Fiona | 9 months

6 weeks

9 months

(!!! How does this ^ happen?) 

Hello, nine months. You are pretty fun. 

You're so curious. And a little bit daring. Edges are starting to intrigue you. You crawl like a champ-not very speedy, but you get where you want to go by a steady plod. The uncles have been pushing you to walk. I think you will walk only when you want to though. Most of the time you are pretty even-keeled, but you can be stubborn when you want to be. You don't like being fed & prefer to feed yourself whatever we are eating. Baby food is for babies & you think you aren't one anymore. Food is an adventure you thoroughly enjoy. I'm hopehopehoping it stays that way!!

Everything still gets put to the taste test. Some of your favorite foods are sausage! Bacon! And applesauce. You've stained more than one white shirt with orange cutie juice. (Who knew it stained!?) I've even been sneaking in a little dairy here & there. No huge reaction!

Sleeping's been a lesson in unpredictability & learning to roll with the punches. Sometimes it's a 3-nap day, sometimes it's a 1-nap day. Frequently you decide 3 am is a good time to complain about your sleeping arrangements. I've gotten pretty good at turning off the monitor & rolling over. (Bad mom!) What keeps me sane is your habit of sleeping in til 9. It makes the 11:00 bedtime doable. One of my favorite parts of the day is hearing you wake up in your crib & talk to yourself. I sneak in & just watch you chatter & pull on your bear's nose sometimes, in awe that you are mine.

You're getting a little snugglier (to daddy's delight!) & like to follow me around the house. Going bye-bye is your favorite. You are quick to wave & head towards the door if you hear those words! Cousin Livy is your buddy & so are most other littles. A little too much sometimes--you can be a little aggressive with your affection! Daddy's got the scratches to prove it.

You've really started to come alive this month: you "cheese" for the camera & are starting to think you're kinda funny.

**Also, fun fact. You've been wearing these onesies for 5 months. They are 3 month size. You weigh 14# 14 ounces. Your friend, who was born a few months ago, weighs 13# 9 ounces.  Though she be but little, she is fierce. 

And teeth! Here are your top two, in all their gappy-chiclet-y glory. They make you look so adorably goofy. Dad worries about the gap: I love it. It's just you. 

We love you so. And while this month brought some of the hardest days for me so far, it also brought the best. Being a mother is so so strangely distressing & wonderful all at the same time. There are days I want to quit. But that would mean no little you in my life & that, my dear Fee, would be so sad. And so I will keep getting up at 3 am to make sure you're ok. And I will let you smear your snotty nose on my. And wipe your sticky cutie fingers on my freshly laundered white sweater. And I will carry you in your heavy cumbersome carrier through the drizzling rain a hundred times a day to run a hundred mundane errands & listen to you complain all the while about being warm, & dry, & cozy. And I will sacrifice my meal times to chop up the chicken into the tiniest little bits you can feed yourself that I will spend the next four days stepping on barefoot on the kitchen floor.
You, little love of mine, have showed me how selfish I can be, & how pure God's love for me really is. And you've looked cute while doing it. I can't wait to see what the next month has in store!