oh hey, I'm 52 weeks old!

 That's right folks. 

 Today officially means I am one week away from one!

Lately, I've been all about waving hi and bye to people

and there were even a few times when mom asked me to say hi

and I actually waved

I think my parents are starting to realize how much I really understand

what they say to me

even if I still choose when I'm going to respond

because let's face it, I like doing my own thing

speaking of my own thing

I am now walking all over the place

I have literally walked around the entire house without stopping

the only problem with me walking [according to my parents]

is I now want down, everywhere

and once I'm down, do not pick me up, or I will most likely freak out

[which means mom has had to get over me on the ground
outside of the house pretty quickly]

at home I am starting to be quite the climber

and I am clearly going to be a tom-boy like my mom

because I love playing in the dirt and exploring outdoors

I also love army crawling underneath the sofas

and finding all sorts of treasures
I'm also working on snuggling and giving hugs

^mom & I at 11 months and 3 months^

^when we approve of something, we say "oooh"^

today we were too busy doing some shopping for my party
so instead, I'll just share some photos from our trip to Disneyland last week
next time you will hear from me, I'll be one!
-Everly Mae

oh hey, I'm 51 weeks old!

well, 51 weeks tomorrow if we are being official

but I figure since we are on the countdown to one

I should be prompt with these posts before they are done and gone

it seems strange to think that in just two weeks

mom will be able to officially call me a one year old

my newest tricks include walking the lengths of entire rooms

I'm also obsessed with straws

and even though I look like I am using it for it's intended purpose

I assure you I am not

my newest foods include my love for olives

and I'm also a pretty big fan of pomegranates

it is my newest routine in the evening to be playing,

come get a few little pieces from my mom,

make a scrunchy face if the pomegranate is too tart

and then go back to having fun playing

I am also starting to really love music

and dancing to my favorite songs

that of course includes Miley Cyrus and anything on Ellen

[which includes only Miley on Ellen, hmm, wonder why?]

this weekend we have been extra busy with a work conference for my mom

so that means extra daddy time

but the good news is she is almost done, and then we get a few "family only" days

since mom has been super busy this week

I'll just share the rest of my "cake smash" session with sarah

next week, the countdown to one will be officially down to days

craziness!

-Everly Mae

oh hey, I'm 50 weeks old

can you believe it?

I'm 50 weeks old, which means one is just around the corner

literally

this means mom and grammie have been working overtime on some

birthday goodness

and I've even been photographed for the special occasion

turns out, when I'm given an entire cake to eat

I'm most likely only going to eat a couple of bites

I clearly prefer being fed my cake off a fork by my friend Bethany

go figure

my favorite toys these days include long pieces of ribbon

a laundry basket, as well as pillows and blankets

since I've written last I went from owning no shoes

to having too many pairs to count

oops, mom had a little too much fun

babys-r-us and the target boys section were attacked pretty hard

in other news I love making silly noises with my daddy

I can mimic pretty much anything he does

I love playing peek-a-boo

and one of my favorite faces these days is when I grab my face

and tap my cheeks

I'm still making my piggy scrunch face

and they are all just too adorable for my mom

I'm still taking steps

I think mom has counted nine in a row as my record

and daddy finally got to see these steps in person

I was holding out on him pretty bad

finally a couple of nights ago I let him see my new moves while 

visiting our friends Salma & Nevin

my newest favorite foods include green beans and grapes

and strawberries have replaced my blueberries fix

be back next week!

-Everly Mae

thanks Sarah for my pretty pictures!

oh hey, I'm 47 weeks old

sorry I haven't been writing lately

I've been too busy re-arranging my home

I am currently liking an open concept space

with all coffee and end tables pushed to the sides of the room

this allows me maximum play space

lately I've also been helping mom and dad with everything

you want me to put away laundry?

consider it done

well, maybe not done, but I will gladly pull every piece out of the basket

throw it over my head behind me

and go back for more

mom and me also went through the shoes in my closet

turns out my foot is growing pretty fast

and I'm in between baby shoes, and the shoes I actually need for walking

so I guess we will be on the hunt for those

[and mom is taking any suggestions]

we also ripped apart my room and put away all of the little clothes I've grown out of

[and no, mom isn't ready to get rid of any of it yet]

we are officially gearing up for fall

mom loves the chilly weather for extra long snuggles

and my mom and dad even picked out some special fall clothes for me last night

in other news, I got a new baby doctor

and man, was mom a happy lady after my check-up

I now weigh 16 pounds 1 ounce

and according to this doctor, that puts me in the 10th percentile for weight

which we are all great with

dad called my new doctor "an old hippie"

and we kind of love that about him

he pointed out how I have great weight on my thighs

and my chin and cheeks, and that no part of me looks too little

finally, someone who gets that I'm just tiny

and mom was very happy to have a "professional" see more than my numbers

finally, I am very close to walking

I even took a half step at my grammy's house this past week

but only my mom saw it

so everyone is looking forward to a repeat performance

-Everly Mae

oh hey, I'm 45 weeks old!

fun and games

that is what I am all about lately

I love playing peek a boo, but not the baby version of this game

instead, I love finding things to hide behind, and then I crane my neck

to see who's ready to play with me

I also love "running" away from mom and dad

they still always seems to catch me

probably because I stop and giggle too much while trying to get away

but that's okay

because I like when they catch me too

I also love playing on our big bed

I can stand on it, and when I fall down, it is so cushy it makes me smile and laugh

oh, and if you want to chase me around and tickle my tummy

well, I'll be pretty into that too

besides having so much fun playing with anyone around

I also have learned how to put on mom's chewbeads

and I think it is pretty fun to try them on so many times a day

this week I tried some pumpkin puree for the first time

it was mixed with bananas, and mmmm it was good

I ate the entire pouch last night, and for me, that's a big deal

even after I had a good helping big girl food

I am standing up all of the time

and I can stand, hold things, and even do a little dance, pretty impresive

and least my mom thinks so

but no first steps, not yet

for quite some time I've been babbling dada, to pretty much anything

well, yesterday I started babbling mama, again, to anything

the wall, the plastic cup, the dog walking by

but hey, we are moving in the right direction

until next week

-everly mae

oh hey, I'm 43 weeks old

lately, life is all about standing

I stand everywhere, all by myself

and just to show off how strong my legs are

I like standing up from a sitting position

no hands to help me up, all leg muscles

my other favorite past time is to move all of our furniture

my parents just don't seem like they know where to put the stuff

so I show them new ways to configure our coffee table

the bar stools are always put in the same place, so I like to mix it up

and my favorite furniture pieces to move are the kitchen chairs

because man, they move so easily

mom now has her phone ready to go at all times

because any day now, I'll probably be taking my first steps

we will just have to wait and see

tooth number seven has officially made it's appearance

and I'm eating three meals a day of "real" food

a nice little mixture of solids, purees, and of course, boobie snacks

my high chair is still my favorite place to hang out

[as long as there are blueberries present]

and I'm getting in a little more play time in my crib and play pen

hopefully, next week mom will have a better photo of me standing

but hey, at least she has a few cute pictures of me in my high chair

until next week

-Everly Mae

oh hey, I'm 41 weeks old today

life lately has included working on two more teeth

pretty soon I'll have eight

which is craziness, because many babies my age have none

so there you go

I do find them oh so useful when eating

since I've written last I've enjoyed a few new foods

including yellow squash, peach yogurt, and pears

I've mastered picking up anything little

even the squishy things like avocado

I'm officially turning into a blueberry from the amount of them I eat daily

I also love corn and colby jack cheese

no longer am I eating a bite or two

and throwing the rest on the floor

no sir, in a day I'll eat a whole yogurt

whole cheese stick, many fruits and veggies

and some purees my mom is trying out too

not to mention boobie snacks

so let's just say mom is expecting some weight gain at my next doctor appointment

I'm not walking yet, but I am standing from time to time for a few seconds

and cruising all around the house as long as I have something to hold on to

and I can crawl crazy fast [and loud]

lately I'm wearing 6 & 9 month clothing

but most of my newborn onesies still fit

[those things are SO roomy]

I'm talking up a storm still

lots of dadadada sounds and an array of hi-yahs

my newest game is throwing all of my toy's out of my crib

and the best part is when someone throws them back at me

dad also lowered my crib all the way down 

because I'm such a big girl

[and mom didn't want me to fall out]

speaking of mom, she's now back to work at school

and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the early wake-up calls

I've also starting my newest trick of tongue clicking

and kissy faces

and a combination of the two

this past week I also took my first trip to donner lake

for my grammie's company picnic

the weather was beautiful

the lake literally shimmered with gold [fool's gold particles?]

and it was overall a great way to spend the day

except mom wouldn't let me jump into the lake like I really wanted to

but I got over it

until next week...

-everly mae

oh hey, I'm 38 weeks old

I'm officially 38 weeks old

and for me that means I've popped up the fourth tooth on top

and six in total

and I think all of these teeth are really making food a tad more enjoyable

and when I smile it is hard not to see all of my pearly whites

in other news

I started clapping today

sometimes just for fun

and other times when I'm super happy with something

or pleased with myself

I like crawling about just to stop

try to stand up, raise my hands in the air

and then clap

it seems to make everyone around me pretty happy

so I'll keep it up

this was me this past weekend at my mom's graduation party

the day was perfect

great weather

family and friends had traveled from all over to be there

and there some pretty yummy food too

and yes, for the record, this is the fanciest I've ever been

thank you to our friend colin for getting me this very pretty dress

it took some time, but it finally fits!

and that beautiful headband was also a gift from my baby shower

so I was pretty in pink for the day

maybe I'll try the whole girlie thing more often

-Everly Mae

oh hey, I'm 37 weeks old

well, I'm closer to 38 weeks

but who's counting

[oh mom is, that's right]

lately I've been acting like quite the quirkster

I love making so many crazy faces

and I've been doing a little blinking "I'm so cute" face

I also like crawling all around the house

and then I turn around to see if anyone has noticed that I've left the room

and yes, they always find me

but it is a pretty fun game to play, so I'll keep it up for a bit
I love waving and talking to all the neighborhood doggies
[I think we are the only cat people around here]

this week I've also been eating my weight in blueberries and pasta

and mom is trying to teach me some signs

right now I just flail my arms when she does the sign for "more"

but, I think mom gets that this is my "yes"

and I get more blueberries

so everyone is happy

oh, and how could I forget?!?

I now wear size 2 diapers

yes folks, just shy of nine months old

and I'm finally moving on up in the world

they are huge still, and you cannot even see the design on the front

because they are so overlapped around my waist

but the size 1's were just not cutting it anymore

so yay, there's a mini milestone
as for clothes, mom thought I was growing out of size 6 months
because the new dress she bought me was seeming snug
but no, I'm not growing out of that size
because that silly mom of mine had accidentally picked up the 3 month size
oops, thankfully target has an amazing exchange policy
looks like I'll be hanging out in the 6 month range till fall

-Everly Mae

oh hey, I'm 36 weeks old [and it is my auntie's birthday]

so yesterday I turned thirty-six weeks old

and today we are celebrating my aunties 24th birthday

so I'll keep things short this week 

so I can go get my party on, all day

but I have to share a few things

my fifth tooth is now popping in

so the official teeth count is two on bottom

and three up top

and all of these teeth means something else

I'm eating!

like actual amounts of food are being ingested

mango and pasta are my favorite

and last night I even ate spoonfuls 

of blueberry yogurt

couldn't get enough of it really

no more ugly faces

no more gagging and choking at the thought of food

just eating like the big girl I am

so, happy birthday to my auntie meg

happy thirty-six weeks to me

and have a good week

-Everly Mae