9 months

Sweet babydoll, you are 9 months old.

{Your shirt says "All I need is love and my Daddy." It is so difficult to get you to stay still these days, I had to distract you with Skittles leftover from Daddy's Halloween costume.}

Unfortunately you celebrated on the actual day by confronting your very first stomach virus. (Which is why I am so late with writing this.) Then you caught a cold, which you are still getting over. It was a scary ordeal all around and I am just glad it was only a bug because I was worried it was much worse. You were doing so well! You haven't really been sick at all up until this point. Daddy and I were even talking the other day how lucky we are that we haven't had to take you to the doctor for sickness. Ha! We shouldn't have celebrated that victory out loud. It ended up being one of the most challenging weeks I've had in years. All three of us were so sick and yet still trying to take care of each other. I struggle when I feel helpless and I definitely felt it for several days there. You reminded me of so much though; you were such a trooper and so strong. After you recovered from the initial shock of vomiting and the fact Mommy and Daddy couldn't do anything to stop it, you actually had some smiles for us. Your contagious joy and delight in the simple things is really what kept me sane throughout the whole mess. Daddy had infected spider bites while all of this happened too, so it was difficult not to wonder why everything was being thrown at us all at once. I kept reminding myself no matter how sick we all were, it was only temporary. And that in the big picture, we really are so lucky. There are few things more difficult than trying to take care of someone else when you feel so weak you can't get out of bed.

You reminded me how stubborn you are, which I always knew you would be if and when you survived the pregnancy. That is a good thing when you need to find your way in this world and when you are sick! :)

It fascinates me that even with your very limited vocabulary (Mama, Dada, Papa, Baba) you communicate and express your feelings and wants so perfectly. Sometimes a little too well. You are already throwing temper tantrums...yikes! You growl, clench your fits and grit your teeth. It is adorable now but I can't encourage it too much. I'm hoping this means you are going to be an angelically well behaved two year old. I can dream, can't I?

You adore Jack so much just watching him jump into bed with us makes your day! You love to tease him, sneak him cheerios when you think I'm not watching, and sometimes you like his toys better than your own. I'm even contemplating buying you dog toys so that you can play with them and not get germs from his. You love to reach out your hand to him for kisses. His water and food dish is one of your newest obsessions; you laugh happily as you splash your hands in his water and your busy little fingers grip tight to chunks of his food because you know you are not supposed to be playing with them.

You don't like to cuddle much anymore, unless you are tired or sick. You are always on the move, crawling everywhere, pulling up on every surface that will allow you to; you don't hold still much at all. It's exhausting albeit so fun for me to watch you explore your world and discover new and mesmerizing things like door stoppers, tissues, scales, empty 12 pack diet coke containers, and teeny tiny specs of dirt on my otherwise clean floor.

We are having a tumultuous time with sleeping, but you did so well for so long I suppose it was bound to happen. Mommy believes in the benefits of co-sleeping, but also that you need some crib time too. We are trying to find a balance between the two. You are so busy I think most of the time you are completely drained and ready for sleep, but you just don't want to miss out on anything.

You love your veggies still, I am so grateful! Everything but peas. You recently have tried mashed potatoes, cheerios and yogurt for the first time. Not all together of course. You still aren't quite sure what you think of the yogurt, but the mashed potatoes and cheerios are big hits. The other night I let you have a taste of a bread and butter pickle and you loved it so much you were upset when I took it away. You are a petite little thing, like we thought you would be, but you are physically strong and have a wonderful appetite.

Your development is so normal and yet such a thrill and tiny miracle to me. I can't believe you are pulling yourself up. In the past few weeks you have really started to take more of an interest in your books. I'm so pleased with this; we started reading to you right when we brought you home because I want you to appreciate how amazing books can be. You are gaining the ability to pay more attention to stores and you love to turn the pages and kiss every character on each page. Every day you grow more and more into a little person full of her very own spark and zest for everything and everyone.