9 months

Sweet girl,

We went into this month thinking it might be the one that you slow down a bit and savour the new skills you’ve developed, but instead you seem to have jumped ahead in leaps and bounds.  Can’t you slow down just a little bit?  Mama is having a hard time keeping up with the fact that her baby is changing into a toddler!

What have you been up to this month?  Well beyond starting to show us your mischievous side, you’ve officially muttered a Mama, hi, a Dada or two and most recently, seem to have figured out when it’s appropriate to say buh bye.  You’re still a little shy and distracted when people are waving in your face, but you shine when you’re beaming and chatting with yourself in the mirror!  You so impressed the ladies in the nursery at church with your words, asking for Mama while I’m gone, break my heart!

This month we saw the first inklings of some making strange as your new teeth have put you in a bit of a sucky mood at times.  Anytime you are hurting or tired you just want to be in your mama’s arms and I won’t complain at all!

Your diet recently has begun to take on more of a pattern, with fruits, toast and yogurt making up breakfasts; cheese, meat and veggies for lunch; and the same with fruit for dinner.  We simply hand you big chunks that you bite off and chew up on your own, or we break it into little pieces on your tray to help you work on your pincer grasp (which you’re stellar at by the way).  The only things you eat off a spoon these days are applesauce and yogurt, and the occasional bowl of soup.  Anytime you see us with a plate of our own, you make sure you’re right there so you can try and snatch whatever is in sight.  You drink your water from a cup or through a straw, and lately you take a couple sips from the cup then try and stick your hand in there to play.  Always a silly girl.

On the crawling/walking front, you’re still trying to pull yourself up on everything but still back wriggle or army crawl for what you want.  We’re enjoying your recent love of stepping around while holding loosely to our fingers, and watching you learn to balance yourself and adjust your stance for what you want to get at more and more each day.  The other day I went in when you woke up from a nap and was surprised by this smiling face standing in your crib!!

On Easter morning you woke up with a new tooth sprouting through on the top (what did I say before about you never letting a holiday pass by without a milestone?!?).  And speaking of Easter, we can’t forget your first visit from the Easter bunny!  You had your basket emptied in about 10 seconds flat, and settled down with Daddy to play on the floor.

We have had such fun with you this month Emily, and are looking forward to the next three as we march together towards your 1st birthday.  You are such a smart, inquisitive girl, and I can see I will have quite a handful in the coming years, but I am looking forward to spending all those moments with you and hope we’ll be able to make it work for me to continue to stay home with you so we don’t miss a thing.

But in the mean time, slow down, ok?  I forget my camera far too often and am scared I’m going to miss documenting a memory with you.

Love,

Mama