9 months!

I had good intentions of posting during the past month!! But wow has life gotten busy with this little girl! It is amazing that she has been with us now for 9 months. Every week there is something new to celebrate, and I know the discoveries have only scratched the surface. Here are a few things that have happened over the past month:

Just this morning, Emily figured out how to get from being on her belly to sitting up!!!! She made it look like she'd been doing it forever and didn't even look up to me for help. I am so proud of her!

On Sunday she started getting really ambitious to move out of sitting and into all fours and back. Now she's spent a few days busying herself with this and has gotten very confident with it. When the PT came over last Friday, she said that the biggest key for getting ready for mobility and independence is getting into and out of sitting. I can tell you that last Friday I was not sure how long it would be before we'd see her pivoting onto all fours and I definitely thought we were a long way off from getting off the ground and into a sitting position. She proved me wrong! Buddy is Emily's biggest temptation and he has been a willing participator in this whole learning to move business. I am so glad he is so calm around her! I think he's in for it once she gets going, haha.

She has also gotten really steady being able to stand and hold onto things. She doesn't want to step yet, but I feel comfortable letting go and allowing her to hold the couch, toys, and windowsills now for a bit until she turns toward me and wants to plop back down. And one big surprise was her pulling up onto her knees from sitting a few times this week! So it is all coming together and we are getting prepared to finally need a baby-proofed house. I do have to admit that no mobility has the perk of keeping your house the way you want it for longer.

This week Emily has also been very interested in trying to feed herself and work on her pincer grasp. Last week it all seemed very frustrating and difficult for her, but she has managed to feed herself a few yogurt melts on her own recently, and I find her pinching the air all the time. It is so cute! We also have some great puzzles from her Aunt Nicole and Uncle Seth that have little pegs on them. I thought they'd be way too small for her little fingers to manipulate at this age, but she is addicted to pulling these little puzzles pieces out over and over again. I guess babies just know what they want to work on when!

Another new thing this month has been babbling. It has really taken off (finally...), and it is so fun to hear her get excited and "talk". Da-da is her favorite, followed by goo-goo and ga-ga. I have heard ma-ma only once and baba a few times. She also does la-la and ya-ya a lot, which the speech instructor said are unusual at this age. She is having fun making silly faces and is fascinated by looking at herself in the mirror. I keep one leaning against the dresser in her room on the floor so she can catch a glimpse whenever she wants. Emily is also laughing a little more this week and squealing, both things I thought we'd get oodles of months ago but never did. She gave Daddy her first big laugh for him this week. So fun . :-)

At 9 months, we are just settling into 6-9 month clothes and will probably be here for a while. I get her official weight and length tomorrow, but last week her weight was 17 lb 3 oz. So...we have a ways to go til that 20.5 lb change to 12 mo clothes. Hope we get into some of those beautiful summer 12 mo clothes before it turns cold again around here!

We are halfway between bottles and nursing at this point and will likely stay that way for a little while. She bit me a few weeks ago and I seriously thought I was completely done with nursing, but we have managed to finally shift to 4 feedings a day (plus one at night most nights...) so I am hanging on to the morning nursing and 3pm one. Once my supply seems lower at the afternoon one, that'll be an easy bottle replacement. But for now we'll save a little money and pass on those good nutrients to Em. She LOVES her bottle now, though....go figure. Complete rejection til 6 or 7 months and now she practically leaps out of my arms when we go to get it. She is also enjoying having a little juice each day out of her straw cup. I am happy that we are skipping the sippy cups since straw cups teach her a lifelong drinking style and also help later on with speech development.

I am so incredibly blessed to be this little girl's mom. She is beautiful, inquisitive, sensitive, observant, and determined. I pray that the Lord will continue to direct our steps and give us grace as we lead her and love her.