Nine Months Old

Blue Steel

BIG NEWS!! You have started walking!  The day before your nine month birthday (10.11.12), Tata & I were chatting away to one another.  Toy in hand, you started strutting across the living room floor.  It was almost as if you didn't even realize you were doing it.  Five minutes later, we were in the master bedroom and Tata & I were continuing our conversation.  Dad's watch in hand, you started strolling along again.  Tata and you are one in the same; he walked when he was nine months young too.

The same day you started to walk, Kuma D got engaged!  Joe joked that you had started walking that day because you were vying for the flower girl position.  I was like, 'Psh! Flower girl?!  That girl is going for MAID OF HONOR.'  You are always 'one step ahead' of everything.  Pun intended.

Check out yourself in cruise control HERE.

Tata & I have started calling you Animal.  But we say it more like, 'AWN-EE-MAWWWWWL.'  Think the Muppet Babies character.  You are the most perfect, most deadly combination of my excitement and Tata's athleticism.  Some days you literally bounce off of the walls.  See below:

AWN-EE-MAWWWWWL

Your first word is officially MAMA.  (I couldn't be happier.)  The day we were leaving on our trip to New Hampshire, Tata was holding you.  You pointed to me and said, 'MAMA.'  

You continue to say LOTS of consonants.  When you make a G sound, I'll say, 'Grammy.  G-G-Girl.  G-Good.'  Then you'll do B, and I'll say, 'B-B-Baby. B-Blue.'  And so on and so forth.  You just laugh at me.

You love public places because you love- the public.  Everyone intrigues you.  And you spend most of your time trying to get other people's attention.  You'll screech and fling your arms.  Then when you get their attention, you'll suddenly start to play coy and bashful.  Then said stranger's heart will melt at those big blues fluttering at them so they'll start to talk to you.  That's when you EXPLODE with excitement and the conversation begins and the stranger becomes a friend.  I've met more people in the past nine months than in my first 29 years of life.

Babies are the great equalizer.  They are glue.  YOU are super glue.

You have become VERY ticklish.  Tummy, underarms, and feet are ALL targets.

At your nine month doctor's appointment the other day, you checked out very good.  You are still tall with a big head but overall petite in size.

You eat five times a day.  Three of those are your BIG meals and the other two are snacks.  You breastfeed first and eat your solids second.  Your solids are still 'baby' food but a bit chunkier.  And I usually throw in some Cheerios or cheese or soft granola on your tray for you to munch on while I'm feeding you.  You're still a good eater.

You really like drinking from a glass.  For dinner, Tata usually feeds you your milk in a bottle.  But there have been many times where you REFUSE to take it.  So we'll pour the milk into a glass- and you drink it RIGHT UP.  I think you think glasses are mature- and you like feeling grown-up.

Bedtime consists of taking a bath, changing into pajamas, and reading a book.  You sleep 7p-6a.

You are now taking baths all by yourself.  You crawl around chasing Duckie and your other bath toys while we attempt to scrub you down.  You love to stand up in the tub and drop down HARD on your bum creating splashes and waves galore.

You LOVE to pull all of the books off of your bookshelf EVERY day.  I've had to start putting all of the 'good' books (book of poems I passed down to you, Bible, and the original edition of Cat in the Hat) on the very top of your bookshelf out of reach.  I have a feeling I'll keep adding to this pile over time.

You enjoy opening up the kitchen cabinets.  Tata & I agreed to only child-proof some of the cabinets because we want you to have the option of exploring the safe ones.  I WANT you to pull out pots/pans and Tupperware.  Time spent in the kitchen is a very important tradition in Croatian families.

We read together.  ALOT.  EVERY day.  I want you to love books the way I love books.

You & Tata play together.  ALOT.  EVERY day.  He wants you to be a Daddy's Girl.

You get SO excited when Tata comes home from work.  As soon as you hear that door open your eyes dart to the side.  You quickly turn to find me.  You squeal and start crawling to me AS FAST AS YOU CAN.  By this time Tata has reached us and you start jumping up and down on your knees and clapping.  A game of chase soon ensues and you're basically on Cloud 9 the rest of the evening.  I said it before and I'll say it again, You LOVE your Tata.

You love flinging yourself onto pillows.  You love even more when we fling you onto pillows.

You like when I check my voice mail on speakerphone.  You clap and laugh.  That computer-generated woman's voice gets you every time.

You've started dancing.  It's adorable.  I never 'taught' you dancing; you just started doing it one day.

Like all babies, you love Elmo.  I let you watch Sesame Street while we have your morning snack.  I'm pretty sure I know what I'm getting you for Christmas. (wink)

No teeth yet.  My boobs thank you.

Speaking of- you are intrigued by nipples.  That may sound inappropriate but it's innocently true- and hilarious.  Sometimes while breastfeeding you'll take time out to investigate mine for minutes on end.  One night Tata and you were on the couch and he had his shirt off.  You leaned up on his chest and started poking at his.  Weird but SO funny.  Even on your bottle in the evenings, you'll push the nipple so that it's inverted and then let it POP out again.  You stay focused through it all.

Tata sold his triathlon bike; this is the least of the sacrifices he's made for you.  With a bit of the money he bought a very nice running stroller.  You & him go for runs/rides in the evenings around the neighborhood.  On weekends, you go down to the beach.  It's a nice time for you two; it's also a nice time for me- ALONE.

When Mimi was in town recently we took you to the park to swing for the first time.  With one hand holding on you went through spurts of being really thrilled and really chill.  It was fun.

You love Skype-ing/FaceTime-ing with our family and friends.  You appreciate the newest technology.

You're starting to recognize animals.  Your favorites are still dogs and cats.  The Chick-fil-a cow is not far behind.

We think you are perfect.

We think you are the most beautiful baby we have ever seen.

We love you like crazy.