You know you're a mom when January is almost over before you write a post about the baby's first Christmas...

It was a whirlwind, to say the least. We had four different Christmases, including our own.

At almost 9 months old, Alexis wasn't all that into everything. She liked the bows and balling up the wrapping paper.

Her favorite toys, if I had to guess, would be shape blocks, a spinning activity center, giraffe ball popper and a ball with a bell in it. Of course, she got lots more stuff that she also plays with. Those are just the ones she gravitates to the most right now.

Christmas Day was interesting. It was the warmest hottest Christmas I can remember, even for the South.

So the cute little outfit my dad got her to wear? Yeah, it didn't get worn other than for her professional pictures. Instead, we dressed her in the most un-Christmas-like outfit ever. AND she still ended up getting really bad heat rash!

The weekend after Christmas, we got to spend time with my husband's brother and his family, including our youngest nephew who is almost exactly two months older than Alexis. It's not the first time they've met, but it is the first time they really interacted with one another!

All in all, it was a good first Christmas and Alexis was happy through most of it.

Now, it's hard to believe that we're a little more than two months from her first birthday! My how this first year has flown! It's been an absolute joy watching Alexis grow and change. At 9 1/2 months old, she's crawling finally and has started pulling up on everything she can reach. She has four teeth - two on top and two on bottom - and is eating a lot of table food. She's gotten a lot more talkative over the past month and is really starting to make those 'd' and 'b' sounds. She loves to blow raspberries and bath time is still a winner in her book. She's really independent and always wants to be in the floor. I have no doubt that she's going to be running around soon! (Time slow down!)

As you guys have probably guessed, we're doing photo sessions throughout the first year of her life, but instead of following a strict 3-month schedule, we decided we would rather hit major events. So instead of waiting until she turned 9 months, we did Christmas pictures. I'm sharing a few of my favorites below. All courtesy of Cherokee Spivey Photography.