Little Miss Emma, this has been a very big couple of months for you! You've cut two teeth, mastered the stairs, and started walking! Whew, we are worn out trying to keep up with you these days. I know I say it every update, but this is my favorite baby stage. You learn something new every second, are exploring everything around you, mimic so much of what we do and say, starting to eat table food, and are developing this amazing little personality. Already I can see that you are very obsessive (like the rest of the girls in this family), very motivated/persistent, very capable, and you have a great sense of humor. You idolize your big sister and love to imitate her every move. You think blowing raspberries is the most hilarious sound in the world, and we think you rolling your tongue and vibrating your chubby cheeks is the best thing since sliced bread.
Here's your latest stats:
Weight: (9 month appt) 19 lbs. 2 oz.
Height: (9 mo.) 28.5 inches
Size: Mostly 6-9/9mo., some 12 month clothes. Size 3 diapers
Teeth: two! You've cut your two bottom front teeth.
Sleep: morning nap 10:30am, afternoon nap 2:30-3ish, bedtime 9:30pm, up around 2am, up around 5am, up for the day around 8am. (Yea, and that's a good night)
Eating: Down to just breastfeeding before bed and middle of the night (usually the 5am awakening), and 4-6 oz. bottles the rest of the day. You can drink out of a sippy cup, so we've started giving you those with meals. You LOVE food and aren't a bit picky, though you do prefer feeding yourself to us feeding you purees lately. I've started giving you whatever we are eating, just cut up really tiny. Puffs and Cheerios continue to be favorite snacks.
Walking: Yes, walking! At 9.5 months, you officially started walking (taking about 6-8 steps on your own). Now, you're up to 12-15 steps, will turn corners, stop and restart, and go from carpet to wood and back with no problem. I think you could probably do more, but crawling is still more efficient for you. You are still obsessed with climbing up the stairs, which scares me to death (especially since our next house has a huge open staircase).
Words: Mama, Dada, baba (bottle), bath (you don't quite get the "th" sound, but you love to go in the bathroom, pull up on the tub and say "bath"), bu-bu (bubble), duck, and a lot of others you will mimic when we say them, but don't really say on your own yet (like "aw dun for all done). Not really a word, but you do an awful lot of growling these days, too.
Favorites:
toys: Annalyn's old push toys have become your favorite, along with our tupperware drawer and laundry (especially socks and Annalyn's underwear with fun cartoon characters on them).
body part: Still in love with your feet, you play with them every chance you get. You love to make silly sounds with your tongue and lips, too.
foods: bananas, avocadoes, spaghetti, cheese, puffs, Cheerios, sweet potatoes, noodles, peas, ground beef in any form
activities: Bath time (you've become obsessed with bubbles), imaginative play with Annalyn, stacking and sorting our Tupperware containers by size, reading books (Flip, Flap, Fly and Time for Bed), swinging outside
Dislikes: being told no, baby gates, getting dressed/changing, strangers (make that, anyone besides Mama and Daddy, Diana, and sometimes grandparents), being locked out of the bathroom (your favorite room for some reason)
Wow, what a big couple of months, Squish! I have a feeling the next update will be an even bigger one... though it breaks my heart to think about my squishly little baby being 1. No way. I will probably be a wreck. It's a good thing tears can't stain a blog post or it would be illegible. Love you like crazy, little Emma.
Love,
Mama
