9 months old...and on the move!

Mara is 9 months old...plus a few days, but I'm hoping no one will notice.  Somehow, time is slipping through my fingers these days, as evidenced by the way I'm struggling to keep up at home, at the office, and anywhere else for that matter.  A lot of that has to do with our little lady's new found mobility.  Gone are the days of putting her in her seat, or on a blanket on the floor, or in her exersaucer.  Mara is places to go, things to do, and exploration to embrace these days.  It's almost as though you can see her little mind racing from thing to thing.  The world has certainly opened up to her over the past month as she can get where she needs to go, and she's figuring out how to do it a little more each day.

Official stats will be a few weeks, but because of the double ear infection the poor baby is dealing with (and perhaps has been for some time....) I know that she is weighing about 15 lb 13 oz (or at least she was Friday at the doctor's office).  That's a weight gain of nearly 3 pounds since her 6 month checkup.  And I believe we have Yo Baby yogurt to thank for almost all of that.  She is still nursing between 6-7 times a day, but is losing interest in her bottles a little more each day when I'm gone at the office.  That's a bit of a mystery to me, and one that needs figuring out since she will literally nurse all night long after those days of bottle refusal.  On one hand, I'm happy to make sure she has what she needs nutrition-wise, but I'd certainly rather provide it for her during the daylight hours, and still work quite hard to do so with the pumping schedule I keep in the office.  She loves her baby food and is starting to work on some table foods at this point.  She loves Cheerios and has been eating some puffs and little bites of bread in the past several weeks.  I guess the search is on to get her eating more finger foods, as I am getting the message that that's what she wants.  She is starting to work with her sippy cup pretty well, drinking mostly water from there to practice.  I love to watch her face when she gets a good sip--- she's so proud of herself.  I have been putting some pumped milk in her sippy for her to help get over this bottle issue, and sometimes she'll take it that way.

The list of physical milestones Mara has hit in the past month is intense.  Perhaps it's no wonder she isn't sleeping well with all of the things she is trying to learn how to do.  She has mastered crawling, though with her own style.  She doesn't get up on both knees, but rather pulls one leg along with her like it's in a criss-cross-applesauce position under her.  It looks really funny, and the doctors have said that every child learns their own method.  So we'll see.  She can pull up to stand on literally anything- including pant legs, and non-stationary objects like the dog.  She can walk behind her lion toy just like Joshua and Lauren learned to do.  She is starting to work on climbing the stairs....yikes.  She can open cupboard doors to explore their contents, loves to tear down block towers the kids have built, and is a champion at taking apart puzzles to chew on the pieces.

I see an intensity in her personality that reminds me so much of Joshua.  She seems very persistent when she wants to do something, and it flashes me back to watching Joshua conquer his world at this same age.  She doesn't get frustrated easily, and seems content to keep working at something until she gets it right.  She loves to giggle, and we spend the majority of bath time giggling together, either because she is splashing me like crazy, or because I'm blowing raspberries on her belly.  She is really starting to "talk", putting long strings of sounds together into gibberish, but she loves to tell stories.  She regularly says "dada", not necessarily knowing it means Jason, but I've only heard "mama" once or twice.  She seems to be saving that one.  She has, however, mastered squealing, and does it a lot.  A lot!  Her smile literally lights up the whole room, though.  And when she's happy, you just can't help but be happy too.  She adores her big brother and sister and loves to giggle at them when they're being silly--- which makes them sillier--- which leads to a whole house full of laughing people.  It's awesome!

Here's to a whole bunch more giggles and smiles before it's time to try on your #10 sticker next month, sweet girl.  We love you more than we could possibly ever put into words.