JuJu Bug!!! Your 9th month of life flew by and I was very tardy in writing your blog post this month. I usually get pretty inspired by the photos I take and can't wait to get them up and write about your cuteness and current achievements. This month, however, you are a little one very much on the move!! We are certainly celebrating your accomplishment in the mobility department, however, it made taking photos very difficult!
You have mastered crawling and are fast! Not only are you zipping around to and fro but you are taking after your big sister and are wanting to, and attempting to, climb everything. You can climb the whole staircase unassisted (with daddy right behind you of course) and giggle the whole way up - usually with helpful cheers and "you can do it Baby!" from Olivia. You are still furniture cruising and have started to wobble around using the walker toy. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jared thankfully let us borrow their foldable baby pin and it has been quite a lifesaver for me while we struggle to re-babyproof everything now that you're officially on the move!
We've been letting you eat more table foods which you seem to really enjoy! I'm also enjoying the ease of sharing our meals with you. No more homemade baby food takes a chore off my to-do list (even though I was of course happy to do it for you). You devour any carbs we offer you first, though to be honest, you don't discriminate too much. I think you like to eat! Get it girl!
Sadly, on your 9 month birthday you had Roseola. Poor girl. You became increasingly fussy, had no appetite and started running a fever. It is the absolute WORST when your baby isn't feeling well and there isn't much I can do! We happened to have your 9 month well visit when you were sick so I was glad to take you in and have you checked out. The doctor said it was probably teething but *might* be Roseola but we wouldn't know until day 5 when you'd break out in a rash. And perfectly on schedule, your fever broke and you broke out in a full body rash on day 5. Luckily, by then you were feeling much better and your appetite was coming back.
Sick eyes at the Doctor's office 😢
You celebrated your first 4th of July! We had a pretty low-key day which was nice. A couple of friends came over and Daddy grilled some food for everyone. We followed that up with some pool time with Uncle Jason and Catherine.
You're super cuddly these days and I LOVE it!! You grab on with your arms and your legs and often rest your head on our shoulders. It's the sweetest!
The extra cuddles you give help lessen the blow of the sleep regression you've developed. You're back to consistently waking up at least one time a night now. But those cuddles you give when I pick you up out of the crib sure help!
You and Olivia are starting to be able to play together more. It's so fun to watch y'all interact. I think the fact that you are more mobile has helped your interactions.
Love you so much precious, precious girl!! These nine months have flown by (wayyyyy faster than the nine months you were in my tummy!) and they have been such a blessing because YOU have been here!!! Happy 9 months sweet, Juju Bug!
Pumpkin! You are NINE months old! You are the absolute cutest and I can't believe how much I keep falling in love with you more and more each day.
This has been a big month for you and you've achieved some big milestones!
We, along with you, experienced our first Tropical Storm. Hermine visited Labor Day weekend and turned out to be much stronger and more intense than we had expected. I suppose I assumed the Weather Channel was exaggerating the severity of the storm. However, I learned I was mistaken. We didn't have very strong, scary storms, but we did have crazy intense wind! We had a lot of debris and damage from the wind, including a tree top that fell on our porch and destroyed some patio furniture. We didn't have power for 36+ hours, but that didn't seem to faze you one bit. You are a trooper and just rolled with things, like having no AC, like a rockstar. In fact, this leads me to your next big milestone...
Princess you were NOT feeling the photos today
... the first night we were power-less, girl... YOU. SLEPT. THROUGH. THE. NIGHT!!!!!!!! Huzzah!! Mommy couldn't believe it when I woke up around 5:30 am and realized you hadn't been up once. I may have mildly freaked out and ran into your nursery to check on you, but overall I was just really happy! Daddy and I think maybe you just needed your room to be slightly warmer to get a good night's rest. Since that night you have hand a handful of nights that you sleep really well. I am so grateful. I feel like a different person now that we are collectively getting more rest. You still wake up occasionally but we let you cry it out and you usually go back to sleep fairly quickly. Woo Hoo for more sleep!
We've been busy filling our days with a lot of activities. We're still going to story time at the library and you've got the routine down like a pro. This month we've also started attending a music class that you really seem to enjoy. The class sends curriculum back with you to practice at home too. I've also started going to MOPS and am excited about that. We've also been having fun at some playdates with friends.
You've been working hard on those upper teeth!
I think Daddy is your favorite person, probably because he does fun things with you like letting you climb the stairs, bike rides, swinging, and goofing off with you. You're lucky, you've got a wonderful Daddy!
During the day at home you play, play, play. You love your walker and we do many laps around the living room. Flap and texture books are your favorite and you're really proud of yourself when you turn a page, open a flap, or point out a texture. Your favorite toys are an egg shaker, your monkey shaker, the ring stacker, keys (from Aunt Sarah), and any kitchen tool we let you play with.
Most days I'll turn on Disney or Toddler music and we dance around for a bit. You giggle and giggle and it makes my heart soar! You seem to really respond to anything musical, which I hope is a sign that you will be more musically gifted than mommy. You must get that from Daddy. This month you've started clapping and you can open and close you hands when we sing "open and shut them" and "twinkle, twinkle, little stars". You "sing" along sometimes and it's the cutest!
You went to North Carolina this past month and added another state to the list you've visited. So far that makes 4 states. Not too bad for 9 months! We visited Charlotte with Lolly and G-daddy and you got to splash around in the pool with them, which you loved!
You got to spend some time with Aunt Jessie and Uncle Juan when they came to visit and you loved it! You even got to watch TV for the first time while you cuddled with Aunt Jessie!
Look at those teeth!
We also were able to spend some time with your Aunt Sarah, Uncle Jared, and cousins this month. You love your cousins. It's adorable watching you watch them and trying to keep up. I'm so glad you have two great cousins in your life to play with! Karis and Evan are SOOOOO sweet with you and it just warms my heart!
You're still nursing. We tried formula for the first time this past month... and you straight up, absolutely refused. I mean, you weren't having any of it! Ha. So yeah, we're still nursing. It's my goal to nurse you for at least a year anyways, we were just trying formula right before bed in an attempt to get you to sleep better, but you seem do be doing that on your own now anyways. You're eating solids really well and this month you've tried cauliflower, spinach, and yellow squash in addition to everything else you've had.
You attended your first major league sporting event this month! Daddy and I were so excited to take you to a Braves game! We had our first date there over nine years ago and went to many, many games over the years. It felt surreal to take our daughter to a game. We went with Lolly and G-Daddy, you did really well, and we all had a great time. And the Braves won!! Whoop whoop!!
Baby girl, you've achieved so much this month, BUT the biggest thing you've accomplished so far also happened a week before you turned 9 months! YOU STARTED WALKING!!! That's right, my strong, determined girl, you started walking at 8 months!!! Mommy and Daddy are incredibly proud of you. And you are pretty tickled too.
You took your first steps at your Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jared's house. I've had a hard time getting a video of your walking because you see the phone and know you can get there quicker if you crawl. But I finally got one where you took more than two steps.
Olivia, you truly are our joy and delight and we thank the Lord for you. You are our precious, precious gift and we cannot believe how enriched you've made our lives the past nine months. We love you to pieces little one. Happy nine months!! XOXOXO
