Claire at 9 Months

Hi Sweet Claire,

I will have to come back and add your 9 month photo to this post later.  I have been trying to get it for nearly 2 weeks, but you just aren't having it!  I will have to recruit your daddy to help me keep you still long enough to snap a picture on your chair!  Until then...here is what you are up to these days...

You are no longer our little baby...we find ourselves often calling you our "big girl" now.  While you are still so little....you seem to be growing so big right before our eyes.  You are pulling up  on everything around you.  You are curious about everything and you want to touch and feel it all.  You are pulling up and sitting down over and over again all day.  I would think that you must be exhausted from so much exercise all day!

 

This month you have been into all kinds of things.  We can't turn our back for a second or you will crawl across the house at record speed and be into who knows what.  It is so much fun!  You laugh a lot now and respond to us when we are being silly.  You still love peek a boo and giving high 5's!  You started waving this month.  Your wave is so cute.  You move your whole arm up and down with lots of enthusiasm and sometimes you wave with both arms when you are really excited- like when we are outside and we see Daddy coming home from work!  You can recognize his car coming down the street- it truly amazes me!

Your 9 month check up is scheduled for next week, but I weighed you and I think you're around 20 pounds now.  You are still in a size 3 diaper and you're wearing 9 month clothes.

As you can see from the pictures, we have really been enjoying the nice weather lately! We've had some gorgeous days in the 70's and you LOVE to be outside and swing!

Getting your first tooth sure did complicate your napping routine.  I was really loving the predictability of your consistent routine, and then it all went away for about a week or so, but now you seem to be getting back into the groove of things again!  YAY!  You usually nap at 9 and 1.  Each nap is about 1-2 hours.  Your teeth also seem to bother you at night.  You've been waking up 1-2 times each night for about 15 nights in a row.  It's not too bad though.  Usually I can rock you, sometimes nurse you and you go back to sleep, but sometimes it can last a long time.

You eat dinner at 6:00, take a bath and go to bed at 7:00.  On a good night you sleep until about 7:00 the next morning!  I LOVE this and I am so thankful to you for being such a good sleeper now!  I think I'm getting spoiled and it will be hard when we have another baby (someday) to go back to waking up every few hours each night.  I will enjoy this while I can for sure.

You eat solids 3 times a day at 8:30, noon and 6.  You nurse at 7:00, 9:00, 12:00, 3:00. 5:30 and 7:00.  You're getting the hang of your sippy cup more this month, but sometimes I still have to help you tilt it so you can get the water out.  We don't give you any juice, only water and you LOVE it!

You love your Daddy and will point and stare at pictures of him while we are at home during the day.  I love seeing all the joy you have when he gets home from work.  He misses you so much during the day and can't believe how fast you're growing.  He will be so happy when you can stay up a little bit later at night so he can spend more time with you.  He really loves this stage and said he would have 9 or 10 more babies just to experience this age again and again because it goes so fast---we won't really have that many kids though...because they do grow up and this stage can never last forever.  You and I are so very lucky to have your Dad in our lives.  He cares about us so much and would do anything for us.  He is so in love with you!

Thank you Claire for blessing our lives so deeply.  Everyday we thank God for you.  We love you so much more than words could ever say.