Merry Christmas Eve to all!  I am very excited about Christmas this year since it is Raven's first one!  I'm excited to be "Santa" even though she is still too young to understand the concept yet.  I'm excited for her to see her new toys and be spoiled by her grandparents.  Christmas takes on a whole new meaning when you have a child.  Since my sister and brother in law are visiting his parents over Christmas, Raven already opened her gifts from them and got some toys, clothes, and books that she adores.  She isn't into stacking toys, but she loves destroying anything that is stacked.  I hope this isn't an omen to how she'll be as she matures!  

Raven's cute outfit from Great Aunt Bambi and Great Uncle Paul!

Just chillin' by the tree with Dad!

Raven is 9 months old today, we have officially kept her alive and well for 9 months.  It's weird to think it took about 9 months to incubate her in my belly and now she's been here for 9 months.  In honor of this milestone, I'm going to list some of Raven's favorite things:

*Empty water bottles
*Jumping up and down on the couch
*Tipping over trash cans
*Mumbling and laughing at herself
*Her stuffed monkey that JD has named "The Purple Monkey Dishwasher"
*Pulling off eye glasses
*Pooping (she seems to really enjoy it)
*Eating socks
*Looking at herself
*Bananas
*Baths (who doesn't love them?)
*Sleeping (also who doesn't love that?)
*Cuddles
*Her mom and dad and strangers.

3 months until the BIG ONE!  AH!  Until next time..

   I decided to put my Think Kit question on my mom blog today since it is about Raven.  They asked me to share a moment that stood out to me this year.

   As a mom, there are so many moments that stand out in Raven's development.  Obviously I will never forget the first moment I got to hold my baby girl.  It is an amazing yet odd sensation of holding this tiny creature that lived inside me for almost 9 months.  One second I was pregnant, the next second, I heard a scream of a newborn...so surreal!

   The first four weeks were a lot of feedings and naps (for the baby, not so much the parents).  Newborns don't really have a recognizable personality, at least I didn't feel that way.  Then came my birthday on April 23.  Raven was 4.5 weeks old.  I had her in her car seat in the bathroom while I put makeup on so we could go to lunch with my husband for my birthday.  I looked over at Raven and she looked at me, smiled, and made a small giggle noise.  It was my favorite birthday gift!  The smile and giggle symbolized that Raven's personality was developing and it was a wonderful moment I shared with her.

  Now at almost 9 months old, Raven has LOTS of personality.  Her moods can still be a little baffling at times since she's still a baby (crying one second, then suddenly laughing).  Her curiosity fascinates me as she discovers this new world she is living in.  I feel great joy when I hear Raven laugh because every mom wants their child to be happy and content.  I'm also thankful to have a social baby who smiles at strangers and enjoys car rides.

   It's still a long road ahead of me to raise a child, but I know it will all go so fast.  I just cherish the times she makes me smile and I'll never forget the first time she truly smiled at me.

Raven and I went to Target to get some home items, it is also one of our favorite places to go.  I happened to stroll by the baby toy section and saw a key looking toy that played music.  I put it up to Raven's ear for her to listen to it and she grabbed the toy from me and began chewing on the top of the box, oops.  I quickly tried to take away the toy to not damage it and she began to cry.  I went ahead and gave her the toy to buy for her.  I said aloud, "You have me so whipped."  A Target employee happened to be walking by as I said this and smiled.  At least it was money well spent, she is playing with the toy now (though she has a bajillion toys to choose from).  I guess it was my fault since I showed Raven the toy, but I feel like this is just a first of many times Raven will give me her sad puppy eyes and get a toy she wants.  I'm going to be sensible and not let her ALWAYS get toys, the last thing I want is a very spoiled child who becomes an entitled adult.  But hey, it's Christmas time and she is only 8 months old.  I'll let her have one toy she likes at the store.

Ever wonder what someone home with an 8 month old does all day?  Here is my general schedule.

Somewhere between 3-5 am: Raven wakes up hungry since she has a crazy fast metabolism.  I get a bottle from the fridge and hand it to her in her crib which lulls her back to sleep after she's done with it.

6:30 am:  This is usually when Raven wakes up for the day, sometimes a little earlier or later.  I change her diaper, get a bottle, set her in her playpen to drink it while I eat a little breakfast and watch the news.  I used to try feeding her spoonfuls of rice cereal in the morning but she hates it so she's happy with a morning bottle instead.  The next few hours, Raven likes to sit and play on the couch with some toys and mom hugs mixed in.  I usually have to change a huge poo diaper and one pee diaper during this time (and her clothes).

9 am:  Did I mention Raven has a fast metabolism?  I make another bottle for Raven which she downs and then I try to lie her down on the couch with me to take a small morning nap (she won't nap anymore being rocked and placed in the crib).  I'm sure I started a bad habit, but I like the snuggle time and Raven gets a her nap in instead of screaming from her crib.  After hopefully a nap, I let Raven crawl and play with toys on the floor which I now have to constantly clean.  I have to pick her up a lot to avoid places she shouldn't go (she has an uncanny ability to try to grab things that are off limits).  I usually have 1-2 diapers to change too during this time.

11 am: Raven gets a bowl of baby food for lunch which I spoon feed her from her high chair.  This usually goes fairly well and clean up isn't too bad.  I then give her easy to eat puff cereal pieces or cheerios which is teaching Raven self feeding and she's doing a great job!  While she is occupied self feeding, I do dishes, tidy up the kitchen, and make myself some lunch.  Then it's time to check another diaper.

11:30ish- If Raven seems tired or didn't sleep well in the morning, it's back to lying down on the couch and soothing her to sleep.  If she is really tired, this is the time she screams and cries which can last up to 45 minutes until she falls asleep.  If she does fall asleep, I power nap next to her or watch some HBO.  Naps usually last an hour but have been known to last up to 2.5 hours.

1ish: After a bottle, we either go run errands (sometimes in the morning instead) or Raven crawls some more.  She also likes her walker but I have to keep the doors all closed when she's in the walker because her obsession is getting into trash.  She can move really fast in her walker, so I have to prepare the baby block-off areas prior to Raven going into her walker.

3ish: After getting some energy out, Raven usually takes a small nap, but only if I am holding her.

4ish:  JD comes home from work and all of us usually play with Raven.

5 pm: Raven gets baby food and cereal pieces again.  After supper, she gets a bath every couple days.  She has a towel warmer which I put her pajamas in instead which she LOVES once she gets out of the bath.

6 pm: Bottle time and play time!  I make dinner as well.

8 pm:  We give Raven a bigger bottle and then it's time for bed in her crib.  Some nights she goes to sleep right away, some other nights are a real struggle.  The latest she has fought sleep was about 9 pm since she was 6 months old.

After 8 pm:  I hang out with my husband, knit, shower, do chores, etc.  I can get a lot done without constantly supervising a curious infant.  I usually fall asleep around 10 since my body has kind of gotten used to getting up early so it wants to go to sleep earlier too.  Does that make me healthier, wealthier, and wise?

So this is my general day now, with exception to when I have wedding flowers to work on...that takes some multitasking.  Sometimes my mother in law will take her overnight and during a day in which I can get some more cleaning done or work on hobbies (a mom's day off if you will).   I know I have a lot more respect for stay at home moms now.  

Raising babies aren't easy, even though it is very rewarding.  I do miss day long adult interaction, but I know working away from home, I would miss Raven.  This makes me also respect working mothers very much.  It's hard to leave your baby daily, I'm sure!  That's all for now, folks.

It's no secret that Raven has a love and admiration for beards.  She was invited to meet Santa Friday night at the Circle of Lights in downtown Indy and you can tell she really enjoyed that beard.

With Raven's new found ability to crawl and move better in her walker, I'm still too terrified to put up the Christmas tree.  She has an uncanny ability to want to get into exactly what she should not get into.  Why can't ALL her toys, water bottles, socks, etc. make her happy enough?  She has also been biting my shoulder like a vampire, this development I do not understand other than I am raising a vampire.  Raven is currently kicking up the area rug to try to get her walker through (blocked off by an ottoman) in order to get to the tv.  Now she is screaming.  I better go distract her before she successfully gets to the tv stand.