9 Months

Our baby girl turned 9 months old today. I can't believe it! I say this each month, but I am amazed at the things she can now do. Our baby is turning into a little girl. Today we lowered her crib mattress since she is about to start pulling herself into a standing position. I have also manipulated her room and toys to suit her curiosity and keep her out of harm. It is fun and I love to see her discover new things, but it is also alarming how that simple curiosity can get her into a lot of hurt. Don't worry, nothing has happened - I just think I would sleep a lot better right now if our house was completely padded, everything was bolted to the wall, and it was one story. :) Here are some fun things that are happening now:

- Ellie began crawling this week. It still is a form of an "army crawl" where she kind of digs her face and shoulders into the floor, even though her back end keeps pushing forward. :) Each time she does it, she becomes more efficient and goes further. It is amazing at how efficient she is getting!

- Her 9 month appointment was today and she is 18 pounds, which puts her in the 25-50%. I know it is closer to the 25%, but I am SO happy about it! At her 6 month appointment, Ellie was in the 8%, so we are making progress! :) She is also 28 3/4 inches (90%) and her head circumference is in the 90%. Wow!

- Ellie loves to wave, play peek-a-boo, clap, "so big", or any activity that will get you to look at her. :) She loves attention and will demand it in a "less cute" way if the first type of games don't work.

- She is getting more and more finger food, which I love. Although I need to get some recipes for more baby-type food, I love that she can feed herself. It makes life a little easier!

- As mentioned earlier, Ellie LOVES to swim. She loves being in the water and has become an active kicker and splasher.

- Ellie can now move from a lying down position to a sitting position. She was rolling around on the floor one day when I was putting on my make-up, when all of the sudden I looked over and she was sitting. I dismissed it, thinking perhaps I forgot that I just sat her up myself. However, she did it again a couple minutes later. So fun!

- Ellie's repertoire of skills is now so fun that she decides to practice them at night...while she is sleeping. I guess this is really common, however it also means she doesn't sleep as well. I guess that is the price I have to pay... :)

I am sure there is stuff I am forgetting. Maybe I'll add onto this post soon. Also, I will hopefully update the picture soon, since this was taken last week - when she was 8 months old. :)