9 Months Old!

Emma turned 9 months old on the 3rd of this month. She enjoys playing with new toys, swimming in the bathtub and waving at people. This month, she's also started playing peek-a-boo. She has also experienced some back-pedaling when it comes to sleeping through the night. The biggest reason for this is because Dave and I turned off our window air-conditioner in our bedroom since the weather has been a little cooler. That means, I can hear Emma more easily when she wails. With the A/C on, I tend to not hear her.

Right now, Emma's two favorite foods are garlic-guacamole (I make this for her) and chocolate ice-cream (in teeny-teeny amounts, probably 1 tsp sized serving), she also enjoys Baba Gannouj (it is a hummus-like dip that also includes cooked, whipped eggplant. Mommy loves it too!). We still haven't discovered a food she doesn't like. If I were forced to pick something that might be her least favorite, I'd probably go with green beans.

Her favorite toys are the brightly-colored toys that form a chain when you link them together (I don't know what they're called, but they are pictured in a previous post). She loves these because they're easy to hold, the tabs at one end are great for chewing on, they also float in water. There is a hole at one end that she likes to use to scoop water up. She then pours the water into her mouth, or on herself. What fun!

Here's the break-down:

Emma still enjoys singing, and is starting to add different vocalizations to her "songs". I find this utterly adorable. Emma and I sing together all day long. Singing is a normal thing for us.

Emma understands what "No!" means, but we aren't always guaranteed compliance. Many times, she grins and tests again.

Emma can go down the stairs. Some days she's fearless about doing so, but other times she sits on the edge of the stairs and makes noises to let Mommy and Daddy know she needs rescued.

Emma has been more cuddly. Lately, she has been very into Mommy, and frequently asks to be picked up and cuddled. She's never been a very affectionate baby, so this new behavior is both surprising and very welcome.

Emma can now sit in the high-chairs at restaurants. She's been able to do this to some degree for awhile, but now Mommy and Daddy don't have to keep one hand on her to make sure she doesn't slip out. For purposes other than safe driving, we are carrying her car-seat with us less and less often. It's a nice change.

Emma eats every 2 hours or so. She is still eating about 95% breast milk. Every day she is allowed to be hand-fed a TINY sampling of everything Mommy and Daddy have. She loves this and seems to be thriving and content. I much prefer this to offering her cereal or crackers to snack on. I really don't think it's a good idea for parents to be feeding such things to kids. Especially as a large part of their diet.

Emma can put one hand on the furniture (for balance) and walk all the way around her. She is a mobile little beast!

Emma has two teethers. She has her bottom two teeth now, and is enjoying using them to bite off bits of a larger portion of food that Mommy and Daddy offer her.

Emma is marginally afraid of thunder. Mommy and Daddy take her outside to watch and enjoy the thunderstorms. She doesn't mind this, but does show some fear if she's alone in her crib when the storm hits.

Emma has learned that she doesn't like to pray! Mommy and Daddy insist on saying grace before each meal. This is hard for Emma. She wants to eat the food right away! No waiting allowed! We also pray with her before we place her in her crib at night. She's quickly learning that praying means she has to wait for her food, or that she's going to bed. Mommy and Daddy aren't gonna budge when it comes to saying Grace. We are, however going to pray with her before we take her into her bedroom at night. It's funny what kids pick up on sometimes.