Growing Up: Month 9

Evy, you are now 9 months old! Here are some highlights:


-The big news: you decided that you are finished with nursing! I had planned to go a full year, but over the last several weeks, you have slowly started losing interest. After trying everything, and after much thought and discussion, I let you stop. 9 months is a great amount of time, in my opinion. I even thought it might be a phase you were going through, but that was no the case. You were clearly ready to move on. And that's just fine!

-You are so close to crawling! All of a sudden you became very interested in rolling from your back to your stomach (it took you 9 months), and from there you discovered the joy of being mobile. You are rolling back and forth to get to where you want to go, but I know that in NO time you will figure out the art of crawling.

-You can wave now! One day you were sitting in your Exersaucer, and you looked at me, tilted your little head, and waved. It was the sweetest, most unexpected thing! You don't do it quite on demand yet, but it's becoming more frequent.

-One of your little quirks: instead of a lovie, stuffed animal, or blankie to go to sleep with, you prefer your play cell phone (heavenly days). We'll hear the little button sounds and the songs for a little bit before you fall asleep. I think that's a good tip: reserve the favorite toy for the crib so when you put the baby down, they're excited to stay in the crib with the toy!

-Your favorite songs, of all time, are still "Little David Play on Your Harp" and "The Diaper Song." And yes, I have a wide repertoire but you are very loyal to those two particular songs.

-You're still wearing a size 3 diaper, and we'll be going to the doctor soon for your 9 month check up. You're a healthy, growing girl!

-You battled The Swine like a champion, and we hardly knew you were sick. So proud of you!

-I THINK you might be cutting two bottom teeth. I THINK I see some white peeking through, but you won't let me have a good look (and it's driving me crazy because I want to know if I'm right or not!). I guess time will tell!

-We aren't on a specific time schedule, but you do have a routine. Here's what a typical day will be like:

• 9:00 am : Wake up, bottle, sometimes solids
• 11:00 am : Nap
• 12:30 pm : Wake up, bottle, solids
• 3:30 pm : Bottle and Nap
• 5:00 pm : Wake up
• 6:30 pm : Bottle and Solids
• 8:30-9:00 pm: Bottle and Bedtime. We put you in your crib, cover you with a light blanket, tell you how much we adore and love you, and then let you fall asleep on your own.

-You are such a happy, smiley baby except when you're being photographed at the wrong time or by someone other than me or Daddy. This makes it really (really) difficult to get a good Christmas card/family picture! But that's okay...it's your little personality. :)

-You gave me a real "love love" recently. You opened your mouth and leaned your head onto my face. It was just so sweet.

-We love you more and more every second. I still can't believe that God gave someone as precious as you to us. We are so undeserving. But the world was undeserving of Jesus, so this gives me a better picture of God's love. It's amazing how God will reveal little things like this to me so naturally. It's a beautiful thing about being a parent that I didn't fully expect. I wish there were more adjectives to describe how we feel about you. Words aren't adequate. You are life-changing, life-enriching, and life-fulfilling. We can't praise the Lord enough for you, your health, and your happiness. We love you!

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

Eight Months Old

And now, Nine Months Old!