WHOA! 9 months old!

Little lady, you are so not a baby anymore! This past month you have made some amazing milestones. The most exciting/unbelievable is you walked - at 8 1/2 months old! You have been cruising along the couches (and sometimes a pug or two if they stayed close enough to you) so it was only a matter of time before you got the confidence to do it on your own.

The best part is that you waited until both Daddy and I were home to show us your new skill. I was sitting in the living room, playing with you; you were at one end of the couch and I was at the other, and you just pulled yourself up, turned, and walked to me.

I yelled for your dad, who came running in from the kitchen and then we just sat in the living room as you walked back and forth between us. And, of course I had to blog about it here.

After that, you had a whole new confidence about you, not that you were afraid of much before.

And now? You are ALL OVER THE PLACE. And fast! Daddy calls you E.T. because of how you waddle around.

You babble and "talk" all the time. Your favorite word is 'Dada', of course. And when I ask you to say "Mama", it's automatically "Dada". Stinker!

You can give the best kisses, mouth open, full of drool!

Aunt Amanda taught you how to "high five" and it is way too cute.

Lately, you are shy to new people and you will hide your face when first meeting someone. But don't worry, not much later you are your adorable self, charming anyone that looks your way.

You are an excellent sleeper - 8pm-7-8am - straight through. And for that, my girl, Daddy and I won't forget and will buy you a puppy as soon as you are old enough to ask for one! Promise. We will just have to find a way to break the news to your father. You are definitely getting better with your nap schedule, too.

Your 2 bottom teeth are out and you are working on the TOP 4...can't wait to see your toothy grin, but I will definitely miss the gummy one.

At your 9 month doctor appointment, you weighed in at 23lbs, 11oz (which means you have almost tripled your birth weight in just 9 short months!) and you are 30.5". Basically, little lady, at 9 months old, you are the size of a 15 month-old! Above the 95 percentile for both height and weight. Which explains why you are wearing 18month clothes, for the most part. Some 12-18mo still fit, but barely. You are perfect.

We took a trip to Pittsburgh in January, to visit your great aunt and uncle and cousins. You had a ball being the center of attention (as you usually are) and particularly enjoyed our incline ride.

Since you entered this world, you have made time move at warp speed. I am trying to keep up on documenting everything, and I am so so sorry if I leave stuff out. I am sure there is other things I am forgetting as I write this...

You are a busy girl and you love life - I pray that this spirits stays with you and follows you throughout yours.

My sweet, sweet baby girl, I love you more then I could ever tell you.

You are kind.
You are smart.
You are important.

xoxo,
Yo Mama