9 Months

Okay, Miss Emma, I think 14 should be your "lucky" number. First, you get a cousin on your 4-month birthday; then you celebrate 6 months on Valentine's Day; AND to top it all off, you turned 9 months old on Mother's Day. How fun is that!? I guess you like to make sure it's a party every time!!

To think that your next milestone will be 1 year is too much for me to handle right now. I'm still coming to terms with 9 months! How did this happen? What happened to my little 3-month-old peanut? I truly can't believe how much you've grown up.

You are now zooming all over the house. No corner is left unexplored, no object untasted. You truly understand that the world is yours for the taking, and you will take what you please, thank you very much! You LOVE to stand and cruise along furniture, standing toys, and anything that will support your little body. Sometimes you misjudge and take a tumble, but you're a pretty tough cookie. You usually just complain for a second and off you go again. You just started to figure out cabinets and stairs, both of which are being baby-proofed as we speak!

You are very curious, and almost a little more serious lately than when you were younger. You are always checking things out, often peeking around my shoulder to make sure you aren't missing anything. You love the choo-choo train that goes through our backyard and stop everything the second you hear it coming. Hopefully the weather will stay warm soon so you can see it outside as opposed to from the window!

We play all the time, and you love chasing me around your Fisher Price gym set. We crawl through tunnels, play peek-a-boo, and race eachother around this colorful plastic maze. Your giggles tell me you are having just as much of a blast as I am (although that may be you laughing at my fat butt trying to squeeze through the tunnel!) You still enjoy banging on your silver mixing bowls, and your stacker is always a good snack when you feel the urge. I think your top teeth are coming in soon, which means your teething toys have become a must anywhere we go. Of course, a nice cold shopping cart suits you just fine, but isn't quite acceptable to your Daddy, who goes into a panic attack every time you move in for a taste.

Speaking of which, you love any food we give you, but the only one that seems to like your tummy is sweet potatoes, which you have for dinner often. You have oatmeal for breakfast and lunch, and you just started to snack on rice cakes. Hopefully we can expand your diet after we get the go-ahead from your doctor this week. You have been very tolerant of the bland food you've had up until now. I know you're more than ready for the yummy stuff -- I just wish your tummy would cooperate.

You are more vocal than ever, but the only words your father and I are smart enough to understand are mama and dada (which, by the way, get you anything you want!). You still razz a lot and try to raspberry, but right now you usually just produce a whole lot of spit. I'm sorry to say that you may have inherited your raspberry-blowing deficiency from your mother. Hopefully your daddy will have better luck teaching you this trick than he did teaching me! You also like to make this funny squealing noise when you are really excited, which is usually accompanied with your turbo kicking legs. You can wave hello and goodbye, although only when you feel like it, of course.

Although I'm a little nervous to share this, I feel I owe it you after all of my complaining: I am happy to say you have been sleeping great these last few weeks. Your morning nap is like clockwork now, but we are still working on the afternoon nap, which you usually need a little help with about half-way through. Nightime has become Mommy and Daddy time, and for that, we are truly grateful. We aren't quite used to this though, so we often check on you to make sure you are okay. If you happen to wake up during the night for some reason, you are now able to fall back asleep without our help. Usually I don't see your smiling face until morning, when you greet me with the biggest grin and the bluest eyes I have ever seen. Who needs the sun when I have you to brighten my every morning?

The verdict is still out on who you look like most, but your Daddy and I think you look like Emma -- absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way. Your face is so petite, but your blue eyes and infectious grin are big and bright! Your hair is really coming in now and even seems to have a tinge a red in it, which has us all scratching our heads. You wake up with fuzzies on the back of your head all the time, so we're just waiting for the curls to emerge. I think we may even be able to put a bow in your hair in the next month of two!

You are starting to get more comfortable around other people now, and love your grandmas, aunts, uncles, and especially your little cousins, who love to play with you and make you smile. You are happy to let others babysit you, and you even have your first sleepover coming up this weekend with Grandma, Grandpa, and Toby. They are so excited, and I know you're going to have a great time playing and getting lots lof hugs and kisses!!!

So, happy 9-months, bunny. Our adventure is really getting exciting now. Seeing you learn and grow has been such a wonderful blessing, almost as if experiencing a miracle every day. As I watch you from afar, I am just so proud and I have to admit, it is tempting to take credit for you. But as I sit in awe of your beauty and curious mind, I know now more than ever that you are God's creation. I am just someone who got the awesome job of loving you until He needs you back. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to do that job as well as I can, no matter how old you are. I love you!!