Kansas City's Union Station & Magnolia At Ten Months

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I'm at the kitchen table, drinking my first of several cups of coffee, we've got Willie Nelson's Holiday station on Pandora. Magnolia is at the sliding doors, saying "dog" over & over again in her flannel Christmas jammies. Ten months ago on this day, Ryan and I were checked into the hospital. I was in my hospital gown breathing through each contraction as we waited for the most beautiful moment of our lives. Meeting our baby girl. This morning I sang her Happy Birthday, just as practice for her party in a few months 😉. I think I need the practice more than her. I need to work on keeping my eyes dry!

Yesterday, we kicked off her first December with a trip to Kansas City's Union Station. We showed her the biggest indoor Christmas tree in KC while a piano recital was taking place in the Grand Hall. She got to see all the mini train displays and the Holiday Express.

We had lunch at Harvey's where she very happily, and with much laughter, played with the Crayolas on the table. Ohhhh, how I wish Santa could bring her the biggest box of Crayolas this year, but she'd eat them. So we will wait!

Her daddy took her for a ride around on his shoulders so she could look at all the elegant architecture and the huge windows that shined with the brightest winter light.

In honor of her ten months, I want to share TEN things about our girl at this age.

1. After mommy & daddy, dogs are her greatest love. And to our dismay, she is allergic to dogs. Her fur sister Mrs. doesn't want much to do with her & doesn't lick her. My sister's chihuahua loves her equally as much & covers her in kisses. The saliva causes her face to break out in hives and her eyes turn bright red. It worries me that she'll have to stay away from dogs, with all the love she has for them. We're hoping that she'll grow out of it, or it'll be something that can be easily treated. Her favorite movie is Santa Paws II with all the puppies & singing.

2. Music makes her light up! We go to Kindermusik every week & she has already learned so much from all the other babes. She is definitely the talker in the group & will crawl her way to the center of the circle and tell everyone what she thinks! In the car she usually falls asleep without issue, if it's past her bedtime and she's screaming with frustration, we can turn on the Moana soundtrack or a CD from her Kindermusik class and it's like a light switch. She'll stop crying and start clapping her hands. Her favorite song is Thunder by Imagine Dragon. She also tends to like women country singers! Her grandma & grandpa got her a baby grand piano for Christmas and I cannot wait to see her play on it.

3. She can stand up now! Once she figured out how to pull up to stand she's been determined to be on her feet as much as possible.

4. When we laugh she laughs. It doesn't matter what is going on, when she hears others laugh she'll join in. Many times when she is doing this she'll squint her little eyes and wrinkle up her nose. Well, the eye squint thing & wrinkled up nose, has turned into a form of communication. We've been trying to figure out what emotions she's expressing when she does it, and I do believe she does it now as a form of affection and when she's excited. It's adorable and heart melting and a "Magnolia Thing!" I've almost caught a photo of it and I'll continue to try.

5. Bath time with daddy is always way more fun. He plays Christmas music & very much encourages splashing water all over the bathroom. What I find the most adorable is that her splash is the softest, gentlest splash you can ever imagine & she thinks its the funniest thing in the whole world. She such a little lady.

6. I never realized I did this until she started to do it back to me. When I pick her up, I rub & pat her back. Now when I pick her up she pats me on the back. Seriously, this baby girl is straight from Heaven.

7. Her smile! She's got six teeth with more on the way. Her lateral incisors (YES, I had to Google that) are crooked and when she smiles really big they catch on her lips and we think it's the cutest. I'm giggling inside as I type this and imagine her baby smile. We already have a savings account specifically for her braces (I'm kidding, but we should!).

8. I think I've shared this before, but this girl can shop for hours! At Target she sits sideways in the grocery cart & of course I have to watch her like a hawk because strapping her in is not an option. She'll ride around like a little princess batting her eyes at every single person that stops to say "hello" and to tell her how cute she is. She truly expects everyone to talk to her & if they don't she'll stare and stare and wonder why they haven't engaged with her.

9. On the contrary to the above, she does want everyone to talk to her, however she does NOT want everyone to touch or hold her. If someone tries to hold her before she is ready then she'll scream and let them know about it. She has very wide range of emotions & she is very good at expressing them.

10. We visit with my sister a lot during the week while Ryan is away. She has to patiently wait for her cousin Addy to get home from school. Addy is great about playing with her and keeping her busy for long periods of time. I can tell she looks up to all of her cousins!