9

Happy 9 Months Old, Lauren!

Sweet girl, yet another month has flown by and you are continuing to grow up more and more each day! You are constantly babbling (lots of Dada, Mama, Lala, Yaya, NaNay, etc) and are really trying hard to move about - you just cant quite get the hang of how to do so!

You may not be crawling yet, but you are still managing to have quite a lot of other fun firsts:

Your first time sleeping like this (and now it is your favorite position!)....

....first taste of real peas....

....first time in a hotel room....

....first time dipping your feet into a pool....

....first taste of ice cream....

....and, though not a first, you have now officially gotten the hang of the sippy cup and drinking from straws....

You absolutely love to stand and are pretty good at pulling yourself up.

And you LOVE to eat! No more baby food for you, though I am really trying to sneak it in so the jars I have left don't go to waste. You do like oatmeal, so that is where I can manage to sneak in some of the mushy stuff!   Your favorites right now include waffles, pancakes, turkey, peas, blueberries, bananas, cheerios, and chicken. You are down to just four bottles a day - breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner.

We had your 9 month appointment and here are the details:

Weight: 19 pounds, 5 ounces (50-75 %)
Height:  28 3/4 inches (75-90%)
Head Circumference: 17 1/2 inches (50-75 %)

You were cleared to eat anything you want, with the exception of shellfish, peanut butter or honey. Everything is right on track and since you have mastered the sippy cup, we can begin to wean you off of bottles and begin to introduce whole milk at around 11 months. I think I will have a harder time with losing the bottles - I love how your eyes light up when you see them, and I love relaxing in your room at night feeding you that last bottle of the day.

You are an absolute dream come true and I count us so lucky to have been given such an amazing gift!