9 months

Well... we have a 9 month old and I of course can't believe it. She is 3/4 of a year old! Where did time go?!?! Lilly is the happiest 9 month old around. She is full of life and literally ALL over the place! She is crawling everywhere... and fast! She is still of course pulling up and can stand on her own for several seconds. She can take one step in a different direction and grab on to the next object so I know she will be walking in no time! I wish I had a pause button for life. She always has us on our toes. She is just such a joy to be around and we couldn't feel more blessed. 

I finally found L's tickle spot. It is under her neck! My sis was always ticklish under her neck and I always thought it was so strange. My neck isn't ticklish at all... but Lilly's for sure is. She laughs so hard when you tickle her there. It is pretty hilarious to hear her little giggle.

Lilly's current schedule is: Wake up at 7am, nurse, go for a morning stroll, eat cereal and a fruit, and then nap at 9am. Around 10:30 or 11am she wakes, nurses, and then has play time. Around noon she eats a veggie and fruit. Sometimes we have lunch out with friends which is fun too. Then she has a little more awake time and goes down for her afternoon nap around 1pm. She naps until about 3pm. Then wakes, nurses and she has extended awake time until she goes to bed for the night at 7pm. During this stretch we play, run errands, do grocery shopping, etc. At 6pm she nurses, eats cereal and a veggie, and then she gets ready for bed. We read, have bath time, put of pjs, say prayers, sing, and kiss goodnight. She has officially dropped the late afternoon nap and only takes two naps a day. The extra time in the afternoon is nice to be able to get out and about more.

Jere gets home from work about 6pm. He helps with feeding her dinner and getting her ready for bed. It's there little time together and they love it!

L is talking like crazy. I just wish I could get inside her head and figure out what she is saying. She just talks and talks and talks, and to me it just sounds like rambling. No new words since around 8 1/2 months, but a lot more babbling. I have been working on mommy... but no luck yet. :) She tells everyone we see hi and waves. She is such a charmer and makes friends wherever we go.

L is growing so big so fast! She outgrew her first set of little headbands I ordered her. So of course we had to get more. I love them and she seems not to mind them! Although she recently found one on her head the other day when she bumped it doing "SO BIG." After that she wanted to keep pulling it off. L's hair is a beautiful color. It is a darker blonde with lots of strawberry color. The other day at Best Buy the guy helping me said he loved her red hair. So you never know... depending on the light it looks different but always gorgeous. :) She still has 6 teeth, the top four and bottom two. They are all showing really good now.

Trying to escape the chair and climb on out of it...

Like I said Lilly is into everything! I was cooking dinner one evening and Lilly was playing on the floor. All of a sudden it was really quiet and she had escaped. I walked around the corner to the laundry room and this is what I found...

Lilly~ You are such a stinker and so precious. I love how innocent you are and how sweet your spirit is.  We are so thankful that you are a part of our lives. You have given my life so much purpose and I can't wait to see what the next month brings. I love you little one and pray for you constantly! xo~ Mommy

This month Lilly had to say her first farewell to one of her first friends. So naturally we had to get a pic of the four of us before they left. Lily moved to Cali with her mommy and daddy to become a surfer girl. I guess we will just have to go visit!

L is moving on in the world of food. As far as purees she has added corn, oranges, plums, strawberries, and grapes. She is also starting to eat some table foods as part of her diet. Mainly fruits and cheerios, but also bits of homemade mighty muffins, avocado, homemade veggie burger patty, and pasta. She wasn't a huge fan of the avocado and pasta. I was shocked... but we will keep trying. L has a very sensitive gag reflex... so much to the point of vomiting sometimes. I asked the doc about it and he pretty much said "grin and bear it" and "practice makes perfect." So... we just have to keep giving her different textures and hopefully she will get accustomed very soon and not at the expense of too much throw up.

In the morning after I feed her she loves to go wake up Daddy. She immediately crawls to him, climbs up on him, and plays with his hair. One morning I caught it on camera...

In the world of play I feel like I'm more bored with Lilly's toys than she is. She seems to love playing with the same ones over and over again. We drained her swimming pool and moved it inside. I put a quilt and toys in it and it has become quite the little play pen. She has some independent play time in there and we get in and play with her as well. The blow up sides are perfect for keeping her confined and safe. She also loves to play in her pack n play while I shower or I'm doing chores around the house. It is so nice that she will play alone and doesn't constantly want to be held. Supposedly this helps develop creativity. I hope this munchkin is a creative one!

We have been staying indoors a lot and trying to escape this insane heat! We have been in triple digits for nearly 3 weeks now so we are all about little trips to get out of the house and have a change of scenery. We visited Tia Mel and Daddy at work this month. They loved having us or more importantly loved showing off Lilly. 

Checking out Tia's cube. L loved playing on the computer!

We had lunch with Daddy at Corner Bakery...

 And then we visited his office and L got to try his headset on for size...

 She's a natural at the phone calls...

We have been eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies and making weekly trips when in town to the local farmers market. It's amazing how much fresher the food tastes and how much longer it keeps. I love supporting the local farmers and hearing their stories! Here is a pic of L's 1st Dallas Farmer's Market adventure.

Lilly is SO big! She finally got it and won't stop throwing her arms in the air when I ask her how big she is! It is too cute!!!

L had a great 9 month doctor appointment. She checked out perfectly. The appointment was during her normal afternoon nap so I was worried she might be a little cranky... but nope! She was bouncing off the walls, literally! She loves the mirror and destroying the paper on the table. I've never seen so much energy in a little person. 

I asked the doc about her head circumference because it was such a low percentile compared to the rest. He said not to worry... that she will just probably wear a smaller hat. Ha!

*9 month stats*

Height: 27 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 18 pounds 1 ounce (45th percentile)

Head Circumference: 42.3 centimeters (15th percentile)