At 9 months you:
- Are eating more and more table food. You are still drinking 4 bottles a day at 6 ounces each. You still eat Gerber Stage 2 & some Stage 3 foods. You really like Gerber’s lasagna! Some new table foods you have added to your repertoire are green bean pieces (your favorite), carrot pieces, peaches (a girl after Papa’s heart), black-eyed peas, and today you age some white meat chicken out of a can and some fresh strawberries!
- Are still drinking diluted apple juice and white grape juice from a sippy cup and drinking a little more every day.
- Are still wearing size 4 diapers.
- Are outgrowing your 9 month clothes (mostly in the length of the legs and sleeves) and wear mostly 12 month clothes.
- Weigh 23 pounds according to our rough calculations at home.
- Got your second tooth around February 2nd! You have a nice matching set now. It’s pretty much caught up to the length of tooth #1.
- Take a morning nap and an afternoon nap.
- Go to sleep between 7:00 and 7:30 pm and wake up between 7:00 and 8:00 am; However, you’ve thrown us a curveball this week and have been getting up a little earlier to eat, and a couple of times during the night. We think you’ve hit a growth spurt because it’s been hard to fill you up this week!
- Said your first word (Da-Da) on January 24th. We’re pretty sure you didn’t know what it meant when you started saying it, but you do now! You look at Daddy when we say it to you. We haven’t heard anything else clearly yet, but you like to babble a lot and we babble to you right back!
- Are still working on your friendship with Bond. You’ve become his little shadow – everywhere he goes, you’re right behind him. You like looking out the windows with him in search of squirrels.
- Don’t like rocking before your naps/bedtime much anymore, much to our sadness! After reading some books, you’re pretty much ready to go to sleep! You still snuggle some at other times, though.
- Are making your “raspberry” sounds again! We think it’s because it feels good on your sore gums.
- Greet us every morning standing up in your crib holding onto the rail. It’s a GREAT way to start the morning!
- Are hearing us say, “No No!” and “Don’t Touch!” a lot!
- Still kick your feet whenever you get excited.
- Love giving “hugs” to your stuffed animals. They always make you smile.
- Have developed a silly face where you crinkle up your little nose and eyes and smile with those pretty two teeth!
- Are crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. We’ll see you let go every once in a while and stand on your own before sitting down or reaching for something to balance with. You like standing on your tippy-toes! You’ve “cruised” a few times – for example, holding onto a chair and reaching for a table next to it and taking a step toward it.
- Have had your fair share of bumps and bruises – mostly on your sweet little head! Breaks our hearts, but we know it comes with the territory due to the activities listed above!
- Still use your pacifier, but only during naptime and during the night.
- LOVE playing peek-a-boo. Through the slats in your crib, with a blanket covering your faces, hiding behind a door, etc.
- Are very ticklish – on your sides, tummy, and feet.
- Enjoyed your first Valentine’s Day!
- Have fun playing in the kitchen with your pots and pants to bang on while Mommy is working.
- Still love being read to.
- Have started to “dance” when we sing or play music. You basically just bend your knees up and down and make a bouncing motion! Too cute!
- Have discovered “Baby Einstein” videos and love them. You giggle at the puppets and are G-L-U-E-D to the TV. Mommy loves them, too, because it gives her 30 straight minutes to get things done around the house!
We praise the Lord that you’re a beautiful, healthy growing girl!
