Nine Months!!

Charla, you are NINE months old!!

Here's what's new with you this month:

You weight 14 pounds and are 26 1/2 inches long.

You wear a size 2 diaper but we've started putting you in a size 3 at night. I didn't think the size 3 would fit you but they do!

You wear 3-6, 6-9, and 6-12 month clothes depending on the brand. The 3-6 months are starting to get a little small and you're finally filling out the 6-12 month clothes better.

You are so mobile! You are fast when you crawl and you are constantly pulling up to standing. You seem to move from one standing location to another - from the chairs in the kitchen to the coffee table to the fireplace hearth. If you can use it to stand up, you do!

You have recently discovered the cabinets in the kitchen and you love to explore what is in them. This last week you entertained yourself this way while I put together our dinner. One evening you played in the basket of kitchen utensils for a half an hour!! Maybe you'll grow up to be a great cook...

You're eating better these days. This last month we added pumpkin, yogurt, and green beans to your diet. You really love the yogurt!! You also love your puffs and you're starting to feed them to yourself instead of always waiting for me or Dad to feed you one.

You said your first word and it is Mama!! Usually it comes out as ma ma ma but I'm counting it! I try and get you to say it all the time because I love hearing it so, so much.

You seem to be requiring less sleep. You go to bed between 10:00 and 11:00pm and get up between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning. You still take 2-3 naps a day and most days it's three. Your last nap is in the evening (somewhere between 6 and 7 pm) but if we try and get you to skip it, you just wake up 30 minutes after we've put you to bed thinking THAT was your nap. So we've given in and just enjoy some quiet time together as a family since you usually take this nap in the living room.

You had your first illness this month and it was a stomach bug - yuck!! I had it first so I wasn't too surprised a few days later when I discovered you'd been sick in the night. It didn't last much more than 24 hours, thankfully!

You love story time and I hope this is the beginning of a life-long love of books! When we sit down to read (especially before your nap because you can anticipate what's coming) you breathe faster and make a little high pitched happy noise while I get the book. Once I put it in front of you, you turn and look at me with the sweetest smile. I just love that look and I love that you are liking books. You'll often look at one on your own when you're playing on the floor in the living room.

I can't believe you have been with us as long as I was pregnant with you! In some ways it seems longer than that and in other ways it seems much shorter. You continue to amaze, delight, and keep us on our toes!

Can't wait to see what this next month brings baby girl!