Nine Months In, Nine Months Out

Kate is nine months old today, which means she has been outside the womb about as long as she was in! While still my little baby, she also seems like such a "big girl" now (big girl being relative, of course). These last two months have been huge for her, developmentally, as she has learned to pull up, cruise, crawl (in that order), and feed herself finger foods.

Now, at nine months, she is:

• cruising easily and even walking with a push-toy
• standing unassisted for a few seconds
• getting close to walking unassisted
• on the verge of waving (right now it's more like a "heil")
• eating three meals of solids (oatmeal, yogurt, fruit/veggie puree, etc.) in addition to four bottles a day (though she's taking less in each bottle--down from 8 oz. to just 4-7).
• eating a wide variety of finger foods (puffs, macaroni, banana, peaches, string cheese, peas, carrots, bread, and zucchini)
• wearing size 2-3 diapers
• wearing size 6-12 mo. clothes (Gymboree and Gap size things with that wide range, Carter's just with 9 mo.)
• wearing shoes on a regular basis
• sleeping around 10-11 hours at night (she's been doing 10 for a while, but she's been sleeping a little later, lately)
• napping 2-3 times a day in short stints (usually 45-60 minutes at most, though occasionally longer)
• just starting to express preferences or separation-anxiety for certain people
• still blowing raspberries and sticking out her tongue
• laughing a lot when we tickle her, blow her hair, or chase her crawling

Kate's getting to be an old pro at this life-outside-the-womb thing! She is a very happy baby, independent and active. I love you so much, Baboo, and I feel so lucky to be your mommy!

[By the way, another Nashville mommy-blogger, Vanderbilt Wife, is celebrating her daughter's first birthday with a little blogstravaganza called "12 Days of Libbie." She invited anyone writing a "love-on-your-kid" post to link up, so welcome to anyone clicking over from there! And happy birthday, Libbie!]