Happy 8 Months to Maren!!

Disclaimer: The traditional numbered sign is missing from the 8 month photo shoot because I forgot to pack it with our beach vacation items. Please use your imagination to insert the sign in the photo on right.

My Sweet Girl,

Im so proud of you. In the last month you have become a highly mobile baby. And really thats not even why Im so proud of you, though I do admit that I am jealous of your excellent posture as you have mastered sitting upright and find your flexibility and dexterity something short of Houdini amazing. Im so proud of you because you are fearless. And while I see this being a dangerous character trait in the future if a suspect man in a conversion van were to offer you candy, in your present world its quite an asset.

You have no concerns about gravity or physics as you pull yourself up onto unsteady baskets or attempt to reach for a toy well out of your grasp, sending yourself flipping into an impromptu belly flop. You race toward anything shining, flashing, spinning or making noise and consider the cats mere mobile playthings.

Some could consider this behavior reckless and ignorant, and yes, perhaps it is as you have yet to learn about the dangers of sharp corners and lost footing. However, I choose to marvel in the reckless abandon you show while truly living life. Your adventure is not hindered by caution, your excitement is not depressed by worst case scenarios. Your view of the world is not only from two feet off the ground, but also from a glass half full. And I hope that as you grow I can replicate that attitude, albeit with a healthy dose of caution for both of our safety's sake.

And I hope I can replicate your bravery as well. Last week when we introduced you to the pool you stared straight ahead and marveled at what seemed to be the biggest bathtub ever imaginable. Beyond an annoyance at the water temperature which quickly receded as your own body adjusted, you accepted this new environment with an inquisitive and adventurous spirit. You splashed in the water and kicked your feet, you leaned back to float and forward to drink (luckily we caught you before you were successful at that attempt), you stared at the water ahead and blinked only to take it all in. And later when we walked to the ocean shore you didnt hesitate, looking at the waves crash on the land as if you've done all this before. You sank your feet in and let the waves swirl around your ankles, strong and sturdy after only a week of standing on your own two feet. And to me, this was bravery in a two foot and 17 pound package. Granted you were ignorant to the massiveness of the ocean and the danger that waves can bring. But you also didnt know what was facing you just a few feet ahead, matching your height and chilling your skin. You had never seen this pebbly ground and had never felt sand sift over your feet. You had no idea what would happen as the water rushed toward you, seemingly able to swallow your entirety. Yet you stood, and you stared, and you accepted what would come without protest or concern. I cant say that Ive stood that strong or that brave in the face of my own unknowns.

So I look to you my brave girl, on a few days past your 8 month birthday, to show me how to live life more fully; spending fewer moments worrying about obstacles, backup plans, and safety measures and more time basking in the unknown and seeking adventure in the most mundane situations, like our living room! I look to you my brave girl to remind me that anything that shines, flashes, spins, or makes noise is certainly worth my undivided attention.

All my love,

Momma

Vogue

Over Memorial Day weekend Babycakes participated in her first photo shoot to commemorate her 6 month birthday. The photos were vomit inducing level of sweet and of course Maren was all smiles, well, until the very end when nap time was dangerously close. Check out the photos on the photographers website here:

http://www.erichafarrington.com/site/#/home/
Go to "Proofing" and write "Rossiter1" as the password

Enjoy!

Over the Hill

So Maren is now closer to one year old than an itty bitty newborn. As shown in her brief 7 month photo shoot, her biggest debut has yet to arrive--Teeth!!! But she can still gum up a paper with fierce efficiency. Read on for the letter to Maren on this first month over the crest of halfway!!




MareBear,
When I met your father I thought for sure that he was my one and only love. Seven months after meeting you for the first time, I find myself thinking that that was quite a silly notion. Because while its certainly a different version of love, the way I feel about you can be described in no other way.

I suppose Ive loved you since well before you were born. I loved the idea of you. Then I loved the thought of you. Then I loved the weight of you and the feeling of your flutters and kicks. Then I loved the look of you--so bright eyed and skeptical within your first few moments of joining the outside world. And eventually I loved the sound of you--that one took a little longer to warm up to what with your initial crying breaking my sleep patterns every two hours and the continuation of those cries breaking my concentration, my heart, and occasionally my sanity. I still go back and forth on loving the smell of you, depending on whether its dirty diaper or fresh bath. But I always love being with you.

And the time I spend with you remains special and endearing as I watch you grow and change. Just one month ago you had just discovered the life changing act of rolling. Initially you weren't too fond of it, seeming to see it as more of a hassle and needless exertion rather than a thrill. However, a week or two later the occasional roll became the preferred mode of transportation, carrying you across a room in an impressive 3-5 minutes, even less if something caught your covetous eye like a remote control, cell phone, or cat. Now that we're a few more weeks removed from that first roll, the flip happens in a blink, and within an instant you are falling off a changing pad, dangerously close to the edge of the bed, within centimeters of your noggin meeting a sharp furniture corner, or just irritating mom and dad as you flop around like a fish out of water when we try to change your soiled diaper.

And still, as your sixth month came to a close and you reached the seven month milestone you moved on to yet another outlet for your energy...the pre crawl. Youre constantly rocking on all fours, pulling your crib bumper down like a jail bird to see what lays beyond that aquamarine fuzzy fabric. Youve finally done enough ab work to graduate to a steady sitter, where you play with rattles, blocks, anything with lights, books, or your own toes for what seems like eternity but what is actually about 10 minutes. Theres always a point where you decide youre done with the strenuous core strengthening that sitting provides and you voluntarily slump to the side and resume a more youthful position on your back or belly.

Sadly your disdain for all foods other than sweet potatoes and squash is still in full effect but hopefully repeat exposure, or old fashioned forced feeding, will add wisdom and variety to your tastebuds. Speaking of buds, your two front teeth are arriving, albeit on some kind of slow train akin to overcrowded public transit with mechanical problems. Every week I think this is the week we will see those little gems that have been causing you so much discomfort for so many months, but each week your gums just get to be a paler shade of pink with no enamel breaking the surface. Maybe next week...yeah right!

By the time the teeth make their long awaited debut, Im sure you'll be a changed girl once again, and we too, as parents will be changed as well. According to the expert baby book authors, month seven may bring separation anxiety and feelings of stranger danger and it seems like you might have been reading those books because youre right on track with your increased neediness and desire to be with your father or I at all times. Lucky for you we both adore you so being held captive by your desires is not a terrible fate for us just yet, unless its one of those moments when you smell like a dirty diaper, then its time for a quick game of paper-rock-scissors to see who wins the chance to spend even more time with you engaging in the fish flopping action of a diaper change on a girl who wants nothing more than to ride her changing pad like a pony.

Looking forward to a fun seventh month. Love you endlessly,

Momma

BabyKakes

Thank you to Aunt Carly for gifting Maren this onesie as a tribute to her in utero name--babycakes.

The Half Way Point

Six months?! Wow, Really?! I struggle to believe that I have known you for half a year already. You've seen the tree leaves change colors, fall to the ground, and grow green once again. You've experienced your first Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and Mothers Day. You rang in a new year and helped to celebrate your grandma and momma's birthdays. So much accomplished in a handful of months, and so much more yet to come before we make a full turn of the calendar.

This month you have really started to develop a personality, and grow a lot of hair ;) You smile, A LOT, which lights up my heart and tightens the hold you have over your father. You also laugh a lot more these days, sometimes completely unprovoked which makes me so happy that you find life in general so humorous! I often wonder what you will end up liking to do when you get older, as you seem so interested in anything that plays music, makes noise or flickers light. I have a feeling that your preferences might give me headaches or seizures in the future! Sadly, no matter how much I try, you seem very bored with books. Perhaps you are too young to enjoy these pursuits just yet. Or perhaps you are your father's child and are simply not much of a book person.

New this month is your proclivity for side sleeping and ability to roll. You've also started putting your hands up and whining when you want to be picked up. Granted, the whining is not something Id encourage, but I do find it endearing that you want to be close to us and Im ecstatic that I can finally communicate with you, at some level. It also seems that you love brown rice cereal, tolerate avocados, and much to my dismay, are not a fan of bananas. Im seriously hoping that you come around to the bananas because Im nursing a serious love affair with this fruit from the south and Id like to share my excitement with you.

Im sorry I dont have any wisdom to impart this month. Still, its been fun spending your days with you and I look forward to a summer full of priceless moments to come.

Love you much,

Momma

Happy Half Birthday Maren!!

Lucky for Maren, we celebrated her half birthday today with a delicious cupcake and a quick song. Lucky for us, Maren cant eat cupcakes and the bakery had a $10 credit card minimum purchase so Kake and I got to indulge in 5 different cupcakes this weekend. Im pretty certain that we enjoyed her 6 month milestone far more than she did. Regardless, HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY MAREN!!!!!

High Five (Months)

ME (Maren Elizabeth),

I guess this is when things start to speed up. Over the last month Ive found myself saying the phrase "shes growing up so fast" more than Id like. You can reach your feet now, and you play with them and suck on them any chance you get. You have started mimicking your father and I by blowing raspberries and seeming to love watching hockey (that parts your dad!). You watch us eat with endless interest and try your best to intercept any forkfuls that come anywhere near your mouth. And my heart really came to a standstill a few weeks ago when you grabbed for my morning mug of coffee over and over again until I let you hold it and try out your skills sipping, rather than sucking (dont worry, I waited until well after the coffee was gone).

Everyday you seem thisclose to rolling over but you still havent mastered that one....we tend to think youre lazy but perhaps youre so content with the scene on your back that you really dont care to see the world from your bellly. Regardless you are so enamored by the world around you these days that every meal is string of starts and stops due to distractions like the cat walking by, wind making the curtains flutter, someone clearing their throat, or an interesting page uploading on my itouch. Oh, and thats right, your father is very pleased that you seem to be drawn to technology at the fresh age of 5 months old. I have a feeling that you'll be accidentally calling most of the folks in your dad's contact list over the next few months considering how excited you are to touch the screen and make the images change.

Unfortunately my feeling that you'll be a handful as you grow up continues as you've also discovered, this month, the ability to voice your displeasure with a raspy disgruntled squeal and an occasional full body moan. Now that you've discovered your feet you masterfully use them to push me away when Im engaging in unsavory activities like clipping your fingernails or sucking boogies out of your nose (and its not very ladylike that you have a lot of them by the way). And you do the same as you flirt with your dad and pretend to not like the fact that hes constantly kissing on you and tickling your growing belly.

Im both amazed and appalled at how much you've learned in such a short period of time. I can't believe how many skills you've picked up just by observing us over the last few months. And this makes me wonder what the heck month 6 will bring....walking, swimming, mastering the barbecue grill? Who knows! Whatever it is, your dad and I will be here with our mouths agape, marveling in the little person you are becoming and enjoying every minute we have with you, our smiley, giggly girl.

Lots of love and a sippy cup,

Momma