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After Adele was born, lots of people (including my mom) kept telling me that month 9 would be the best. Everyone excitedly told me how great that age would be. At the time, that felt so far away and I didn’t fully understand what they meant. But you guys were right. Nine months is the BEST! I wish I could bottle it up so I can replay our days over and over again down the road. I LOVE it! We’re all just having a blast with 9-month old Adele.

Oh, that smile! We’re lucky that she flashes giant gummy smiles like this all day long. But no one can make that girl laugh like her daddy. All he has to do is step into a room and she barrels over in laughter. Definitely a daddy’s girl. (In fact, Irving had to stand behind me as I snapped these in order to get her to smile big.)

Nine Month Stats
Weight: 15 lbs, 15oz (15th percentile)  — (I was way off in my estimate last month!)
Height: 26.5 inches (15th percentile)
Diapers: Size 2
Clothes: 9 Months (finally ditched the last of the 6-month clothes this week!)

Unlike months 7 and 8, there were lots of new things this month, let’s jump right to it!

TEETH
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tooth!!!! Adele’s first tooth popped through on 2/16! It’s the bottom center right one. She was a little fussy for about four days, but she did great! She needed a few extra hugs here and there, but we only gave her tylenol once and that was that! 1 down and about 20 to go, right? lol

SITTING
She’s been sitting up for months now, but now it’s her preferred position. She sits to play, eat and drink. Somewhere around valentine’s day, I found her sitting up in her crib when she woke up in the morning. After that, we lowered the crib mattress down. She makes a few peeps in the morning and when we go to get her now, she’s sitting up patiently with her pacifier in her mouth holding her puppy. It’s adorable. I have to snap a picture of this soon.

STANDING
You LOVE to stand up now! If we place you standing up, you’ll stay there and play for a long time! And if you really focus or you’re really determined, you can pull yourself up to standing (first time was on February 27th!). You do it often! I think you like to be higher up, and you always look so proud of yourself when you do.

TOYS
You love playing more than ever now. We bought you a new activity table that seems to entertain you for long stretches of time. You know how to push the buttons, you know how to put the balls down the chute and you know how to make all the lights light up. You amaze us every day. We didn’t teach you how to use it and yet somehow, you just knew!

You also love the new puzzle that Grammie bought you.

And of course my trusty box-o-toys that I put out to let you dig through. We bought you a new nubby ball for Valentine’s Day and you love to chase that around too. Long gone are the days where you would be content lying still on your back. Now, you want to play, interact and learn. You just can’t get enough. We can tell your brain is always yearning for more.

You’ve also mastered the concept of object permanence now and you don’t like when we take things away from you. You love to play with our keys, phones, sneakers, mail…. anything you’re not supposed to play with. Sometimes we let you because your determination is so cute, but you get a little upset when we don’t. Usually you’re ok with it and move on to something new. You’re so easy going.

WHINING
You’ve never been a big crier. Most days we never see a single tear. But lately, you’ve gotten the hang of the whine and I’d argue that’s even more annoying than a cry. When you do whine, sometimes it’s because you’re bored or wet…. but more often than not, you’re whining because you want to be held. You like to be part of everything we do now. If we’re cooking, working around the house or eating, you want to be at our height and part of the action. Can’t say we blame you. Apparently our lives are so interesting to you. We’re usually happy to oblige since we love the extra cuddles you’ve been freely offering up lately. I think the whine is her way of making sure we acknowledge her presence.

FOOD
You’re still eating a mix of purees and whole food. Now that you have 1.5 teeth, it’s becoming easier for you to chew. We’re doing three meals a day and 1-2 snacks. Breakfast is usually banana chunks and cheerios. Lunch is sweet potato and applesauce and dinner is a variety, usually baby yogurt, steamed veggies, cut-up fruit, pasta, cheese, bread, apples, etc. Snacks can be anything from one of the above, cheerios or Baby Puffs.

Worth mentioning that we purposefully hadn’t purchased any foods that were ‘marketed’ for baby. We aren’t doing store-bought baby food or meals. But my mom sent us a box of these Happy Baby Organic Puffs
and I have to say, Adele loves them.

MILK
You’re now drinking your formula out of sippy cups during the day. I usually still give you a bottle before bed because it’s becoming a challenge to get you to finish your milk at night lately. You used to drink 6 5oz bottles a day (for a total of 30oz). But now that you’re eating more food, looks like you’re dropping 1-2 of those daily bottles. I’m a little nervous as a first time mom because isn’t she still supposed to be getting her nutrition from milk til she’s a year old? Is this how it naturally happens, I don’t want her to starve! I’m sure she’s getting enough calorie wise, but now the pressure is on to make sure she’s eating a balanced and healthy diet.

TRAVEL
This month, you visited Las Vegas and Florida! (More on Florida! We’re on vacation here as we speak!)

I also used two weeks of my California Bonding Time this month. The gracious state of Cali gives new moms extra time off to spend with the baby during the first year of his/her life. I am incredibly lucky and taking full advantage. I’m so glad I saved some of that time for these later months, I’m enjoying her so much these days.

SLEEP
You’re still our rockstar sleeper going 12 hours straight every night. You go down easily and love to watch your mobile turn and lullaby projection on the ceiling. You sleep with your pacifier and your lovey.

One thing I have noticed is that you’re a very light sleeper. You love dark, quiet rooms. I can’t even sneak in to peek at you or get something in your room anymore. The slightest creak of the door or tiptoed steps will stir your sleep and sometimes wake you up.

Naps are also going better than ever. You give us one 1.5-2 hour nap in the morning and sometimes another hour nap in the afternoon. But some days, you have just one nap in the middle. You’re not really on a nap schedule that I notice, but it’s crazy how much you’re awake and alert now.

OTHER NOTES FROM MONTH 9:
–You are crawling SUPER fast now. I love to hear the little pitter-patter of your hands crawling across the floor. It’s usually accompanied by giggles as you maneuver your way around the house. You love peering around corners and coming to find us. Sometimes I leave you playing in your room when I go to the bathroom and when I come out, you’re sitting patiently outside the door. And when I’m cooking, you can usually be found sitting on my feet. Then you look up at me with those big ‘Please Pick Me Up’ eyes.

-When you were born, you loved to stare at faces. In our classes, they told us that mom and dad’s face were the most interesting thing in the world to a newborn. Soon after, you loved holding my fingers when you nursed and touching our noses when we went in to kiss you. Now, you love the details. You gently touch my weddding ring, or daddy’s hoodie zippers. You like to look in pockets, pull my necklace and touch fabric. It makes me so happy that we still amaze you in your world. I know someday, we will be boring to you, but for now, I’m enjoying being your idol.

-I’m obsessed with bringing you to the library and the park. Whenever I get the chance, that’s the first place I take you. You love books and puzzles in the Children’s room. And of course, you love swings now!

-You wave bye-bye, do touchdowns and clap now!

-You still LOVE bathtime. No matter how your day is going, I can always count on bathtime to make you smile. You’d stay in there for hours if I let you.

As predicted, month 9 has been amazing. And as usual, this is my favorite month yet. You’re just so much fun. You are such an easy baby. We love you SO much. Happy 9 months, Adele. Keep doing your thing! You’re incredible.

I’m not sure if it’s because I just spent a week at home with my little girl (thank you California Bonding Time!) or if she’s just at such an adorable age right now, but I just can’t get enough of Adele lately. She’ll be out of my sight for all of five minutes and I miss her desperately and come back to smother her with kisses. I love to rub her soft cheeks against mine. I need to squish her little body and feel her wiggle out of my arms. She wants to be free lately. She wants to move and crawl and stand. She wants to play and talk and eat. She wants to be just like me! I see her watching me, paying attention to how the ‘big kids’ do things. Just when I thought I couldn’t love her any more, my heart explodes again and again. Love my girl.