9 Months Old

Here we go again, another monthly update!  Monthly photo shoots have become quite entertaining, and Teddy has gone from prop to playmate.

Kate has spent the last month exploring every inch of our home and is determined to touch and taste her whole world.  If she is awake, she's on the move.  This constant need to explore also made getting a monthly picture much more challenging.

We have a climber!  Once she realized she could get there, she went back over and over again.

Favorites:  Chewing on shoes or socks, "If You're Happy and You Know It," touching our teeth, pulling up on everything, baths, babbling, peek-a-boo, sucking her thumb, gnawing on coasters, banana flavored Puffs, hunting remote controls and cell phones, going to daycare, and opening cabinets.

Dislikes:  Shoes on her feet, bows in her hair, when we take objects from her that are not meant to be eaten, and when no one wants to play with her at five o'clock in the morning when she is ready to greet the day.

Noteworthy at Nine Months: Kate still only has her two bottom teeth.  She makes more and more new sounds and strings them together in rhythms that mimic sentences.  She gets very excited when she is "talking" to you.  We've heard several Da-da-da-da's and Mmm-mama's, but the connection between the noises and the people they represent has not been made yet.  She cruises quickly along furniture that is her height and stands unassisted for brief moments.  Once this past month she took a step forward while free standing, although it seemed purely accidental and doesn't really count as her first step.  She's getting closer and closer everyday though, and I think she'll be walking before her first birthday.

She gets frustrated sometimes when she is being held and would rather be roaming free.  Snuggling and sleeping on us is much less common... but it does still happen and is all the sweeter and more precious when it does since it has become a rare occurrence.

Last weekend, a glorious and rare shared nap!

I say it every month, but I continue to be humbled, amazed, and beyond grateful that I get to be Baby Kate's Mama.  It has its ups and downs for sure, but the good far outweighs the bad.  When she is laughing so hard that she can barely catch her breath, there is no better sound I've ever heard.  When she reaches up her arms for me and then rests her head on my shoulder with a content sigh, there is no better feeling.  Simply put, being a mom is just the best.