9 Months

Oh, my 9-month-old baby.  So much closer to not being a baby at all.

Ellie has changed so much in the last month.  Even my mom commented on the fact that she seems so much different since we left Ohio -- and that was just two weeks ago.  Ellie doesn't have her 9-month well check for another week, but she weighed 14 pounds when her nurse came to visit at the end of August, so I can guess that she'll be almost 14 1/2 pounds at her well check.  She's sitting up on her own, and her vocabulary has expanded to include lots of other sounds, but we have yet to hear that elusive "da."

Ellie at nine months is as delightful as she is challenging.  Challenging because she tends to get frustrated quite easily: when I put her in the highchair, when I put on her bib, when she wants to get down from said highchair, when I wipe her face after eating, when I change her diaper/clothes.  Delightful because she is, thankfully, no longer frustrated about being on her belly and unable to go anywhere because she can now do the combat crawl all over the floor!

Looks like a face plant, but it's really Ellie on the move!

She loves inching toward her toys, my phone, the computer (insert other off-limits technology here).  Sometimes I swear she tosses her toys away just so she can crawl to them.  Speaking of toys, she loves anything that stacks, is very colorful, lights up or makes noise.

(Do I pick it up or let it ring?)

Aside from a few very early mornings in the last week, Ellie's sleep schedule is coming along quite nicely.  Dare I say she's sleeping through the night?  She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 in the evening and generally sleeps until anywhere between 6:00 and 7 the next morning.  I used to be able to feed her when she got up and put her down for another 1-2 hours, giving me a little time to get some things done, but I have a feeling those days are over.  On a related note, we have been able to get out the door sooner for our morning walks thanks to this earlier wake up time.  In fact, I took her out for our first actual run the other morning with Brian's office.  It was my first 5k post-partum -- I can pretty much guarantee that Ellie had a better time sitting in the jogging stroller than I did running.

Ellie loves to eat.  We had a few days where she wasn't eating as much as she had been, but I'm sure that's to be expected.  I think I'm at the point where I can be a little more adventurous about introducing her to new foods but she sure loves her fruits and veggies!  Truthfully, she has become a little more picky about eating, but for the most part, she eats what is offered to her.  Those two bottom teeth help and are quite cute, too, except when she accidentally (or worse, intentionally) bites me (usually while nursing).  Ouch.

Mostly, she remains my happy little girl.  And any time you glance her way, she gives you a huge smile.  Kinda like this.

Or this.

What a ham.