Nine Months

Baby girl, you have now basically been growing outside me as long as you were inside me. How awesome is that?

Likes:

• Bananas, yogurt, many other foods
• Watching videos of herself
• Being tickled (thighs, armpits)
• Standing, dancing, bouncing
• The prisms in the window
• Knocking over towers of blocks
• Opening cabinets and pulling things out

Dislikes:

• The vacuum (SO MUCH!)
• Watching Mommy walk away from her
• Lying still to get dressed or have her diaper changed 

Accomplishments and adventures:

• Goes into a sitting position on her own
• Crawls on her knees
• Pulls herself up to stand
• Cruises along holding the furniture (although this is still a work in progress)
• Feeds herself squishy things and things that require the pincer grasp
• Says Mama and Dada (and usually seem like she sort of knows they are us)
• Waves (sort of - and it's her whole arm), sometimes at appropriate times
• Attended her first science fair
• Had her first St. Patrick's Day and Easter (and ended up having to go home early from church and nap)
• Had her first swimming experience (with more to follow this month)
• Grew out of her infant car seat and got a nice big girl one (dang Long genes! Too tall before she hit the weight limits!) 

CB, this has been one crazy month. Last month, you were belly crawling. This month, you figured out how to go from your knees to siting on your own and it seems to have unlocked something in your brain, because it was SO quickly after you figured out how to crawl on your knees and pull yourself up to stand. Within a matter of days you were suddenly climbing onto and into everything, standing up in your crib whenever I tried to put you down for a nap. In fact, after a few nights of difficult bedtimes (for you, my golden sleeper) we decided to let you cry it out again. While you were crying, I was doing some research to see what it said about babies who learn to stand, and one article I found said it was pretty normal for babies your age to have a sleep regression when they learn a new skill, because it comes with some brain developments and makes it hard to wind down. Sometimes babies practice that skill involuntarily and just can't calm down without some help. I immediately ran upstairs and picked up up from where you were standing and crying in your crib (at this point it had been maybe 20 minutes or so) and you just collapsed on me in a full snuggle. Once you calmed down (which was fast) your breathing got slow and you almost immediately fell asleep on my shoulder. It was so sad, but so sweet. 

The in between shots from your photo shoot. So hard to get you to stay still! 

This month, your dad took over bath time with you. I wanted him to have something that was just his, and that seemed like the most consistent thing he could do when he got off work. Daddy has different ideas about rinsing a baby, and instead of drizzling water from a washcloth like I do, he dumps a cup of water over your head. I went in the other night to see him gearing up for it, and you were crouching over and wincing in preparation for the deluge. (Otherwise, it doesn't seem to bother you.) I have to tell you, it was pretty adorable.

Your love of bananas is a little ridiculous right now. When I give you half and don't move the other half before you finish yours, you start making very demanding noises. I don't even want to go into the noises you make when we pass the bananas in the grocery store. The other night your dad held one out to you and said, "Say dada." And you yelled "Dada!" and got a reward. You also like bread, both to eat and to tear apart and throw on the floor.

Although you still prefer me to anyone else when you're tired and just need a good snuggle, I think you are going back to you previous love of Daddy. You always give him big smiles when you see him, you look around when you hear his voice, and you love to crawl on him and listen to him reading stories. He loves to throw you up in the air and took you on your first ride on a swing a couple of weeks ago. I love giving you two alone time so that he can tell me all about the hilarious things you do.

You love other babies, but usually you want to grab them or take things from them. At a playdate  you tried to steal your friend's bottle (and he was 2 months younger than you and not as mobile) and at swimming you kept trying to grab a little girl's leg (although she was about the same age, and I didn't feel as bad.) You tried to feed a toy to a baby and when he opened his mouth you laughed the most maniacal laugh I've ever heard. You sure think it's funny to be the feeder instead of the feed-ee.

You've gotten a little shy this month. When you see new people, you ALWAYS snuggle into me and turn away before you turn back, usually with a smile. At your swim lessons today, some ladies said hi to you and you smiled but ducked your head in coy delight, which made them die of cuteness. I love the snuggles, I love the smiles, I love you.

Love,

Mama