Nine Months and Nemo

Little Miss Independent turned 9 Months on February 7th - just as a huge snowstorm was moving into our region.  It's a new thing, apparently, to name snowstorms, and this storm was called "Nemo".  It began the night of the 7th and continued for two days, dumping two feet of snow at our house.  Our little girl, however, came down with the stomach bug just a few hours after I took her 9 month pictures.  She couldn't keep anything down, so Mom called the doctor's office.  They want to see any baby who has vomited more than 4 times in a certain amount of time, and Maeve had exceeded that, so off we went; just as the heaviest of the snow was rolling in.  Once we were there, the doctor thought she might be dehydrated, so she sent us to the hospital, just to be safe.  We spent about four hours at the hospital, which is good for ER standards.  They gave her some Zofran to stop vomiting, which worked wonders.  After a little nap, she was ready to drink some milk. The doctor had originally said she didn't want Maeve drinking milk, only Pedialyte, but ... well... if you've ever met Maeve, you know that she's very stubborn and pretty relentless when it comes to something she wants.  She made it very well known that she wanted milk and not Pedialyte, so the doctor finally gave in.  Maeve kept the milk down, so the doctor discharged us - just as the "no driving" order set in for the state of Massachusetts.  So off we went - two little lawbreakers - moving at a snails pace in horrible conditions.  Thankfully we made it home safely, and settled in for two days of snow.  

At nine months, Maeve:

• Crawls like she's a speed demon
• Feels the need to hold a toy in one hand while crawling
• Furniture surfs like a pro
• Feeds herself. 
• Eats everything that's put in front of her
• Hates bedtime and puts up quite a battle to avoid it
• Slept through the night for only a  few days in a row (until she got sick, when she decided she didn't want to do that anymore)
• Still wakes up several times per night to be comforted 
• Loves her brother and thinks he's pretty funny
• Loves her Dad and laughs when she sees him
• Is a bit of a Momma's girl
• Thinks her brother's toys are her own
• Loves music and dancing

We love our little peanut more than words can say.  These past 9 months have just flown by, and before we know it she'll be a year old!  Happy 9 months, Maevey Baby!

Don't mind the orange plastic mallet that Maeve had in her hand.  It's the only thing that kept her still!

Still all smiles, even in the hospital.

A little nap on a hospital bed.

Resting at home.

The snowman flag almost covered after the storm.

In a FRENZY!

Our friends Tara and Matt invited their friends and kids to join them at an indoor bouncy house called Frenzy.  It was a perfect activity for a wintry day.  Connor was a blur the entire time there, running from one bouncy house to another.  I could barely get any pictures of him.  He did take a time out from all of his bouncing to play his first game of air hockey, which he loved.  I think he'll have a great time in Maine this summer - the "new" beach house we're renting has an air hockey table in the basement!

Miss Maeve was not one to be cooped up in a stroller all day.  She was itching to get out and see what everyone else was doing.  I did let her go on one of the bouncies when there were no other kids on it, and she LOVED it.  She crawled all around this thing like a pro, and it didn't look very easy to navigate.  She definitely thinks she's older than she is, and proves it quite often.  She wanted to do everything the big kids did.

We had a great time, and it sufficiently tired out the kiddos.  Always the sign of a good afternoon!

Trouble at 8 Months Old

I'm in trouble with this one.  

She's 8 months old, but thinks she's 2. 

She's already furniture surfing and trying to climb out of her pack and play.  

Someone needs to remind her that she's still a baby, not a toddler.  

She has a brother she idolizes who walks and runs and has fun toys.  

So it's only natural she'd try and do exactly what he does.  

But I still want her to be a baby for just a little while longer.

She tries to get her brother's matchbox cars:

She watches Friends like Mommy:

She enlists her brother hold her sign because she can't be near it without eating it:

She tries to look all innocent:

She dances to Michael Jackson:

She pulls herself up:

She furniture surfs:

She idolizes her big brother:

She tries to climb out of her Pack n' Play:

                                      

But we love her tons.  

She laughs and smiles everyday.  

We love watching her learn and grow. Even if it is happening at warp speed.  

Miss Maeve, Happy 8 months.  We love you more than chocolate (which is a whole, whole lot).  

A Very Estee Christmas & New Year's Eve

We celebrated the Estee Christmas with a nice and relaxing brunch a few days after Christmas.  Both kids were spoiled rotten by their very generous grandparents and auntie!  I didn't get very many pictures because I was trying to keep Maeve in one spot because she kept trying to eat the wrapping paper.  So these are the only two I have:

I did, however, get a picture of the two of them on New Year's Eve.  I think I took about 20 pictures, but someone was ALWAYS moving, so only few were decent enough to show.  They're still blurry, but they're funny.

Let it snow!

Two days after Christmas, Vermont got a big storm which dumped almost a foot of snow at my parent's house.  I would have loved to take both kids out on sleds, but we didn't bring our sleds with us, and no one had snow pants.  Luckily, Grammy and Grampy bought Connor new winter boots for Christmas, so he at least had those.  Later in the afternoon, while Maeve was sleeping, I took Connor out while Grampy used the new plow on the lawnmower.  I put Connor to work cleaning the cars.  He loved it!  Good to know for future storms.

Christmas in Vermont

I didn't get very many pictures of the kids opening up their presents on Christmas morning.  I usually steal borrow pictures from my Dad, but with 7 adults, 1 five-year-old, 2 babies, and 3 dogs, things got a little crazy, so I think there are minimal pictures of Christmas morning.  It was fun to see Connor actually get into opening presents this year.  What a difference a year makes.  Last Christmas we had to force him to open up his gifts, and this year we had to slow him down!  He actually needed a little break because it was still overwhelming to him, and he was just throwing his new presents around, eager for the next gift.  So we took a breather and that seemed to help a lot.  Maeve just wanted to eat the paper, and there was plenty to choose from, so she was happy.  She did like her stocking stuffers, though!

My mom made a(nother) delicious Prime Rib dinner with twice baked potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce, and chocolate cherry flan cake for dessert.  YUM.  She did have a little time to cuddle with Maeve, in one of the rare moments when she took a nap.  The power of a Grammy cuddle can get any baby to sleep!

Christmas Eve... Eve

The annual Bouvier Family Christmas was held on Christmas Eve Eve at Brett and Erin's house this year.  We decided to have it a day early so that people weren't rushing around in between the Children's mass and "midnight" mass at 9 p.m.  It was much more relaxed and low key since we didn't have to hurry up and get everything done in a short period of time.  It was a lot of fun, especially since Santa made a guest appearance!  Even during his busy season, he found the time to pop by and give the kids an early Christmas present.  It was great to watch Connor as Santa entered the room.  He was fascinated.  He even sat on his lap (which he hasn't wanted to do in a few years).  He didn't say much, and was Mr. Serious, but he was taking it all in.

Connor spent most of the day playing with his cousins in the playroom that was adjacent to the living room.  All of the kids stayed in that room most of the day which left plenty of room for all of the adults.  And there are a lot of adults.  A lot.    

Maeve and her cousin, James, showed up with similar outfits on.  They were dubbed "Mr. and Mrs. Claus".

But, with 70 people in one house, it got a little warm, so off came the velour dress...

The day ended with a visit from some carolers and a viewing of Christmas Vacation.  We hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas!