The Harriman Family: 9 Months

I'm 9 months old!

Look what I can do!

Mary Ella,

It's so hard to believe you are 9 months old! While I would like to slow down time, I am SO enjoying watching you grow and change everyday now. We are so proud of all the fun things you can do. This has been my favorite month yet! You are still so sweet and easy, but you are getting a wild streak. Your personality has a spunky side that is beginning to come out, and I have to admit that I love that! We love you so much darling girl! Here's what you've been up to, and it's gonna be a long one:

You weigh 22 lbs. 8 oz. (98th percentile) and are 27 1/2 in. (65th percentile) long. That's more of what we expected from a Harriman!
You can still wear some 9 month clothes, but you are really in 12 month. I even had to take back your 12 month bathing suits and get 18 month instead. I know they're supposed to be tight, but your fat rolls were busting out! Speaking of fat rolls, the other day I thought you had something stuffed down in your sock, but it was just a roll! I love it! You are so yummy to kiss and hug!
You are loving us back! You have been giving me open-mouthed kisses for a while, but now you share with Daddy. When I say "kiss kiss" sometimes you will kiss me on the mouth, but the best times are when you just go for it on your own. When I'm holding you and say "pat, pat, pat" you will pat me on the shoulder.
You still have four bottles and three meals a day. You have a cereal and fruit for breakfast, fruit for lunch, and a veggie and meat for dinner. You have been through all the Gerber 2nd foods and will eat anything I give you. Some of your favorites may be banana/berry, pear/pineapple, and peach cobbler. You did NOT care for any of the Gerber meats, and I can't blame you- they smelled like dog food. So we had to try another brand. You like ham and apples, chicken and apples, and turkey and sweet potatoes. You are eating yogurt melts and puffs, and LOVE them! And you love picking them up feeding yourself. At first I broke them in half, and it was a struggle for you to get those little pieces to your mouth. But you never gave up and got frustrated. You are very determined to go for what you want!
You go to bed between 7 and 8 and wake up around 7 no matter what! You still take two naps and go down easy. However, since you can sit up by yourself sometimes you will just sit and play and talk to yourself in your crib. I just let you stay in there and play until you eventually go to sleep. I have watched you play for up to an hour, and then I see your head start drooping and you end up falling over face first asleep.
Sometimes you wake up singing and talking to yourself and sometimes you wake up crying. I think if you are totally rested you wake up happy, and if you're grumpy it means you're still sleepy. I have found that if I give you some time, sometimes you will go back to sleep.
I LOVE putting you in bed with us in the mornings. You are so sweet with your little voice and your playtime in bed.
At 8 1/2 months you got your first tooth and started crawling! The day after you started crawling you started trying to pull up. Since then you have gone from pulling up to your knees to standing up to doing a little cruising! You have also gotten your second tooth (both on bottom) and are crawling some on your knees. At first you just pulled with your arms and pushed with your feet on your tummy. You are really on the go!
You can wave bye bye, play peek-a-boo, kiss the baby (in a book or in the mirror), and put your arms up in the air when I say "up" and then "down." When I ask "Where's Ginger?" you start looking down and around for her. You can also find Mommy and Daddy when we ask.
You have started saying "da, da, da, da." Your Daddy is so proud! You may not be thinking of him everytime you say it, but when I ask "Where's Da Da?" you know I'm talking about Daddy. Other sounds are goo, guh, boo, buh, juh, duh, th, sss, and you rub your tongue on your upper lip and say luh over and over. Sometimes you also sound like an owl with a who, who. I think I have randomly heard muh, puh, no, and something that sounded like yellow after your toy said it, but you wouldn't repeat any of those.
You're so pre-occupied with moving your not that into toys right now. You'd rather go after a shoe or a remote or a cord than one of your toys. You do like your pop links and stacking cups I recently bought.
You LOVE to read books! The other day I read atleast 10 books to you, and you still wanted to keep going. Everytime I would put one down you would fuss for more! Your favorites now are anything with real babies (you kiss them and some random animals) and touch and feel books. You can go exactly to the touchy feely part on each page.
You really enjoy your Baby Einstein sign language and neighborhood animal DVD's. We don't watch much, but you just sit still in my lap. I think your favorite part is the puppets. We are working on some of the signs but since you have learned how to open and close your hands for bye bye, you use that as a sign when you want something too, like for "more" or "pick me up."
I love that you are trying to communicate through sounds and actions. And your face cannot hide what you're thinking. You have lots of expressions!
I talk and sing to you all the time. So much that I probably sound a little crazy. But I think you are going to be very musical. Here are a few reasons why. First of all, and this is embarrassing, I used to sing a silly McDonald's commercial to you. It's a fish singing, "Give me back that filet of fish, give me that fish, ooh." I noticed that anytime that commercial came on you would stop what you were doing and look and listen. And this was months ago. Secondly, you think it's amazing when I sing the words to tunes on your musical toys. You stop and look at me like, "Wow, Mom!" Also, you think it's funny when Mia sings "You are my Sunshine," like, "Silly Mia, that's Mommy and Daddy's song!" And finally, I think you always enjoy the singing at church, but last Sunday you perked up and got still when we sang "God is So Good." It's a song I sing to you sometimes before you go to sleep. I think it's pretty amazing that you seem to make those connections, and pretty much not a sound goes by that you don't notice. Hopefully you will have a good voice like your Daddy.
You laugh and think it's funny when you toot (also like Daddy)? Ha!
We got a new toothbrush and toothpaste, and you love for me to brush your teeth. Thank goodness you open wide for this, because you never open your mouth and move your tongue for me to see those teeth. They are starting to show some when you make a cheesy grin.
You are getting lots of hair, which makes the headband bow a little frustrating. But you don't have enough to clip one in yet.
You love for us to be silly, dance, and swing you around. Pretty much if it's goofy and rough enough you will squeal and laugh.
You are doing really great at swim lessons. You kick and smile- I think you are going to be a water baby!
You love to be outside on walks, on the porch, on picnics, on the patio. You love all the sights and sounds.
You are friendly with most people. I haven't noticed any stranger anxiety.
You are starting to get upset sometimes if you don't get your way. You kick and try to fuss about it, but I wouldn't call it a fit, YET.
Discipline may be interesting. I think you know what "no, no" means, but you are trying to figure out if we are serious about it. At the changing table you have started grabbing the mirror. I say "no, no" and move your hand. You look at me and ease your hand back up. Then I say "no, no" and spat your hand. And you laugh! What? We have gone through this enough now that you know the spat is coming and brace for it. So why do you still try me? I have done it hard enough to not be funny, and this is where it ends. Don't worry, Mommy will win. Just don't laugh about it Mary Ella!
On that note, you are becoming more beautiful and enjoyable every day. We love you so much and couldn't be happier with you in our lives!