Ariya | 10 Months!

Ariya doesn't get much cooler than she is right now. She's at SUCH a fun stage where she's becoming more independent and particular about things but is just so, so HAPPY all the time! She takes a few steps behind walking toys, figured out a straw and crawls at top speed. She spends her days pulling up to standing on everything and walking behind me while holding my legs (she seems to think this is especially fun when I'm trying to cook dinner or use the bathroom.)
 

 
Even after already going through this stage twice before, I'm still amazed how quickly these babies start piecing things together; understanding things that seem like they should be above them and associating real words with things. Every time she greets people with her big 'ol smile and wave and says "Hi!" my heart bursts into a million pieces. Along with "Hi" "Dada" and "Mama", Ariya knows "Dog" and gets VERY excited whenever she sees one, pointing and shouting "Tsh! Tsh! Tsh! Dog!" She also associates pretty much any other furry animal with the word "Dog" right now too :)

When I put Ariya down to sleep for her naps, I place her on her tummy and then watch her pull her feet up underneath herself and snuggle in. It's her current favorite sleeping position and the cutest thing ever.

Ariya rocked her first Purdue baseball game! (a first for all of us, which it ended up being sort of a fail because all Ariya wanted to do was crawl around a crowded hill full of people and eat discarded popcorn and garbage off the ground, so we only ended up staying about 4 innings. It was fun while it lasted though!) :)

Ariya raiding the fridge, eating lasagna (one of her most favorites!) and her and I twinning in our cheeks :)

Getting dirty and making messes is Ariya's favorite pastime and watching her in her element is so sweet I usually just let her enjoy those those messy moments, even though it means much more clean-up for me later. She is the third child after all :) Her clothes have all been brand new for her and she still doesn't own a single pair of pants that don't have stained knees. :) 

Avery and Cullen continue to adore Ariya to pieces. They are the always watching out for her and playing little games with her and she just eats it all up. She is just loved to pieces over here!

Well, the honeymoon has ended when it comes to ease-of-photo-taking. Gone are the blissful days of plopping her down and talking to her while she beams up into the camera at any moment of the day. Now it's more of a 15 second photo shoot, 11 seconds of which are spent wrangling her back and smoothing the backdrop. Thank goodness she's as happy as she is for those 4 good seconds of face time :)