Trip to Maryland

One of my best friends from high school, Aubrey, was coming home to MD from LA during her Spring Break, so I we decided to make the drive up to Maryland again with Arden. The last time we did this trip was back in August when she was still real little and slept most of the time in the car. I was a little worried about how she was going to do on the 5+ hour car ride but she did great. We left Raleigh at her morning nap time so she would sleep for the first part of the drive and she did- for 3 hours! We ended up stopping just north of Richmond for lunch at Ruby Tuesday to break up the drive and let her get out and move and eat a bit. Her longer morning nap kinda threw her off for the rest of the day and she never took an afternoon nap, but she seemed to be fine that Friday afternoon and evening. A bunch of friends came over to Krista's condo and hung out which was low key and nice. Arden's not used to sleeping in a room next door to people staying up late so she woke up a few times and then had a kinda rocky evening sleeping, but it was worth it. And why is it if a baby doesn't stick to their nap schedule at all the only time that they will stick to the darn thing is when they decide to still wake up at 7 am! Regardless of how long they were up in the middle of the night?! ugh.

Saturday we went for a run as a family and then my brother, Brian, and sister in law, Amy, came over to hang out and see the now very mobile Arden in action. Then we headed out to lunch with Brian & Amy. Saturday night we ended up hanging out at Ashley's parent's house while they were out of town just like the old days! (They knew we were over there this time ;-)

Then Sunday we went out to lunch with my good friend, Justin & his wife Lenore. Going up to Maryland is always a whirlwind trip because we try to see so many people in a short time, but we pulled it off. Arden slept for about 2 hours on the ride home, and we didn't hit too much traffic coming back (a definite plus) and got home right at dinner/bedtime for her. Road trip #2 with baby successfully accomplished!

Cheerios- the New Baby Crack

So after getting the ok to give Arden Cheerios I figured I would get her some. Of course, I got her organic, non-sugar "Purely O's" rather then the standard Cheerios, but same concept. They are a huge hit! I thought her little hands were going to have more difficulty picking them up, but no, not at all. They are perfect Arden size. And the great thing about them is they're portable so I can give them to her anywhere. So yes, I'm on my way to being a mom that drives a wagon with Cheerios scattered on the floor in the back. Ugh. They are her new favorite food, to the point that she's boycotting some other foods right now. Mostly foods that are spoon fed to her, which I read is normal once they learn to self-feed. She's like her mom, showing signs of early independence ;-)


Here's the video of her first taste of the new baby crack... She has since gotten a lot more proficient in getting them in her mouth.

Arden at 9 Months

For those Blogger stalker out there, I know I'm falling behind on my posts, so I hope to post a few things today. Arden has taken to trying to climb under the computer desk and trying to turn the computer off (she likes the on/off button), and likes to try to chew on the wicker wastebasket next to the computer, so my computer time has become somewhat stilted.


Last Wednesday we went in for her 9 month check up. The doctor gave her rave reviews saying she was very "symmetrical" noting that this was a trait that attractive people have in common. Well duh, I could have told she was attractive! The doctor also noted that she had very good "dexterity" as she grabbed the doctor's pen out her hand and twirled it around before putting it in her mouth! No shots this time, just a toe prick, of which my tough little girl didn't even make a peep for, even as they squeezed it to get a few drops of blood out.

We got the green light to try some new foods like, wheat, dairy and beans. And I got told to stop nursing her that one time she wakes up in the middle of the night. Yea, we'll see how that goes. I'll be taking my friend, Ellen's lead and reading the "Baby Whisperer." And then hopefully working on my practice of patience. It's so easy to nurse her back to sleep right now, they whole process takes about 15 minutes and then we all get back to sleep. From what I've heard, breaking this habit is going to tougher and take a lot longer then 15 minutes in the middle of the night. Not looking forward to it.

So her 9 month stats:

weight: 16 lbs. 11 oz. - 24 %tile- they're not concerned with this though since she's got a good growth curve.

height: 27 1/2 " - 51 %tile

head circumference: 46 cm - 90 %tile


She goes back for the next check at 1 year! Wow! That's weird to say!



Later that same afternoon we headed up to the yoga studio to practice, which I "try" to do about 3 times a week with her. "Try" being the operative word these days, now that she is more mobile. Her favorite thing to do is crawl over to the remote and eat it. So I just take a battery out and let her go to town. Easier then fighting her throughout my entire practice. She also likes to chew on the yoga mat. My friend Leslie came up early to teach her class and took some pictures of us.