9 Months Old

Dear Devyn,

I am just in awe of you, little one.  You have grown and changed so much in just the last month.

• You have learned to move on your own! You crawl or use two hands, one knee, and one foot to get anywhere you want to go.
• You can go from sitting up to crawling on your belly to sitting up again!  You are rolling over, sitting up on your own and crawling all the time now.
• You went from mostly "ahhs" and "oohs" to distinct syllables like "ba," "ga," and most importantly, "Dada!" and occasionally "Mama!"
• You are eating finger foods by yourself—and your favorite is still avocado.

• You got your first two teeth!  (I know you look a little cross-eyed in this photo, but it shows off your teeth!)
• You have pulled yourself up to standing for the first time!
• You've also gotten yourself into trouble (like getting into the dog food!) and have heard the word "No!" uttered sharply in your direction for the first time.  ;)

Every day you're doing new things.  I feel like I can hardly keep up!  It's like you went from being an infant to a baby in just a matter of days.

Your favorite books are ones with flaps you can lift up by yourself to find the pictures underneath.

Your favorite toys are alphabet blocks, a shape puzzle, and the musical walker you got from Poppy and Mickey for Christmas.

Your favorite songs are "Shake your Sillies Out" and "If You're Happy And You Know It," both of which we sing at story time.

In the wider world this month, Newt Gingrich just won the South Carolina Republican primary last night, the Broncos made it to the playoffs, but did not go to the Super Bowl, and the singer Etta James died this week.

We have been doing sleep training this month and you have been doing so very well.  You nap for about an hour and a half twice a day now and sleep mostly through the night, getting up just once to eat.  We still nurse four or five times a day, but you are eating so much new food all by yourself.  For breakfast today, for example, you had some egg yolk and some cubed pears.  Your favorite foods right now seem to be white beans, applesauce, and avocados—of course.

You are demanding my attention now, little one, so I will close for now by telling you that you are the light of our lives.  We love you so much it can never be put into words.

Always and always, my baby,

~Momma