9 Months

Oh my.  Seriously, my baby is 9 months old today.  It's kind of a bittersweet milestone.  We go to the doctor for a check-up today.  I am anxious to see what she is weighing in at now and to see how much she's grown.  At her 6 month check she hadn't grown [in inches] much from 4 to 6 months, so it'll be interesting to see if that's changed.  I know that she is too long for 6 month pants, but fits her 9 month pants fine.  We shall see. 

**Appointment update: Audrey is now 67% for height (28 inches) and 45% for weight (18 lbs 8 oz) - she gained just over 2 lbs and grew a whole 3 inches!!  Woo-hoo!**

As I type this, Audrey is playing with her toys in the living room with me.  She has gotten so good at just playing and entertaining herself.  It's amazing to sit and watch her when she isn't aware that I am doing so.  It's just so precious.  I can see the wheels spinning in her head so to speak.  She's so curious and active.  The past month has been an interesting one to say the least.  Her sleep patterns have shifted some and it's left a lot of lingering questions that we can't really answer.  Like: is she teething?  Maybe.  Is she sick?  Possibly.  Does she have a tummy ache from the new food she tried?  I don't know.  It's so easy to get frustrated (especially when it's 2 a.m. and she's been fussing on and off for 4 hours), but every time I walk into her room and she gets excited to see me (like I am rescuing her) my heart melts.  And I am reminded that I would do everything, everything, all over again.  I love her so much.  My little peanut.

Some items to note from month 8 to 9:

• Sleep has definitely been interrupted; it's rare that she'll sleep a whole night without fussing once or twice - perhaps it's caused by this?
• She has gotten incredibly good (most of the time) at self-soothing (bonus for us!).
• She has stopped drinking as much formula and is eating more solids (I guess it should be counted as a blessing that she is weaning herself vs. us having to do it, but the mom in me always worries she's not getting enough to eat).
• She seems to have a very adventurous appetite so far: she loves chili and tacos (spicy is good!).
• Pincher grip has been mastered - it's so amazing to see her pick things up and put them in her mouth like it's nothing.
• She'll stand for a few seconds without holding on to anything - walking soon?
• Her hair has gotten so long it practically covers her eyes - we've been utilizing barrettes more.
• As previously stated, she plays/entertains herself for prolonged periods of time.
• When music starts up she shakes her little tush - it's so cute!
• Sometimes when she is crawling, she'll stop and tap her foot a few times and then keep going (it's one of the funniest things I have ever seen).
• She loves for us to wrestle and play on the floor together - she'll periodically crawl over to me, want to be held/hugged for a minute or two and then be on her way; then repeat.  It's a bit of an ego boost for me, I'll admit it. :)
• She gets really excited when Doug comes home - she's all over him (it's not just the dogs who are happy to see him anymore!)
• Another niece, Nicole, came to visit - it was a pretty low key affair, but it was fun having her!
• Audrey finally met my dear friend Cassie (who moved to Oregon when I was 20 weeks pregnant) and we enjoyed a trip to the beach, park and a couple of picnic lunches!

In other news, it's been a rough couple of weeks for us in terms of sickness.  Audrey came down with her third cold a couple of weeks ago.  Doug got sick shortly after, but got over it pretty quickly (he has seasonal allergies and always seems to get sick in September each year).  As soon as Audrey was over her cold (about 7 days in all), I got it.  Ugh.  It was a rough week last week for me because Doug had to work longer and couldn't take any time off to help me out.  Not fun!  My cold is still lingering and then Doug got sick again over the weekend.  And it's worse than the last time.  Audrey was running a low grade fever yesterday and had a slight runny nose, but it seemed (fingers crossed) short lived which makes me think it's teething.  Maybe?  The upside is that Audrey handles being sick like a champ - she really takes it in stride.  Such a happy baby!  We are blessed.

 Watching Sesame Street

 Getting herself to sleep.  :)

 Cousin Nicole and Audrey

 Blueberry pancakes!  Mmmm.

 Having some fun before church.

 She's so curious and smart.  ;-)

 Too cute not to post.

 Beach day with Cassie!

 Eating sand.  Yum?

 New toys!

 She did this AS I was sitting in the chair.

 Sick girl falling asleep on daddy.

 Sloppy dogs!

 Weeeee.

 She lost something under the coffee table.  :)

 Making music with metal measuring cups.

Busy playing.

 She loved my chili (and we like it spicy)!

New hat for winter (seriously - cute!).