"The dart" (as my students called her last year) turned 9 months old on Sunday. It's difficult to believe that a year ago, we didn't even know her. We were a family of two (and a half). Now I can't imagine what I did to fill my time when I didn't have a baby.
At nine months, this little peanut is bursting with personality and opinions. (I am not sure where that came from. It must be a recessive gene.) She is very interested in everything. Everything, that is, except crawling. She wants to go, but she wants it to be on two legs. About two weeks ago, we started standing her beside the furniture. She loved it, but the first day, she was very teetery and unsteady. By the next day, she was starting to get the hang of it, and by the end of that week, she was moving herself around the furniture. ("cruising" is the official name for it.) It feels like we are watching her grow, learn and change before our eyes.
She is moving around the furniture a great deal these days, and really likes to walk holding onto our fingers. She is also beginning to stand in the middle of the room without falling for several seconds at a time. Since she doesn't crawl yet, she doesn't know what do when she starts to fall. So she will try to catch her balance for a little, but then once she loses it, she does the "trust fall" and makes her body stiff and just lets it go. Most of the time we catch her, and then she laughs. One of my favorite aspects of the standing and moving is how enormously pleased with herself she is when she does something new. She makes sounds and smiles and wants us to be looking at her.
Lots of chatter fills our house (and no, I am not talking about myself.) She makes lots of sounds and definitely is beginning to express herself, but none of the sounds seem to be intentional at this point, despite my best efforts. She does look for Chad if I ask, "Where's Daddy?" But she doesn't look for me when he says, "Where's Mommy?" Go figure.
Her "opinionatedness" is evident as she spews unwanted food from her mouth showering all nearby surfaces. She also can become somewhat impatient if food doesn't arrive in a timely fashion. I often pacify her with cheerios which she can devour in large amounts.
This girl loves to be outside and spend time at the park. At this point, she doesn't seem to have a lot of fear. Being thrown in the air or swinging high produce laughter. She likes to ride in the backpack while Chad and I take walks. Kids and animals are a huge fascination.
Despite false advertising in previous posts, sleep continues to be unpredictable. I look forward to the day that it is more consistent.
Still no teeth. But her huge open-mouth smile is irresistible.
A nine-month old blessing.
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