9 month letter

My Promise,

9 months! You have been SOOO busy this month!  I meant to write to you mid-month so that I could keep up with all the things you are learning and doing - but I was too busy trying to keep up with you!  You are on the move these days! Always!  You have completely mastered crawling and the belly crawl is a thing of the past.  You are on all fours and moving fast... usually toward something you can pull up on.  Because, lets face it, sitting is SO last month!  Standing is much more exciting. And more grown up! You are also taking steps along the furniture.  And you are very proud of yourself when you do. And of course I am proud of you too, but I'm not quite ready for you to be a walker. I would seriously appreciate it if you would crawl for a few more months.  Give me some time to catch up!

Good Morning, Beautiful

You are also climbing a lot!  You are still short, so it is hard for you to get your leg up on tall things, but you try with all your might.  After meals I let you climb back upstairs by yourself - 16 steps! - and you love it.  You don't, however, understand the concept of going down stairs and tend to just dive off head first.  Fortunately for you, I never let you out of arms reach when we're near the stairs!

Look what I can do!

The standing thing definitely poses some problems - you bump your head far more often than I would like.  You've only had one fall that left a bruise, and it was a good bruise, from hitting your head on a kitchen chair.  It was one of those that hurt so bad you couldn't even cry at first, and when you did... whoa.  I almost cried too!  But, you are a tough kid - you generally don't even react to your falls and bumps.  You just pick up where you left off and keep on trying.  You are persistent and not easily deterred from your goals.  You have great problem solving skills too.  For example, yesterday you were trying to crawl out to the back porch, but the door track hurt your knees.  So you maneuvered up close to the track and pushed up onto your feet and worked your way out the door without touching the track.  I wish I had moments like that on video.

You are eating great.  You are down to nursing only 4 times a day now.  We just dropped the half feeding last week, and you're doing great with that. You are all about food these days.  You definitely have your likes and dislikes, but you will try anything I put in front of you and you are eating much larger portions now. Favorites are still hummus, greek yogurt, avocado, plums, peaches, bananas, sweet potatoes, and blueberries.  You like meat more than you used to, but you don't seem to like pears anymore. No idea why.  You also love cheerios - but I try to keep those to a minimum.  Our only problem with meal time is that you hate to be wiped off.  You let me wipe your hands, but not your face.  You cry and push my hands away and move your head from side to side. Right now I am in the process of teaching you to put your hands in your lap.  You are also not the least bit interested in your sippy cup anymore.  Everytime I offer it to you, you drop it in the floor.  We might try a different kind and see if that helps.

You are doing really well with sign language!  Which is so cute!  You sign "more" very well and get more emphatic with it the longer it takes me to respond.  You also do a good job with "all done" and often sign that you are all done with activities other than eating.  Now we are working on "please" for toys, paci, etc.  and "thank you" - good manners are important! You are always a little resistant at first, but seem to catch on quickly!  You will also "give me five" - its not a sign, but it's stinking cute!

Mom, quit taking pictures so we can go swimming!

At the beginning of the month you started waving "bye bye".  Which is adorable!  A couple weeks ago you started saying whispering bye bye - except it comes out more like "buh buh".  Then, after you said it every time we asked for about a week - you quit saying it!  You tend to do that anytime you master a new trick. Haha.  You are also saying "mama" fairly regularly, but never by request.  Mostly when you want to be rescued from something.  It is usually a frantic request "MA MA MA MA." You sometimes try to say "more" when you sign.  Right now it comes out "muuuh!".  And my favorite - banana!  which comes out "na na na" with 3 perfect syllables.  I love how hard you are working at expressing yourself.  What's so funny though, is that you are usually very quiet.  You babble some, but generally not unless you have something you're trying to express.  You laugh a lot though, which is the most beautiful sound in the world!  Seriously, I can't get enough of that laugh!

Nothing better than a good stick

Playtime if full of laughter!  What could make a mother's heart fuller?  You love horseplay/physical play.  You like to be tossed in the air, fly on my knees (I'm too nervous to try it on my feet yet), being chased, and being tickled.  You play with toys some, but are more concerned with either finding a way to stand up or getting your hands on something you shouldn't (cell phones, remote controls, Mommy's water, power cords - you are obsessed with power cords!, etc).  That means most of your play time I just follow you around to make sure you're safe. I love that you're a mover!  I love that you are adventurous and curious and can't wait to see where that spirit takes you. Independent Play has been rough this month.  You learned to stand up in your PNP but since the sides are mesh you were pretty unstable at first.  The result:  You falling on the toys you weren't playing with anyway and getting hurt.  This lasted about a week.  Now that you have mastered  standing in that thing, it's old news and you've gone back to playing with your toys.  Most days, if we are on schedule, you spend about 30 minutes in Independent Play.

We read a lot these days.  We have cut down on reading time where you play while I read because you are into everything.  This will be better when we move this month because our new home will be set up much safer for you.  But you really enjoy reading books together right now.  You LOVE Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? You love it so much that you cry when I say "the end."  Which is enough to get me to read it again!  We usually read 3 books before your naps and then read anytime you show interest throughout the day. It is one of the few things you sit still for. Other favorites right now are The Very Hungry Caterpillar and  Good Night Moon.

Trying to bribe the cats to play with you

You're sleeping pretty well these days.  For most of the month you woke up at 5:30am!  But, we changed your schedule this week to drop the 3rd nap, and that has made a difference for morning sleep.  Your naps are both around 1.5 hours (sometimes less), but I keep hoping you will stretch those out a little bit.  You had gotten better about just hanging out in your crib until it is time to get up... until you started standing in your crib.  The past couple of days you stand up, drop your paci on the floor, and then scream "MA MA MA MA" until I come.  I'm hoping you get over that phase quickly for both our sakes!  You started sleeping with your bear and your new lovey in your crib this month.  I was nervous that these might distract you from sleeping, but they haven't caused any problems and you seem to like them there. The only real problem with your naps is that you wake up to poop.  And then can't go back to sleep.


Speaking of poop - you pooped on the potty 3 times this month!  We're not really potty training yet, but you do have a baby potty.  So, when you make your "poop face" I sit you on it and we read a book or 2. You usually love it. So cute!  (Yes, only your mom will ever think that you pooping is cute!)

Brushing those pearly whites

You like bath time, but you want to stand in the bath tub... as you want to stand every where else.  It has been a little bit of a struggle to teach you to sit down, but you're getting it.  We got a set of foam letters and numbers this month and they are a big hit!  You don't want them on the wall and we can spend 10 minutes of me putting them on the wall and you taking them off.

One of your current obsessions/fascinations is kitchen appliances.  You race to the refrigerator every time someone opens the door. It is so funny to see you standing there looking like you're picking out what to eat.  The dishwasher is a close second - you like to stand at the side and try to pick up dishes.  I try to keep that from happening!  Another favorite it pulling the light chain on your ceiling fan.  Anytime we walk into your room you start reaching for it and are so proud of yourself for making the lights go off!  The resulting smile is one of the highlights of my day.

Helping Mommy cook dinner

You are starting to enjoy snuggling more again.  After you nurse in the morning you will usually sit and snuggle with me for a couple of minutes.  You like to have your back and hair rubbed.  If I am not rubbing your head you sometimes reach up and pull at your hair.  I love it.  Occasionally while you are playing you will reach up and rub my face, or if I am laying down you will lunge at me and give me a kiss.  I love you so much! And I love to see you show love!

You love Daddy too!  In the mornings after you have your milk we go wake Daddy up.  You get so excited as we get close to the door and you help push the door open. Then when he wakes up and smiles at you, it makes your day.  He has been working long hours a lot this month and doesn't get home before your bedtime a lot of nights.  I think it has been hard for you because it takes you a while to get used to him again on the weekends.  You get excited to play with him, but you want me in arms reach for the first day. I think that will get better when we move and he is home for dinner most nights.

Exploring the front yard

Everything about you makes me smile.  God has blessed us tremendously by making a way for me to stay home with you and I am so grateful!  Every day with you is a good day.  You are sweet and playful. And you have a great sense of humor and you love to make us laugh.  You make me happy when skies are grey.  I am loving watching you learn and grow - it is amazing to see how quickly you learn new things.  I love sharing meals with  you.  I love holding you.  I love reading with you and playing with you.  I love you!  With all my heart!  Happy 9 months my baby!

Love,

Mommy