9 Months Old

Dear Lane,

Happy Birthday! Today you are nine months old! We can't even believe you are so big! 3/4 of a year...it's a big day! You've learned how to do a lot of cool stuff this past month!

First of all, and probably the biggest thing, is that you started walking. Yes, walking already! You took your first steps about ten days ago, and now you are good to go up to three or four feet, and occasionally further. You don't always choose to walk and often drop to your bottom since you're not really stable yet, but you definitely know that you can go short distances by yourself, like from one couch to another or between couch and chair, and so on. We can't believe that you are so capable on your feet already!

This month you also learned how to wave "bye-bye," and you wave any time the front door opens! You're still working on waving bye-bye when someone is leaving, as you often start waving to them after they've given up waiting on you to wave and are already gone! You learned how to clap your hands together, and when mom does "patty-cake" you start clapping at the right part, and sometimes even slap mom's knees too. You are also giving lots and lots of kisses now! They're big, mouth open wide, slobbery kisses, and if we're lucky we get a good bit of your tongue as well. :-) But they sure are sweet!

You have some new favorite toys: socks and shoes! You love to hold onto your socks and drag them around the house with you. Mommy thinks it's because of your fascination with fabric: socks are little pieces of fabric that are just your size! You also like to chew on your shoes, but we try not to let you since they've been outside and have lots of germs on them. Your other favorite toy is this little Shrek figurine that we got out of a bag of cereal. You love him. It is so funny to us! Daddy likes to hide him in the rings from your Fischer-Price Rainbow Stacker, and you dig him out. Or daddy will perch him on top of the stacker and you'll go grab him off! You're getting good at getting him off without knocking him over.

This month you had some more new foods! You've had cream cheese and broccoli, grapes and plums, pancakes, spinach, and cooked onion. You like them all! Actually, you love them all! You are a very good eater, Lane. For breakfast you usually eat either 1 1/2 4-inch pancakes topped with puréed apples or oatmeal mixed with apples. For lunch you eat whatever mommy and daddy are eating: chicken stir fry, minestrone soup, chicken noodle soup, pizza...whatever! You do the same at dinnertime, eating whatever we're eating. If we're eating something that you're not supposed to have yet then you get two cubes of pumpkin mixed with one cube of green beans and one cube of zucchini. You'll also get a scrambled egg yolk and maybe some toast topped with cream cheese. And in the afternoon after your nap you get some cut-up fruit (usually grapes) and a muffin (pumpkin or zucchini) or some baby cookies. We don't know where you put all the food you eat, because you're still so tiny!

You are still able to wear a lot of your 6-month clothes, Lane! But a lot of your 9-month clothes are starting to fit: you wear your 9-month onesies and pajamas, but a lot of the pants and dresses are just too big. Speaking of dresses, you are not a fan of them! Mommy thinks it's because when you wear a dress it's hard for you to crawl! Maybe by the end of this month you'll be walking more and then you can wear your dresses again. For now we just feel guilty when we put them on you! You have a doctor's appointment next Wednesday, so we'll get to see just how big you are then (update: 17 lbs, 4 oz, 28" tall, and 17" head circumference).

You're getting really good at your pincer grasp, unless you're trying to pick up something that's slimy, and then sometimes you still have trouble. You like to bang your food on the table, push it off and watch where it went, and smear it all over. You're really funny. You're still nursing 4-5 times a day, and mommy is so proud of us both for making it nine months with no formula! You love to nurse and often mommy can ask you questions and talk to you while you're nursing, and you'll "talk" back, making noises to answer! What a cutie-pie you are!

You love spoons, maybe because they're shiny, and you love to be outside. When we go to the park you like to "chase" the pigeons, but you haven't yet figured out that you'll never be able to catch one! You also want to pet every stray dog, but mommy and daddy won't let you and you get mad! There's a fountain at a nearby park and you want to just dive into it! At a local mall they have a huge fountain that dances to music and has lights that change colors...you are fascinated by it! And when we come to get you after you've woken up from a nap, you've always thrown the two stars and one moon that are attached to your pack 'n play out of it, and sometimes your blankie as well!

Every day we marvel more and more at how cute, sweet, and smart you are, and we cannot believe that God has entrusted you to us for this time. We are so grateful that we get to be your parents! We pray for you every single day and we love getting to spend our lives with you!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy


This was you at the beginning of this month: just learning how to stand on your own!


Now you love to walk, but you still want our help most of the time!


Riding a minibus: usually a good time!


Mmm, cream cheese! And you love to squish it between your fingers and smear it on the table too!


You are zonked! Snoozing on your tummy with your arms folded under your head and around your blankie. And don't forget the stars which you've thrown out of the pack 'n play!


Daddy's trying to get you to walk, but you're not too interested. But your tights are SO cute!


You love to be outside and like to pick up leaves and sticks off the ground. You tried to pull the leaves off this plant, but they wouldn't budge!


Most of your favorite toys are not toys at all: you like ladles and stroller wheels as much as your real toys!


Playing peekaboo on your 9-month birthday...you're so happy!