Nine Months!!

On Friday, April 25th our Pea was 9 months old...oh how time flies. To think she's been on 'the outside' now as long as she was on 'the inside' is kind of crazy. Luci spent her 9 month birthday with her Grammy and her Great Aunt Debra...and boy did they spoil her! While Clay & I were in Mexico celebrating at our dear friend Erica's wedding (congrats again Er & Michael!) Mom & Debra were showering our baby with fun toys & adorable girly clothes. Apparently Luci was mistaken for a little boy and that was all the incentive they needed to hit the mall for some super cute girly wear!

On April 24th...the morning before we left.
She's just itchin to get her hands on some books...
Looking at her pretty bear this morning...I was trying to get a better front shot...not sure it worked...She was totally ready to nose dive off of the chair...
This one would have been PERFECT...except I was a second too late...


Notes at nine months...
-This baby brings us more joy than we thought possible...we are absolutely, positively, enthralled and in love with our daughter.

-Weight: 19lbs, 10oz (50-75%); Height: 29.5 inches (95th%); Head: 18 inches (90th%)
-She's doing lots of independent standing...even playing with toys while standing.
-She loves to push laundry baskets, boxes, push toys, and her highchair all over the house.
-She cruises on furniture from one piece to another.
-She is really into pinching at the moment, and loves to pull her dad's arm & leg hair.
-She falls down & gets 'hurt' several times a day. Right now she has a bruise on her forehead, her ear, behind her ear, and all up & down her legs. She's a rough & tumble kinda kid.
-Her favorite food, by far, is a Cheerio.
-She's still drinking 6oz of milk 4x/day. She also drinks water from a sippy cup throughout the day, but tends to choke on it or not get enough.
-She can hold her bottle, but tends to not get the angle right...although this morning she had less trouble.
-She is in size 4 pampers, but still needs the sensitive newborn wipes. Until I bought some tougher wipes (designed for babies eating solids...if you catch my drift) her diaper area was the least problematic area of her skin...so we've switched back.
-She seems to have a bit of a reaction to strawberries, so we won't try them again for awhile.
-She eats solids 3x/day; fruit & cereal for breakfast, a veggie for lunch, and some type of 'dinner' combo for dinner. She also eats Cheerios anytime we will let her.
-Grammy swears she shook her head no the other night when asked if she was ready to get out of the bathtub.
-She may have shook her head yes this morning when I asked her if she wanted more Cheerios...I'm not sure yet...have to see it repeated to be confident with this new head shaking ability...

-She is big on putting her thumbs together & looking at them (think itsy bitsy spider)
-She gives these huge, slobbery open mouth kisses to her favorite people...

An interesting note on me as a mom of 9 months...I've started to use baby tones, words & phrases with adults...and it doesn't occur to me that it is inappropriate until it is out my mouth...examples include:
-saying 'yaaaayyyy' to my boss & friends when we get some good news
-calling things 'silly' when they disappoint or hurt to lessen the impact...this weekend we were lamenting the luck of the Cubs...to which I replied...'silly Cubs'
-or a non-verbal example...I tried to take the hand of a 2 year old this weekend in Mexico even though I didn't really know her (she was with the wedding group though)...because it seemed that she was looking for a hand to hold...

-Clay LOVES to dance with his Pea...and he already lamenting the day when Luci won't want to dance with him
-and both Clay & I look at kids when we are without our Luci with love now...and pity their parents during meltdowns instead of giving them that look of 'control your child'....