To My Sweet 9 Month Old Baby Girl

Sweet Pea,

This month marks the month that you have now spent the same amount of time in the real world as you did growing inside of me!  Crazy thought!

This month you consistently will clap for yourself or other people, give high fives to those around you, and do other silly things to get a reaction from people.  You love to make people laugh and you adore any kind of attention you can get.

You crawl crazy fast now, and everything has to go right in your mouth while you are exploring the world.  One night Daddy was playing tennis with his friend, Wyatt, and you snuck a leaf in your mouth without my seeing.  I didn't know it was even in there until you started coughing and gagging on it, and I was able to get it out of your mouth.  It was kind of scary for me, and I've had to watch you a lot more carefully now to make sure you are kept safe.

Your hair is finally long enough for me to put two piggies on the top of your head.  You definitely look like your nickname now--Bug.  They are so cute, I melt a little every time I see you with them.

You cut FOUR teeth this month, bringing your grand total up to six little teeth in that cute mouth of yours.  You, my little bug, were a monster while you cut all of those teeth, and you did not want to take naps.  When I would lay you in your crib, you would just stand up to the side and cry and scream and not nap at all.  You were also running a fever and had a runny nose and were so sad with all those teeth coming through, so I spent a lot of time snuggling you and trying to help you feel better.

Your daddy and I celebrated our third anniversary this month, and we decided to take a family day-cation up to the zoo. You really enjoyed yourself and loved having so many different things to look at.

We celebrated our first Strawberry Days with you this year as well.  That week we were also babysitting my cousin's three little boys, and they got to celebrate with us.  We went to the carnival, the parade, Huck Finn Days, and entered you in the baby contest.  It was a fun week, and you loved having those boys to play with too.  You actually love all little kids in general, and love being around them and trying to copy them. Are you sure you were supposed to be an oldest child?

Other favorites this month were going to Seven Peaks a lot--your favorite is the wave pool, and visiting Thanksgiving Point Gardens--you still love going for walks and being outside, and you love playing with your cousins.  You are growing up so fast!

Sadiebug, you are precious.  You are sweet, you are kind, you are so important, and I love you so much.
Thank you for being my very own,
Love,
Mommy

To My Sweet 8 Month Baby Girl...

Sweetheart,

This month was such a fun month with you!

At the beginning of the month, your Aunt Rilee left for her mission.  It's a weird concept to think that while she will be gone you will change SO much and SO quickly. We've promised to keep her very up to date with letters and pictures, and she has loved hearing about you.

One of your favorite things you figured out this month was how to pull yourself up to standing next to objects. You love grabbing onto the handle on the drawer of your dresser and standing up next to it.  One day when I was trying to lay you down for your nap, you pulled yourself up to the side of the crib and stood there giggling at me.  You were in a very silly mood, and every time we would make eye contact, you would get a new wave of giggles started.  I even got out the camera and took a video of you, and whenever I watch it, I can't help but get the giggles myself.  Your happiness is so contagious!

Another silly thing you have been doing is you will crawl up to something like a wall or a doorway or the leg of a table and head butt it by rocking back and forth, and while you bonk it with your head, you will do this cute little snorting sound.  After a while of this, you will sit back and clap for yourself.  Speaking of clapping, you are doing that all the time now, and you love having people clap for you too, you get so excited and will clap back.

For a couple days in a row, you would tuck your toes into the bottom of your pant legs so you would be standing on them, and then crawl right out of them.  I could not keep your pants on you to save my life!  I guess that trick got boring because you lost interest in your trick by the end of the week, and started keeping your pants on again.

You love taking walks, and me and my friend Katie will take you and her son, Coleman, out to walk around at different parks.  You are loving the warmer weather, and love being outside.

We took your first major vacation this month.  Uncle Phil, Aunt Jenny, and our family all went to San Diego together for a week, and we had so much fun!  The first day we went to Sea World, and your favorite thing that you got the most excited about were watching the puffins, falling asleep with your sun hat over your face during the dolphin show, and having so many people pay attention to you.  We had so many people stop us and tell us we had one of the cutest babies we had ever seen, and we can't blame them, you are hands down the cutest baby we have ever seen too.

We took you swimming at our condo for the first time.  I was afraid you would be scared while you were in the water, but you were so happy and kept kicking your little legs and squealing.  We were hoping you wouldn't mind the ocean the next day when we took you to the beach, but we were wrong!  When we put you in the water, you cried because you thought it was too cold!  However, the beach was not a total bust, because you loved eating the sand by the handfuls (you had the weirdest diapers for the next few days), and crawling over to strangers and smiling at them.

Our last day we took you to the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier that they turned into a museum.  You loved being carried around and looking at the displays.  There were some old men that worked at the museum, and they thought you were so cute, they gave you your own wing pin to wear, which was so cute.  That night we went to Old Town to visit the Mormon Battalion museum, and then went to dinner.  It was colder that evening so we visited some shops to try and find hoodies to wear.  Phil already had his hoodie with him, and he was worried about you getting cold, so he took you and cuddled you inside his hoodie to keep you warm.  After a long week of fun, and after getting all cuddly and warm, you fell right asleep in his arms, and it completely melted his heart.  Right now Uncle Phil and Aunt Jenny are trying to adopt a baby, and getting to play with you for an entire week had them all wrapped around your little chubby baby fingers.  They love you so much, you are lucky to have them in your life.

Sweetie, so many people love you, and you are a blessed little girl, and don't you forget it!
Of course, no body could ever love you more than your daddy or me!
Love,
Mommy

Sister Rilee Belnap

After 7 years of trying to get pregnant, my parents adopted me as a newborn.  8 months later, my mom got very sick.  After going to the doctors, she found out she was pregnant, and when I was 17 months old, my little sister, Rilee, was born.  Although we were very close in age, we couldn't have been more different people.  In fact, we purposely chose interests that would make us basically polar opposites.  I loved dance, so she chose sports.  She loved Harry Potter books, so I refused to read them.  When we were little I had short hair, and she had long hair, and as we got older, I grew my hair out, and she kept hers bobbed.  I'm outgoing, and she is as shy and quiet as can be.  We are so different, but I love this girl.

This girl is always thinking of others.  She serves others without a second thought.  She gives everything to those she loves. She is so calming.  She is a wonderful listener.  She is funny and cheerful.  She is tender hearted and one of the sweetest people I have ever known.

Right after the new year she received her mission call to Kobe, Japan.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  Rilee has been studying Japanese all through college, and she has already fallen in love with everything culturally that she has come across.  When she opened her call, she burst into tears because the call was a complete dream come true for her. 

Yesterday she started that dream.  For 18 months, this great girl is going to be serving the people of Japan.  Before she entered the MTC we went out to lunch and she told me "I only have one goal today, and that's to make new friends."  I haven't heard from her yet, but I'm sure she did just that, and will continue to do so for the remainder of her mission.  I miss her, and I'm sad that I can't talk to her whenever I want to, but I am more excited for her than anything.  I know this is where she is supposed to be, and I know she will grow so much from this experience.  I am so looking forward to hearing from her and learning about her first few days, her companion, and how everything is going.

  This little girl will be just over two years old when her auntie comes home.

We'll be sure to send Rilee lots of pictures and updates, and we'll also show Sadie pictures of Rilee so hopefully she will know who she is when she comes home.

Here are all of the Belnap sisters.  

Rilee, Me, Emily, and Dawniel

I am so blessed to have so many sisters, I hope Sadie has a few sisters of her own someday.  

I love mine so much my heart could just burst.

Ready or not, here she goes.  This picture makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. She looks so timid and unsure that I want to just jump in there and protect her, but at the same time, I love that she is not looking back.  Even though she is scared, she is facing forward, ready to tackle her fears head on and get out there!  I admire her so much!

Quarter of a Century+Cutest Baby Ever

This post is very, very, very late, but about six weeks ago (I told you it was late), Logan turned 25.  He is such a great husband and daddy, so Sadie and I wanted to do a little unexpected something to surprise him. The day before his birthday, we snuck into Smith Drug (where he works) and bought 25 balloons.  Then we came home and blew them all up and hid them in our land lord's house.  After a long day of work and studying and playing with Sadie, Logan luckily fell asleep pretty early.  I was able to sneak the balloons into the bathroom without him knowing, and then I left him a little note on the mirror.  Totally cheesy, but it says "Congratulations you had enough common 'cents' to survive to your 25th birthday!  Happy birthday!  Love, Your Wife" and stuck 25 pennies to the mirror for him to find.  The next morning he was quite surprised to find not only the decorated mirror, but the shower full of balloons as well.  He had to work most of his birthday, but that week was spring break, so we made sure to get out and play together as much as possible. 

In other news....

Here are some darling pictures of the cutest baby ever.

 When our tub is not being filled with 25 balloons, it is usually being used to bathe this little beauty (and okay, fine, shower her not as darling parents).  She loves her baths, and she especially loves her little rubber duckie that Grandpa Mark and Grandma Angie (my birthdad and his wife) gave her.

 My friend Shannon made this darling little hair clip for Sadie Lady.  I love the little feathers on it!  Her daddy's nickname is "Bird," so these little feathers make her look like my "Little Bird."

 We are starting her on solids.  She hated them at the beginning mostly, and would fight me on them every time I would try and feed her.  This was what she looked like at the end of every feeding.  Lucky for her, after every meal she would get a bath (see above); lucky for me, she is getting more used to the idea of eating solids, and more of it is getting into her mouth.

And last but not least, we are busy brainwashing this little girl into thinking that tennis is the coolest sport ever.  We're hoping she takes after he daddy and has an amazing ability and love for the sport hidden in her little body.  College scholarships, anyone?  (We are fans of free education!!)

To My Sweet 7 Month Old Baby Girl

Munchkin,

This month you have been busy!!

For a few days you were super cranky, cried at the littlest things, and had the snottiest nose ever, and then last week you had two teeth pop through.  First the bottom left, then the bottom right.  You are always feeling them with your tongue, lips, fingers, and gums.  You love to say the sound "Bah!" because I think you can feel your teeth when you do.  You have been extra drooley since the teeth came through, but now you are as happy as can be again.  It's exciting, strange, and a little sad to see little teeth in your mouth when you smile at me.  It's so fun to see you growing up, but everything is going by so quickly that I find myself clinging on to everything I can, trying to hold onto my little baby, because before I know it, you will be a toddler.

You figured out crawling this month, and my goodness you keep me running after you.  You have a mischievous streak that is coming through now that you can move yourself around.  When I take showers in the morning, if you are awake I will pull you out of your crib and surround you with toys to play with while I'm gone.  Last week while I was in the shower I could hear you babbling to yourself, but then you got really quiet.  I was almost done with my shower when I heard you again, but you sounded a lot closer.  You had crawled out of your room, down the hall, and then sat in the doorway of the bathroom.  You babbled into the room as if to ask "Hey, Mom!  Are you in this room?"  I peeked out of the shower and said hi to you, and you just crawled across the room to the tub like it was no big deal.  That day you really did just wake up and decide "I'm sick of just sitting here, I will crawl today."

Now that you are crawling, nothing is safe.  You are moving faster and faster every time you try to crawl, and you want to explore and put everything in your mouth.  You love to crawl around my feet as I am cooking dinner in the kitchen, and you remind me of a little puppy. You also are starting to pull yourself up onto things, which means I'm sure you'll be bonking your head a lot more this month (you gotta learn somehow, I suppose, but I wish I could protect you from everything).

You are learning that things exist even if you can't see them.  You love playing peek a boo with me, it always makes you laugh.  You also love to drop things off of the edge of the couch or bed and then lean over to try and find it again, when you do see it, you get so excited and kick your legs and do this "excited face" where you scrunch up your nose, pucker your lips out, and breath really fast (it's adorable).  You don't understand that you could fall off and hurt yourself, though, so we have to watch you closely.

We are finally diligently starting you on solids now.  You hated them at first, but after a week of "practice" you are now opening your mouth to take a few bites before you start clenching your little gums together.  You really liked peas, you LOVED bananas, you hated the chicken puree we gave you last night (but honestly, it seems funky to me anyway), carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes are okay in your opinion, maybe you will like them more as you eat them more.  You would much rather have smaller chunks of food we are eating, so I will often give you tiny pieces of bread, or squish up some veggies we are having for dinner that night, and you love that.

You are such a happy baby, and I love being your mommy.  I am so blessed to be able to hang out with you all day every day.  Daddy just finished school this week, so he will have a lot more time this summer to play with you, and he is so excited!  This summer will be our funnest summer yet!

Until next month,
Love,
Mommy

To My Sweet 6 Month Old Baby Girl

Smiley Sadie,

This month you are go-go-go.

One morning you woke up and you decided "I think I'll sit up today," and then you were just sitting.  You are pretty darn steady too, you've hardly ever fallen over, and even when you do you have never cried.  Your favorite thing to do is to sit in front of a pile of toys and pick each one up, cover it with slobbers, and then put it down.  You look like such a big girl sitting up, I had a few moments where I panicked that you are growing up too fast.  I have to keep reminding myself that you are getting more and more fun the older you get, and that it is okay, great even, that you are learning new "big girl" things.

You love to be on your hands and knees now.  You do something we call "rocky-rocky" where you rock back and forth from your head to your bum.  I laugh at this because I spent a lot of time at college studying the fundamentals of movement, and how babies all start moving, and you are taking the exact steps in movement I learned, and you are fantastic at them.  It is so cute because I think you can even understand me, because you will be on your hands and knees just looking at me and I'll say "Hey Sweetie, could you show me your rocky-rocky?" and you just take off, rocking away, only to stop and look up at me and smile as if to say "Hey Mom, look, I'm doing it!"  You also love to get your feet up underneath you and do something that looks a lot like the yoga pose "downward dog."  You can get up and down from that, but you can't figure out how to move your arms too.  I can tell that you are so incredibly close to crawling.  I'm waiting for that morning that you just wake up and decide to do it, and then there will be no stopping you, you will be crawling everywhere.

You are a determined little girl.  If you want something, you will figure out a way to get it.  If it is a toy just out of reach, you will scooch, roll, and reach your way over there to get it, and you are so proud of yourself when you accomplish your goal.  Hang on to that quality, sweet girl.  Set good goals, and don't be afraid to work for them.

You have become extra wiggly this month.  You usually think it's pretty annoying to be held in my lap anymore, but you love to be sitting next to me.  If I try to hold you, you will just squirm and twist around until I put you down.  However, you hate being by yourself.  If you can see me in the same room as you, you are fine, but if you see me walk away from you, you panic and start to fuss.

Braxton is your favorite cousin right now.  He can make you laugh better than anyone in the family, including your daddy or me.  You think he is absolutely hilarious, and he loves that you give him so much attention.  You usually see him a few times a week, and I love watching him play with you.

We have been working on baby signs with you for a few months, and this morning you may or may not have showed me your first sign back.  You were laying on my bed and I looked at you and you reached out your hand and squeezed it shut like the sign for "milk."  When I asked if you wanted milk, doing the sign back, you got very excited.  I don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but I like to think that maybe you are picking it up and beginning to understand.

A funny little trait you have picked up this month is you are always sticking your little tongue out, especially if you are concentrating on something, just like your daddy.  I think you are so dang cute like this, and can't get enough of watching you do it.  You also love to pat your hands on things...your knee, the floor, your toys, me, whatever is near you.  It's like you're saying "Hey, I like this thing right here."

You love your baths so much! You could lay and sit in the water for an hour and be happy to just splash around.  We should probably get you some bath toys, huh?  You love getting me wet with your splashes.  You will kick the water and splash me in the face and then laugh and laugh.

You are keeping me on my toes, little one.  I can't believe I ever survived without you in my life.  You are the best thing that has ever happened to our family, and I am so glad I get to be your mommy.  Thanks for choosing us for your family!
I love you,
Mommy

To My Sweet 5 Month Old Baby Girl

Sweet Girl,

This month was a month of lots of fun with you. Some of my favorite highlights of this month have been:

• Taking you on your first road trip to Flaming Gorge.  You loved Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Flinders so much.  You loved sitting on their laps and talking to them.  They are almost completely deaf, so I'm not sure if they heard you, but they loved singing you songs and talking to you and just enjoying your sweet company.
• Watching you became a professional roller.  I used to leave you on the bed to do quick things, like take a shower, or load the dishwasher, or switch over a load of laundry.  You used to only roll once, and then stop, but after I ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and came back to find you right on the edge of the bed, we had to stop doing that.  
• You sat in your first high chair at "Dairy Keen" in Heber.  You are so tiny that we had to shove a sweatshirt behind you to keep you from slipping all over the place, but you thought you were pretty dang cool sitting up with all the adults.
• You love to hang upside down and look around the room. You will lean back in our laps until you are looking upside down and then laugh and laugh.
• You also are starting to recognize when Daddy is coming in from school.  You hear the front door open and close and then start looking around, kicking your legs with excitement, for Daddy.  You love him so much, and I love watching you two together.
• You LOVE blowing spit bubbles.  You are constantly a drooly, wet mess because of your constant bubble blowing.  
• You have also discovered your voice this month.  While you are sitting in your bouncer in the kitchen while I cook dinner, you will chatter away at me the entire time.  I can't stop laughing at you, and you think it's pretty great to be getting attention, so you keep talking my ear off.
• You love to be naked, so every morning I will take off your jammies and change your diaper, but then I will bring you into our room and let you lay on our bed and wiggle around for a few minutes before getting you dressed.  You are all smiles during your morning "nakey time" and I love giggling at you.

You are such a content baby, and I love being your mommy.  It takes a lot for you to cry, and you are usually all smiles and giggles while you are awake.  I love you so much I can hardly stand it!

Love,

Mommy