Friday, March 2, 2012

9 months

Little Miss is 9 months old.  

9 months brings:
-Crawling...backwards.  She can scoot backwards across the room on hands and knees, sometimes bumping into things because she can't see where she's going
-Two teeth 'bumps'.  Her bottom two pearly whites have been slowly making their way up for three weeksnow.  I'm so frustrated and wish they'd cut through already so that the low-grade fevers, trouble sleeping, ear tugging, etc. can stop bothering my girl.
-Eating all kinds of finger foods.  I'm pretty strict with what goes in her mouth and try to stick to fruits, veggies, whole wheats, and organic baby snacks and foods.  She can eat anything without choking and when trying something new will stick out her tongue and give it a few tentative 'tastes' before fully committing to the bite.  The only thing she hasn't been a fan of is peas.  She threw the plate across the kitchen, shattering it into a million pieces (yes, I'm the mom who gave her lunch on a ceramic plate).
-Her first illness.  She got a stuffy nose last week.
-Nonstop babbling in her own language.  She sounds like one of the Avatars.  She still says 'duck' and 'dada' or 'dad', and now calls me 'ah'
-An interest in cartoons.  I'll usually put a show on for her in the morning when I'm getting ready.  Some of our favorites are Octonauts, Little Einstein, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
-Dancing.  When we put music on she gets a very determined, serious look on her face and starts bouncing up and down and waving her hands.
-Small tantrums.  She has suddenly decided she will not put up with diaper changes, getting dressed, or being made to sit down in the tub and will arch her back and scream.
-18-month clothes.  Babygirl is 23 pounds and 29" tall.  She wears size 4 diapers.  She's super smart for a 9-month-old, but sometimes I have to laugh when she gets stuck laying on her arm or in the corner of the crib because she looks like a very slow 2-year-old.

Every time I take off her clothes or change her, I kiss her tummy.  It makes her smile.  The other day after she nursed, she was studying my belly-button and putting her finger in it.  I lifted up her shirt and showed her her own belly-button.  She looked from her tummy to mine and then bent over and kissed mine. 

Olivia likes to eat small things off the carpet, especially paper.  She won't swallow them, just mull them around forever.  I swear she has a secret compartment inside her cheek or something because whenever I fish around in her mouth, I can't find whatever it is she put in there.  When I pull my finger out, she'll smile at me and start chewing on the object again.

She thinks she is a big kid and loves other kids and babies.  Whenever we see kids running around, she'll try to leap out of my lap and follow them.  The other night when she was sitting by Clar's baby, Taft, she kept trying to "hold" him.  She settled for just holding his hand.

She is still a mama's girl, but loves to go her Dada too.  She knows she can usually get a game out of him.  She is also doing better for babysitters and will go to other people better, and let them put her down for naps or bed.

Olivia loves books, or anything resembling a book: magazines, menus, pamphlets, manuals, DVDs...

She recently has taken to a small blanket with a teddy bear head on a corner (it's not as creepy as it sounds) and will go to bed with it, snuggling and kissing it until she falls asleep.

Liv and Jack recently formed a band.  J will sing a song about tucker, while Olivia shakes a tic-tac box to make music.  She takes it very seriously and can start and stop on cue.

Most skills have come quickly and easily to her (reasoning, memory, using her hands...), while others (mostly motor) are a little late in showing up.  While she can't crawl yet, gets stuck on her back sometimes, and doesn't have teeth, Olivia is extremely focused and can perform certain advanced tasks with her hands, mimic our actions,  read our emotions, and communicate pretty effectively with her gestures and noises.  We are happy and excited to celebrate each milestone with her and grow ever more in love with our girl.
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