Nine Months!

Hello again...from the slackiest of all blog slackers.

Today, my baby is nine months old!

Right now, as we speak...or, type/read...she's sitting in her high chair watching Little Einsteins with her big sister, eating a banana and some Crunch Berries...and banging the back of the chair that's with-in her reach against her tray. That about sums my girl up. She's down for any kind of table food 24-7 and she NEVER sits still. Ever.

We go in for her check up in a few hours so I don't have height/weight stats but I can tell you that she's a pretty lean baby...and not for lack of eating! Just an example of a typical daily intake: a banana and about 2 eggs scrambled (that she has to eat standing up next to my chair and off my fork, not sure why, but that's how sister prefers her eggs), 2-3 Mum Mums, a Bitter Biscuit, 1/4 a canister of Puffs, 2 hot dogs, a small can of peas & carrots, a couple crackers and maybe some noodles of whatever variety I have on hand. Home girl can EAT. They always laugh at the gym because the entire time I'm working out, they have her in a walker eating crackers or gold fish and she's as happy a can be! Oh, and she still has 4-5 bottles of formula a day too!

If she ever had "down time" I'm sure she'd have those chubby baby thighs and a cute belly...but she NEVER stops moving. Just last night her Daddy commented on how hyper she was. She is literally all over the place all day long. Her morning nap lasts a whopping 45 min...in the afternoon I'm lucky if I get an hour and fifteen min. The rest of the day she's either dancing with her big sister to Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus CDs (she gets up on her knees and bounces around capping), pushing her baby stroller all over the house, or banging on her Leap Frog Activity Table.

She's a very happy baby, but pretty stubborn too...and she HATES the word "no" (which she hears often)...she definitely knows what it means too, because as soon as you tell her no she starts throwing a little fit...or if she's feeling especially bold, she'll just smile at you like, "woman, I know what you're tellin' me but I really feel like pulling up on the trash can to get this empty apple juice box, ok?"

As my Grammie would say, "Oofta"

I am very happy to report that she's still a Momma's girl though! Something about me still carrying baby weight around makes me feel like she should at least be a Momma's girl, right? Well, she's a Momma's girl when Daddy doesn't have ice-cream...when Daddy has sweets, all bets are off...she puts her head down and does the super charged crawl right over to where he's sitting, stands up and drops her mouth open. She definitely has her Daddy's sweet tooth.

Some of her favorite things are her stacking rings she got from Grandma & Grandpa for Christmas, her baby she sleeps with, HER PACI (good Lord help me when I have to break her of that), empty water bottles and keys/cell phones/remote controls...but not the kid ones, my girl turns her nose up at those, she wants the real thing.

Some of her nine month milestones:
-she's standing independently and is literally days away from taking her first steps
-she claps when she's happy or excited about something
-she said her first word on Christmas Day, "Bu-Bu" to her big brother, he was SOOOOO excited. She also asks for her Ba-Ba (her bottle) and says Da-Da too.
-she'll also talk on the phone...it's just jibber jabber but when my Mom talks to her, she talks right back...it's so cute.
-if you stick your tongue out at her, I mean I don't....why would I do that? ummm, but IF you did....she's do it right back. She mimics most anything you do.
-she sticks her finger up her nose too, I don't think it's for picking purposes yet, she just figured out it fits up there about a month ago...and it's now her finger's favorite place to be...lovely

Some non-milestones:
-sister refuses to hold her own bottle...I mean why hold it yourself when your Mom's right there to do it for you? right?
-she won't drink out of a straw or sippy cup...although she thinks the tips make excellent chewing devices
-she still only has her two bottom teeth, clearly that doesn't stop her from eating everything in sight though
-I don't think my baby will ever sleep through the night, not while her push-over Mommy is there. She has me all figured out...she knows I'll cave eventually, honestly it doesn't ever bother me anymore.

I can't believe she'll be one in three short months! It feels like I was just pregnant...I can't believe how much she's grown and changed in nine months. I just want to keep her like this forever...especially when I think about how big her brother and sister are getting! She has the sweetest smile that lights up her whole face, and those tiny fingers, soft baby hair. I just love her so much! Happy nine months Ry!!!!!!!!!!!!!