Audrey - 9 months

Audrey,

You are now Mommy's sweet little 9 month old. You are less a baby every day, and more and more an active little girl. You are cruising around on all fours, pulling yourself up on anything you can find. You shift from the couch to the coffee table to the chair, making your way around the living room. You let go for a few brave seconds, but always fall to your bum as soon as you realize what you're doing. You can now pull open the stove and will open all the cabinets in the kitchen. You particularly like the baking cabinet and always grab and shake the bottle of sprinkles!

You are also experimenting with "crawling" with just your hands and feet on the ground. When you get tired of doing this, it results in what looks like you doing the cutest downward dog yoga pose I've ever laid eyes on! You love to dance now too, and when you hear music of any kind, you shake your little bum and bounce up and down. You have no fear, and would dive bomb head first from any height if we let you.

Your hand-eye coordination is growing leaps and bounds. You've been picking up your little puffs (and anything you might find on the floor in your travels) for awhile now, but wouldn't put them in your mouth. Now, you try to put them in 2 or 3 at a time (or eat leaves and dust bunnies) and I have to keep a close eye on you!

You love books (just like your Momma) and don't seem to mind whether they're being read to you or if you're just flipping through them on your own. You also love to imitate people, whether they are tapping their hand on the table or clearing their throat. A game of peek-a-boo induces fits of giggles that would make anyone smile and shoulder rides are the best thing since sliced bread! You are fascinated by animals and show no fear at all around them. It makes Momma think that you might grow up to be a vet.

Teething continues to be the only thing that makes you grouchy. You now have 6 teeth that have broken through the skin (3 on the top and 3 on the bottom) and 1 on the top that I expect to pop through any day now. We tried some homeopathic teething tablets for a couple days that produced 2 of the worst nights you've ever had, so Mommy decided those were a bad idea. Then we bought you a Baltic amber necklace. I didn't really notice it making a difference until I forgot to put it on you one day. That day produced more drooling, crying, and hand gnawing than we had seen since we bought the necklace, so you now wear it every day.

Besides "Mama" and "Dada," you now also say "hiiiiy." We have a mirror attached to the seat in front of you in the car, and you look in the mirror and say hi and wave at yourself every time we put you in the car seat.

You are in 12 month clothes for the most part, but for no other reason than the 9 month stuff is just too short! Your 9 month well baby visit isn't until the 7th, so I will update this post with those stats then. You are now 21 pounds and 29 inches long!

You are the light of my life baby girl. Your sweet smile, sparkling blue eyes and adorable little laugh fill my heart with so much joy.

I love you to the moon and back!
Love always,
Mommy