a BLAST! If anyone knows of any play groups we can get involved with here please let me know! Jorja MUST learn to have friends and play with others! :)

Today all the kids went swimming (which was so fun but we got zero pics because 3 babies in the water and only 2 adults was too much to handle to stop and take pics - bummer). So, when we got home we felt the kiddos needed a quick bath to get the sunscreen and chlorine off before hitting the sack. Jenn and I thought it would be fun to put Jorja and Hadleigh in the bath together and sure enough - it was quite an adventure and very fun! The girls got along GREAT and had a fun time playing with the toys. The highlight of the bath though was when Jorja decided, out of the blue, to stand up and... you got it... POOP! I didn't realize at first that was what she was doing but then she made "the face" and sure enough, I looked in the tub and there it was in all its glory. A big ol' POOPY! Jenn had left the bathroom for a brief moment so I immediately started yelling for her help as I tried to hold both the girls down so they wouldn't start playing with it. It is amazing how enticing a piece of poop can be while playing in the bathtub!! Oh, my sweet girl never ceases to amaze me. :)

Ahh! I LOVE this girl. Too cute!I LOVE Hadleigh's face in this picture. Too cute.

Sweet Happy Girls!

Playing so sweet

And this is where Jorja did "the poopy deed". :)

Hanging outside the tub while we refill it up with clean NON-poopy water! Look at those CUTE and pinchable bottoms (and rolls on Jorja) :)

I'm not real sure what they are playing with back there but they were quite enthralled with it. A little aerial view of the tub and the ADORABLE girls in it!

My Little Lion

This is really one of the cutest things ever. Jorja loves the sounds that animals make and will just laugh and laugh when I make certain animal noises - a few of her favorites are the rooster, frog and duck. One day we were playing with one of her toys that makes animal sounds and all of the sudden she started to imitate one of the animals. It was the cutest thing! I was so excited that I kept making her do it over and over and now she can make the sound without hearing it first. She's a genius! :) Seriously though... I took these videos yesterday and I never made the sound before filming - I simply asked her what sound the Lion makes and she immediately did it. I filmed one and then did another because I wanted to make sure it wasn't a "fluke" that she knew what sound a lion made. And then they were both so adorable I couldn't choose a favorite. :) The first one you will see is actually the second one I filmed (I just downloaded backwards). It has a little attitude and an awesome face to go along with it and the second one is just so sweet.  ADORABLE!!! 

 

A trip to Gigi and Papa's!!

Last week I went to visit my mom and dad for a few days. They live on a lake so I thought it would be fun for Jorja to visit her Gigi and Papa and have some fun on the lake. It was pretty windy the day we went so we didn't stay out there long. At first the water was VERY cold so Jorja was not happy about being there but she quickly warmed up to the water and had a great time playing with Gigi and her Momma. When we were done playing in the water she sat on the beach and played for a bit in the sand. It was her first time to really get down and dirty. She wasn't sure what to think of the sand at first. And, of course, the first thing she did was try and eat it! Silly girl! But, overall I think she really enjoyed it a lot. My mom and dad also have a trampoline in their backyard so I took Jorja and Fezzik out there and we lightly bounced. She really enjoyed trying to crawl around on the wobbly thing and when I'd stand her up and bounce she just laughed. It was so fun! We had a such good time hanging with Gigi and Papa and look forward to spending many more days there this summer jumping on the trampoline, getting dirty in the sand and swimming in the lake!! 

Hanging out on the trampoline! 

Our trip to the lake: 

Gigi also made Jorja her first pancakes. It was made extra special with a lot of love and Jorja loved it! :) 

Gigi and Jorja - all tuckered out from an eventful few days! 

Looking out the window and dreaming...

At least 2 or 3 times a day Jorja will either crawl herself or will want us to walk her over to the front door so she can look out the window. She will just stand there forever and look out. She will pat on the class, press her nose up against the window and I've even caught her a few times licking the glass (I prob need to make sure its a little cleaner - yikes!). I don't know why all the sudden she started doing it but now she can't get enough. She's fascinated! I guess maybe she's dreaming and thinking of the next time she gets to go outside and play... or maybe she thinks she's in prison and wants to get a glimpse of freedom - who knows! :) 

Dad's Spaghetti

I can't believe Jorja is actually big enough to eat the same things we eat! We've been very nervous about introducing her to table foods - mainly because I think we are in complete denial about how old and big she is... I want her to stay that little baby that only gets nutrients from her momma! But, I can't always have want I want I guess! :) Anyway, one night Shane was cooking dinner and decided to make spaghetti (one of my absolute favorites of his, by the way) because we happened to have some spiral pasta already cooked and Shane thought she might be able to eat it. So Shane tossed a few of those noodles in the sauce and put it on Jorja's tray to see if she would even eat it and well... the pictures speak for themselves. SHE LOVED IT! She couldn't get enough... we almost didn't have enough to share between the three of us. Her entire face and hands were completely orange by the time she finished. It was awesome. It was the first real "big girl" meal she had ever had and Daddy made it for her. It melted Shane's heart to know she loved what he made especially for her. It's a good thing she loves food so much cause her Daddy is the best chef around! :)