10 Months

The closer it gets to one year with this little girl, I just wish time would pause and not go by so fast. I miss the little baby stage so much and the constant snuggles and just wanting to be held but then this stage of life with her is also so fun. That really is how life is though. There are so many memories that you cherish that you want to go back to and also future moments that we look forward to and yearn for. Sometimes living in the present is the hardest, but it really is little moments that bring me joy that help me live in the present. It's the cutest smile with her one little dimple when she sees Dad come home every day, the little squeals of delight when she is playing with her sisters, the tiniest fingers that work so hard to pick up little pieces of food to feed herself, the fastest army crawls whenever a door opens to try and go explore a new place, the little handprints and slobber marks on the window, the snuggling her face into her blanket when she is tired, and the cutest little claps whenever she hears music. I just love this little girl so much and watching her grow and learn every day!

Here's what McCall is up to at 10 months:

• She is still a tiny little thing and fits in 6 months clothes though I think this will be the week that I switch to 9 month clothes. Everyone always thinks she is much younger than she is because she is so small but I love how tiny she is and it seems to make the baby phase last longer.
• She is crawling normally now a little more especially if she is just in a diaper because I don't think she likes the feel of the floor on her belly, but she still prefers her very fast army crawl. I just love her army crawl- she pushes off with her forearms and her big toes and it's so fun to watch.
• She is great at sitting up on her own and she goes from sitting to crawling and then back to sitting like a pro.
• She is starting to pull herself up which has led to a new level of her getting into things. She is starting to be able to open up some cupboards and loves to pull herself up onto anything she can. We had to lower her crib mattress since now she often pulls herself to a stand once she wakes up.
• She loves to eat and wants to always try whatever you are eating. She usually eats whatever we are eating but still loves fruit baby food, yogurt, and bread. She is getting a little better at drinking out of her sippy cup. She still nurses before she goes to sleep for naps and night time. She now has 2 little teeth on the bottom to help out with all the food is she trying out.
• She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. I have to constantly be on watch with what she puts in her mouth and I feel like I'm constantly sweeping the floors.
• She is starting to sleep longer stretches but still is inconsistent in her nights. Her usual is waking one time in the middle of the night and then again anywhere between 4-6 am and then will go back to sleep and then be awake for the day close to 8. She usually gets one really good nap in during the late morning and then her afternoon nap is usually pretty short because it is usually in the car when I'm picking up Paige from school. 
• She loves the water. She is a crazy splasher in the bath and you always get soaking wet if you are the one helping her in the bath. She is getting pretty wiggly and tries to squirm around and crawl in the bath which can be difficult since she is so slippery and trying to keep her safe and make sure her face doesn't go in the water. 
• She does the cutest little squeals and will mimic if you squeal and we all love it and try to get her to do it as much as possible. She will also do these little squeals when you hide around the corner and peek at her and she squeals every time she sees you. They are happy little squeals and then with her cute smile and little dimple, we all just melt for her. She is definitely the favorite in the house right now!
• She is pretty good at playing with toys and looking at books. I love watching her play with toys and seeing her explore the world around her. I love her curiosity.
• Her sisters love her so much and always want to help with her or hold her. Paige's only thing she doesn't like is the poopy diapers and Baylor is not a fan when she is playing with something and then McCall tries and gets the toys she is playing with. It has led to McCall squawking and trying to get the toys and using her head to push her way past Baylor and Baylor using her body as a shield yelling "No McCall!" It will be interesting to watch as she gets even more mobile and interested in what Baylor is playing with. 
• Changing her diaper is a struggle! She is so wiggly and tries to get away and crawl away. We hold her legs while is is twisting around which makes it so hard to get her clean especially when it is a poopy diaper.
• She still is not a fan of the car seat. She does okay as long as the car is moving or she is being carried in it but as soon as I set her down in the house after being in the car, she will let you know she is not pleased if you leave her in it for too long. She is just such a busy little girl that is always on the move. She likes being in the stroller since it is moving. She loves to be carried around but when you pick her up she is always looking down or around to see the world around her. She is not cuddly at all much to Nate's dismay.
• Of all my babies, she has the least stranger danger. She is starting to get it a little more depending on the person. I think some of it is that every week sometimes a couple times a week, I am with the young women and she just gets passed around. I hardly ever hold her when I am with the young women and I love it. I love that the young women love my little girl.
• She still doesn't really say too many distinct words that are associated with certain things but she does babble a lot. She loves to make noises, hear her voice, and blow raspberries.
• I love that I can get a tiny little ponytail in her hair. She has such wispy hair and her long hair on top just sticks straight up.
• We sure love our busy little 10 month old that is just pure curious about her little world and wants to see every bit of it and I'm so eternally grateful that I get to be her mom!

I loved watching these pictures get taken from the kitchen window. Most of these pictures she is looking up because of her two cute sisters that were doing all sorts of funny things behind Dad to try and get her to smile.

Bath Time Fun

I just love this picture- The hair, the scrunchy nose, the big wide open smile all while clapping. :)

Matching faces- of all our girls, I think McCall looks the most like Nate. I love watching their cute little relationship. Nate sure loves his girls!

Happy 10 Months little girl!

Spring Break

Since Paige has been in school, my parents have always come during her spring break and we go explore somewhere new every time. We never have the best weather but we make the most of it and always have fun and love seeing all sorts of new places. The main attraction for this year's spring break was Leavenworth, WA.

They started their drive here and only made it a few hours when they ended up having car problems. So they were supposed to arrive Monday later afternoon but because they had to wait for their car to get fixed they didn't get to our house until close to midnight. It all worked out since we weren't' supposed to head out to Leavenworth for our Airbnb until Tuesday. 

Tuesday started off a bit rough for Paige. She was sick to her stomach but we pushed forward and she did end up throwing up in the car because of upset stomach and car sickness but we made the most of it and it wasn't too long after that we made it to our first destination so that she could get out of the car which helped quite a bit.

Our first stop was to see Aplets & Cotlets and see the factory where the candy is made. We made it there around lunch time and it pretty cold and windy so we ended up having our lunch in the car. McCall was happy to be out of her car seat and sat in Nate's lap for her lunch and then was climbing the steering wheel and looked too cute.

We wandered through the store and tried the free samples before it was our time to go on the little tour. 

We all had to wear hair nets even McCall for the tour. It was a bit of a challenge to keep her from pulling it off and Baylor was not a fan of the hair net but they all looked so cute in them. 

Our next stop was Smallwood's Harvest which is a fun little fruit market along with a fun play area for kids.

Baylor and Paige attempting to beat their dad in tug of war. It was pretty cute and funny to watch.

Wandering through the store after our fun on the playground.

There were two cats that just wandered through the store and we were all in kitty heaven.

We then started our journey towards our Airbnb and made a quick stop to see the Tumwater Canyon Dam.

McCall was SO happy to be out of the car and to just be able to crawl around and explore. 

We had a nice dinner and the girls had fun playing lots of game with Grandma. The porch at the house was incredible and if it was warmer I would have spent way more time out there. Nate was able to get the fire started and so we enjoyed a quick fire before getting too cold. The layout of the house was great for us. There was a master bedroom with a bathroom for Grandma and Poppy and then we used the main bathroom downstairs. Then there were two bedrooms upstairs- one full sized bunk bed that Baylor and Paige enjoyed and then our room with a queen sized bed along with a little nook that was the perfect place for McCall's pack n play.

Wednesday was our Leavenworth day and we got there around 10 and didn't leave until 4 in the afternoon. It was a day spent wandering through all the shops and enjoying the novelty of this fun little town. The setting of it is gorgeous and it was a fun town to be a tourist in.  

We all loved the hat shop!

One of my favorite places that we went to was the Nutcracker Museum. They had these perfect scavenger hunt papers for Paige and Baylor and there are SO many different kinds of nutcrackers and it was fun to walk through and explore especially with finding specific ones to help the girls complete their check lists. It was well set up for kids and is incredible to see and look through. I would highly recommend it!

I love exploring the world with these three cute girls!

We all loved the Christmas store too.

Paige, Nate, and Grandma went into the taffy shop which Paige thought was pretty cool and by this time Baylor was needing a break from wandering through stores so I was sitting on the curb with her and McCall and Poppy and this lady comes out of nowhere and starts playing. It was the coolest thing to experience. The setting of the town added to it and when she started playing, everyone went silent and just stopped what they were doing and watched and listened. Then when she was done there was applause and then she would answer questions and play some more. It was so fun to watch and I was afraid those in the store would miss it but they came out in time to see her play too. 

We then wandered away from the main street to go walk around Blackbird Island. It is right on the Wenatchee River which is a gorgeous setting and it was a nice walk though I know when the trees are in bloom it is probably so much prettier.  

We took a little bit of time and just sat and enjoyed the amazing view on the river. If it was warmer out, I could have spent an hour or more at this spot. Baylor was quick to take her shoes off and get her feet wet and McCall loved eating dirt and quickly got very sandy when she bolted trying to get into the water. If it was summer I would have totally stripped her down to her diaper and let her have some fun in the water. Her excitement for the water and playing in the dirt made me excited for this summer and how fun it will be with her being outside more and seeing the world through her eyes. Paige and Nate dipped McCall's toes in the water and I just sat and soaked in the sun and the beautiful view of the river and the mountains and of my little family. 

Then we explored a little more of the shops and bought a few things.

We enjoyed some ice cream and McCall was very into sharing my ice cream with me.

We walked through the city library because Paige wanted to see what it was like. It was very quaint and small. 

We had some hamburgers for dinner and the girls played more games with Grandma. 

Then to end the night, Nate and the girls enjoyed the hot tub.

We enjoyed the porch a little bit in the morning and had some breakfast and cleaned up before checking out. It went by way too fast but we enjoyed every moment of our stay.

The place we stayed had access to a community clubhouse, playground, and river access. If it was warmer and we had more time there were trails there that would been fun to explore and the girls would have loved more time playing on the playground and playing in the river. 

On our way home we made a stop in Roslyn, WA. It is another very small and cute town and has a very interesting cemetery that we walked around. 

The first time we went to Leavenworth was in 2014 and we made a stop at Roslyn then and so I had to recreate this cute picture.

We made a stop at Ensign Ranch and had our lunch there. My parents talked to the missionaries there and what a mission there looks like. It is the type of mission my parents are interested in and we are hoping that when the time comes they will do a mission our way and it would be great to have them close to us for a year or so. We drove around the Ranch to see what all it had and then made our way home. We had dinner at home and then went on a walk across the street to go on our annual trillium walk. 

Friday our day was spent in Seattle and we did something that has been on my bucket list for a long time. We went and saw the cherry blossoms on the University of Washington campus. This was my first time also walking through the UW campus and it is GORGEOUS! The architect of the buildings is incredible and so cool. And the cherry blossoms did not disappoint. The trees were much bigger than I expected and the blossoms were stunning. There were SO many people but it was worth every moment. 

There is a library on the UW campus that reminds people of Hogwarts so of course Paige and I wanted to go see it. It was stunning and so cool to walk through. We were all doing good at being quiet since people were in there studying but then McCall realized her voice echoed and started to give occasional squeals and so I quickly got out before she disrupted too many people. 

Then we walked down to see the big fountain and it was a gorgeous day to be wandering through campus. We had lunch on campus before going to see the blossoms one more time. 

Then we went to Gasworks Park. Since it was such a nice day the view of the city was so pretty and there were lots of sea planes taking off and landing on the lake. 

Paige and Baylor had fun on the playground and I sat with McCall on the grass and let her crawl around though I was on constant watch making sure she didn't eat flowers or grab duck poop. 

Then the girls had fun exploring this part of the park before heading home.

Saturday and Sunday were quieter days with the rain coming back. We enjoyed our time with Grandma and Poppy and since they couldn't come for Easter we saved dying eggs for when they were with us.

I gave McCall an egg with a small amount of dye to see what she would do and she loved sucking on the egg and splashing the dye everywhere. 

Such a fun spring break that went by way too fast and we loved all the fun memories made!