Nine Months

It's true.  Our little 6 pound 13 ounce bundle of joy is now NINE MONTHS OLD and weighing in around 20 pounds!  How did this happen?  Part of me is so excited about the coming weeks and months, because of all the summer fun headed our way.  The other part of me is digging my heels in the ground as time drags me on, because I don't want this sweet girl to get so big so fast.  I love that Millie Janalee is growing strong and getting her own little personality, but I know that I will never get this day again.  She will never be this young again.  It's bittersweet, and if I dwell on it too much I'll get depressed and miss out on this day.  And the next day.  I have a looonnng 18+ years ahead of me!

One thing is for certain, Millie Janalee is "hands-on" everything!  Gone are the days of sitting nicely next to our sign and smiling at the camera.  The first picture was the only one I got.  And I was sweating by the time it was over.  Ha!  Things are getting lively around here!  Millie Janalee is into whatever she can reach or get to.  We still aren't full out crawling yet.  It's so funny to watch babies at this age, because they are all over the place as far as development.  We have a friend who is 5 weeks older than Millie Janalee, and he is walking.  Then we have friends who still have no teeth and showing no signs of crawling.  You just never know!  I've heard from friends whose babies walked before they crawled, and friends whose babies never showed much interest in crawling...describing them as "fat and happy", and friends who started crawling at 4 months!  So, I'm not worried.  I'm soaking in these days before we both start running all over the place!  Ha!  Even though we aren't all out crawling, Millie Janalee is scooting around.  She scoots backward, and she "crawls" forward with her legs...leaving her face scooting across the carpet.  It's the funniest thing!  I warn everyone that if you see carpet burns on the side of her face, it's because she spent her day "crawling."  Ha!  This morning, I walked in to pick her up from her crib and she was trying to get up on all fours.  She did for a split second before burying her little head in the sheets.  It won't be long!

We are still eating our homemade baby food, and she can eat some food!  We've been traveling A LOT the last couple of weeks, so we've had a mix of homemade food and "fake" baby food (Gerber or Plum brand).  We've tried lots of new things, and I'll try to list all the foods we've tried: apples, pears, peaches, bananas, avocado, zucchini, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, spinach, green beans, peas, turkey, plums, prunes.  Mango and pumpkin are up next!  She sits in her high chair at restaurants and dinners at home, and I give her crackers, puffs, or Baby Mum Mums to feed herself while we eat.  Occasionally, I give her little bits from my plate too.  I don't do it too often, because she isn't reaching for it much.  She's content with her little finger foods.  We've also broken into the juice much more this last week.  I was giving her a water/apple juice mixture in her sippy cup during meals.  She started spitting up again a little after drinking, and I thought it was because it was so thin.  That may still be true, but she's drinking a water/pear juice mixture now and doing fine.  She's guzzling it down and hasn't spit any up yet.  It may be a coincidence...or maybe it's milder?  Who knows.  Either way, she's getting the hang of the sippy cup.  Especially if I recline her high chair when she drinks.  We have trouble figuring out how to turn the cup up when you need to drink more, so reclining assists her.  We're still taking 7 ounce bottles in the morning and before bed.

Miss Millie Janalee is babbling all over the place!  My favorite time to listen is when she's talking to herself during playtime.  If she doesn't know I'm around, she just talks and talks with lots of different inflections and volumes.  It's as if she's having such a deep conversation with her baby doll and penguin.  Ha!  Russ and I like to sit around and try to interpret what she's saying.  Some of the things we heard her say: "Butterfly!" "Bubble bath" and "Where you goin'?"  Ha!  It will be so fun when she can actually tell us what she's thinking.  Russ and I are dying to know what's going on inside her sweet noggin.  My brother and my dad swear that they heard her say "PawPaw" this weekend.  I don't doubt them, but she hasn't said it again since.  Of course, after she said "PawPaw", my dad asked her what kind of car she wanted.  Haha!  She was very smart about whose name she said first.

Our stats are perfectly healthy.  I think I listed them in a previous post since we went for our 9 month checkup at a random time.  She is 90-95% in length and 50-75% in weight.  A++!  We are wearing 9 month clothes, although some of her 9 month clothes are a little snug.  Brands just run differently.  She's still in size 3 diapers and will be for awhile since they last until 28 pounds.  Bathtime is a new playtime, and her bath toy collection is growing.  Russ bathes her many nights, and I love to hear them talking to each other.  That's his Daddy time.  She still goes to sleep...nap and bedtime...with her lovey rubbing against her cheek or nose.  It's so cute!  I know many moms have trained their babies to lay down in their cribs and go to sleep by themselves at this point.  I have not.  Because I don't want to.  Ha!  I enjoy rocking her to sleep until she drifts off.  I spend that time staring at her perfect little nose and her sweet face.  I pray over her and listen to the music playing on my Pandora Lullaby Radio station.  I think about our day, and I thank God for this life.  I'm not giving that up.  At least not yet.  And, to be honest, I may not give it up at all!  If she's 13 years old and still sitting in my lap to go to sleep, I'll be blessed! (Although, I feel quite sure that at 13 years old she will be rolling her eyes at that idea!)

Something new this month is a little development of some fear and anxiety.  I told you how much we've traveled lately, and Millie Janalee is a superb traveling partner!  We pick up at a moment's notice and hit the road many times.  All of a sudden, Millie Janalee developed some anxiety in an elevator.  I don't know where this came from, but it is funny I admit.  She grabs my shoulders with her little hands and squeezes my waist with her legs.  She makes a little whimper and buries her head on my chest.  She's gotten a little better, but she still stiffens up a little.  She has also developed a fear of changing her diaper in the car on the seat.  I guess she realizes that her feet don't have anywhere to lay.  She grabs her changing pad with a white-knuckled grip.  It cracks me up!  Bless her!  Stranger anxiety isn't too bad if she has time to stare at you and warm up to you.  Then, she'll talk your ear off and let you carry her anywhere!  I'm glad about that, because I always hated when babies cried when I held them.  I also hated when parents would run to grab them from me.  It always made me feel like their babies just didn't like me.  Now, I know that wasn't the case, but I work hard to make sure Millie Janalee doesn't make anyone feel that way.  I want her to be pleasant.  Now, she may not stay this way...but I'm working on it.  I keep her social and let others hold her whenever I can...even though, secretly, I don't want to let her go!  I love holding this girl!

These last nine months have been the most fun months ever!  I love this baby girl, and I enjoy every stage of her sweet life!  Happy Nine Months, sweet girl!