Nine Months

Miss Mallory is nine months old today and is starting to turn into more of a little girl with each day. Ever since she discovered that she could be mobile on her own, she has become more daring and adventurous. She loves to cruise around the furniture and it's evident that it's only a matter of time before she figures out she can take steps without the furniture to support herself. We are in full baby proofing mode right now. She still doesn't crawl around a lot, but it's probably more due to the fact that we don't have carpet so it's not as comfortable on her knees. I had her at a friend's house today who has carpet and she was crawling around like crazy which proves that she will do it when she's determined to get somewhere. It's so cute to watch her go, just looking for something new to get her hands on.

We had her nine month doctor appointment last Thursday morning before we left for Yosemite. She weighs 21.8 lbs. (75th percentile) and is 28 in. (80th percentile). She's slowly starting to slim down and Dr. Randall reminded me that she will continue to do so as she gets more mobile. She is becoming more and more interested in our food as we eat and will even try to steal your food if she's close enough to reach it. She loves deli meat, Mum Mum's, avocado, tomatoes, yogurt, eggs, bananas, and steamed carrots. She still hasn't quite mastered the chewing of adult foods so I'm a little hesitant to try too much too soon, but I love to see her expressions as she starts to taste new flavors.

Her personality is starting to become really fun. She likes when Jody plays karate with her; big time belly laughs! She'll go around and around the ottoman and really gets into it if you chase her. As she explores along the furniture she talks up a storm so when it all of the sudden becomes quiet, it most likely means she found something she shouldn't be in to. She likes to push things around the house even if it doesn't have wheels. Her activity table has become a better walker for her than the actual walker. She found the dishwasher this evening as I was loading it with our dinner dishes and was so entertained I couldn't close it. Pots and pans, tupperware, wooden spoons, plastic dishes, Leo's toy, and empty boxes are favored over her own toys a lot now. She still loves Moose and gets the biggest smile on her face when she sees him on TV.

Though we're having to deal with the wrath that her teeth are causing her, I'm thankful we get good days sprinkled in between the hard ones. This round seems to be more painful for her as it will sometimes affect her sleep at night, causing her to get up a few times. Most times I can get away with just putting her pacifier back in her mouth, but a couple occasions have had me staying up to try and rock her back to sleep for an hour. We keep thinking those top teeth will break through the gums any day now, but they seem to be taking their sweet time. Even with her teething pains, she still has become such a happy little girl. Laughing, smiling, bouncing up and down, dancing to music, throwing items for you to retrieve, singing at the top of her lungs in stores, people watching, pulling on the pets' tails, pinching and hitting our faces. She is having a great time learning about all that is around her and we're having a great time watching it happen!