car seats and sippy cups

We upgraded Callie to a big girl seat.

She has been in her infant seat until now. That seat went to 22 lbs or 29 inches. She just weights 20 lbs now but she is about to outgrow it in height. So, we went ahead and got the bigger seat. The new recommendations say to have a child rear facing until they are 2. So, she is still rear facing in her big ole seat. She doesn’t seem to mind now. She did not enjoy the new seat at all right when we first made the change. But after a few trips where she screamed most of the way, she submitted and decided she might as well get used to it because apparently mommy is going to put her in there each day whether she cries or not. ;)

She is also off the bottle. I thought it was going to be such a hard transition. How would I ever get her to drink out of a sippy cup?? Because I started giving it to her just before she turned 11 months and she would have nothing to do with it. Maybe…MAYBE she would take one sip and then she would throw it down and never look at it again. If I gave it to her in the car, she would cry. I really really tried to push it in the car because she started to constantly turn her bottle upside down and it would spill everywhere. But she would have none of it.  

Then we went to the first football game this past Friday night. We stood on the fence with the other people who have kids about her age. There were sippy cups all around and so instead of handing her the bottle, I handed her the sippy cup while saying to the other mothers, “She won’t take a sippy cup, not sure why I’m even trying, but here goes nothing. How will I ever break her of the bottle?” And then (of course!) my baby popped that sucker in her mouth and drank and drank and drank. All night, she used only the sippy cup. AND it just had WATER in it. Woohoo! So, away went the bottles. I was afraid if she even saw them she would want one again. Out of sight, out of mind. Gone. That was easy.

Now breaking her of the middle of the night milk (in her new sippy cup) is proving to be a much bigger challenge. *sigh*

Friday Night Lights and our Girl

Tonight was the first Muenster Hornet football game. Last year at this time I was ginormously pregnant and going to the games was quite a chore for me. It was hot, I was big, the stands were terribly uncomfortable. Not a fun combo. It was pretty quick after the first few home games that Courtney started taking his own car to ballgames just in case I went into labor and he needed to rush off to the hospital. Turns out she was born on a Friday afternoon, game day. He missed that game. :)

I took some fun comparison pictures of Callie and her daddy tonight. Of course, the pictures of her with daddy as a bitty baby are from later in the season last year, considering she wasn't even born yet at this time yet last year. I cannot believe how much she has grown and changed!

What a big girl!

crazy hair

crazy hair day

enough said.

:)

11 months old

Callie Tate is 11 months old!

Callie isn't always, ahem, cooperative when we take these monthly pictures, although I must say I eventually persuade (or bribe, really) her to sit still and look at me.

Not sure you can tell, but she has loads of (those magic) puffs on her lap.

Hey, it works.

Cause before I broke out the puffs, this is what I was getting.

Our sweet little 11 month old is busy, busy! She is oh so close to walking confidently all the time. She has taken many steps and can walk around but is lacking confidence so she still chooses crawling over walking. I think she will be walking by her 1st birthday, but we will see. As I know about our little girl, she has a mind of her own and will walk when SHE is good and ready.

We are trying to get rid of the bottle. Not sure if that is ever going to happen. I offer her a sippy cup all the time, but she wants none of it. I just keep reminding myself that no kid goes to kindergarten with a bottle...it'll happen eventually. Again, in her time probably.

School has started and we are settling into a new school routine. She is doing great at her new daycare here in Muenster. I am so glad that she is going to this daycare. She has wonderful teachers in her room and lots of kiddos to play with and learn with. She's not napping great there yet but I know she will once she gets adjusted. She sometimes chooses to play right through naptime.

She's got such tired eyes in this picture! 

Playing basketball, like her daddy. ;)

They try to get her to nap each day, but she cries screams so they get her back up. She'll nap eventually. I guess you can't let her cry it out when there are many other kids trying to nap.

Can't wait for many more adventures with our little girl!

Last hurrah of summer

School starts Monday. We decided to have one last weekend at Nonna and Papa's where we could relax and swim one last time for the summer.

I forgot to pack Callie's swim hat, so she was wearing cousin Cale's hat.

Callie worked on walking some more too. Won't be long now!

 She can run with Papa!

It was a nice, relaxing weekend. Callie loves playing at Nonna and Papa's house!

Bye bye summer!

steps

One step, two steps, three steps, four.

Soon Callie will be taking more!

She's taken 5-6 steps at a time now. Just 2 days ago she got up and started walking without any prompting from me. I'm not sure how she got up in fact. I just looked up and she was walking towards me! She doesn't seem confident enough to do it all the time, but we are getting there! I'm so incredibly happy I was home with her to see those first steps this summer.

words

Callie's favorite thing to do these days is say "dada." She calls everything dada, including her daddy. And me. I have been trying to get her to say mama. This is how that goes.

me: Callie, can you say mama?

Callie: dada

me: No Callie, listen... say maaamaaa.

Callie: dada

Yep, that's how it goes. Everytime. It makes me laugh. All in due time, I guess.

She has also said "out" in response to me very sternly saying "out" to Lambeau and Braddock every time I am feeding her and they try to sit and wait under her chair for food.

She is also working on saying dog.
But for now, the dogs are referred to as...you got it...dada.