nine months old

       

Well, a lot of things happened in the past week, so Heidi's nine month photos kept getting pushed back.  Grandma came for a visit(!!), H got a fever for three days, then a bad rash on her face and upper body, and finally we figured out the cause(boo Roseola!) and she is clear of her rash today.  Eleven days late; better than never.  And boy is it hard to photograph her.  She's crazy busy and won't sit still for a moment!

This month has been a big one.  Saying "mama."  Pushing her walker by herself.  Standing for five seconds not holding onto anything.  Snuggling.  She lays her head down on our shoulder and we soak up every second with delight.  That hasn't happened since she could hold her head up well.

I love the little things she does.  Like moving her toy from one hand to the other so I can put her arm in her sleeve.  Widely opening her mouth as she leans in for a big squishy kiss.  Smashing her chex on her bumbo tray and squealing with glee.  Giggling.  Playing "peek-a-boo."  And her latest favorite: throwing her head back and touching the floor while upside down.  Now that we started that game, she always wants to be upside down and we have to be careful to hold onto her tightly, because she darts backwards all the time!

I caught her dumping out a basket of stuff and then watched in amazement as she put everything she dumped out into a different box.  Maybe we will be able to relate, after all.

Grocery shopping is a bit of a challenge now, but I know I will later look back on this time in our lives and laugh.  If I wear her in the ERGO carrier, she leans backwards and tries to look at everything upside down.  If she's buckled in the cart, she's squirming until she is able to stand up and ride the cart like a surf board.  If you have any helpful suggestions, please send them my way!  Yikes.  Needless to say, this busyness has doubled our time at the store!

Happy Thanksgiving week, all!