First tooth

Munchkin got her first tooth. Horray! For the past few days you've been sticking your tongue out like crazy and licking your lips as well as folding your lower lip where I can't even see it, not sure how good that it to teethe on your lip. I give you plenty of teething toys to put in your mouth but seems like sometimes you prefer your lip.

9 Months

Pulling up

Standing

Hi mommy!

Don't I look adorable in my dress and a matching hat?

You seem to be getting bigger by the minute. Your biggest accomplishment this month was of course crawling... you're not cruising just yet, but you're getting pretty fast at scooting. Also I have seen you pull up from sitting position in your crib once. You have 2 teeth coming in, and they're getting closer and closer, i think one of them will cut through any day now.

Your stats this month are:
weight - 16 lbs 10 oz - 13%
height - 27.5 inches - 47%
head circ 16.5 - 5%

Nights have been pretty good, your bedtime begins around 8pm, but I've noticed that you don't settled down until about 9pm sometimes. You roll around in your crib, sometimes getting your legs stuck between the crib posts and finally you go to sleep (usually on your tummy - the doctor said it's perfectly fine). You wake up sometime around 7 or 8 am.

Generally you smile at people all the time, and have a very cute and social disposition. You love going on walks, and even riding in the car if you're not sleeping you're looking all around watching as we pass by places and things. You love to hear stories, look at the pictures, and you grab books as we read to you, and even turn pages... or close the books. Your baths are a lot of fun, you splash around, play with your toys and get really upset if we take a toy from you when taking you out of the bath, so we've just let you continue playing with one while drying you off. You're continuing to take 2 naps a day and now cutting back to 3 bottles a day. The doctor said it's ok to start feeding you table foods so now we gotta start you on some meats and pastas. May be I'll try to do the jars first to see how you do with that, since I am not sure you're ready for finger foods yet. You grab things with your fingers but it usually ends up on the floor or in your high chair.
We went on our first trip away from home to go visit our friends in LA, so for 2 nights you slept in the Pack and Play in an unfamiliar place. You did great! So I am really looking forward to going to more places and bringing you along with us.

Army Crawling to the toy

You're on your way... to become a mobile little munchkin

Scooter bug!

Getting ready for take off ...

You are a little scooter bug. Yep, that's right... you are almost on your way, rocking back and forth from your hands and knees as well as leaping forward after a toy in sitting position. Sometimes you get one leg stuck, but then you straighten out. You also try an army crawl on your elbows, sooo adorable... It's fun to watch you go after something and then get really excited once you get it. I need to be really careful now leaving things all over the place which may be unsafe for you. My guess is you'll be full on crawling before your 9 month birthday. We'll see how much trouble you're going to get into. Gates will be going up this weekend for sure!

We were at the beach again and this time you seemed afraid of the water and started crying, you refused to put your feet down after I dipped them in the water just for a second. The waves coming in were much bigger, so may be you got a little scared. You did enjoy the sand though... I didn't really let you get too dirty (daddy kept trying to clean you off), but your feet were in it.

We had to drop your crib to the mid level... I think we were almost sad to do it... in sort of disbelief that it had to be done so soon. I can't imagine what it will be like when your crib gets replaced with a big girl bed... but lets not get carried away here, still a while till that happens!

So little munchkin has been falling asleep on her tummy these days Now that you're rolling all over the place, you no longer stay put in your crib. Once I walked in and you were turned completely perpendicular to it. Then a few nights ago I saw you on the monitor on all fours pushing the button to turn the aquarium music on and off. You little trouble maker. I had to just turn it off so that you couldn't do it. I end up returning you to sleeping on your back, but with each day you get more and more energy to fight it and roll on your tummy moving all around the crib... I am guessing it's probably ok, but I still go in to check on you and it makes me nervous to leave you on your tummy through the night so I end up turning you on your back once you're asleep.

Last few days you seem to have discovered your voice. Your screams have gotten super high pitched and you're at it for good 10 minutes. It's not an upset scream, even though it sounds like someone might be hurting you. You go from screaming from the top of your lungs to cooing in a second, it's pretty strange if you ask me. We don't enjoy you screaming much, in fact after a few minutes it gets to be quite a headache... I am really hoping you stop. :)

Also it's been a challenge to get to you to eat in the evening, you're a great eater in the morning and afternoon, but in the evening rarely will you take more than 4 oz and rarely will you finish your veggies and your night time nursing is minimal as well as the bottle ... 2 to 3 oz at the most. Hopefully you're getting enough to eat, may be you're trying to drop your 4th bottle, although my guess is it's way too early to do that. I'll have to ask your doctor at your next 9 month check up.

I saved the best for last. You've got 2 teeth coming. I pretty much see both of them getting ready to cut through, may be in a the next few days. I guess that explains your on and off fussiness during the night.

Our little Beach bum

We finally made it to the beach this year and what a beautiful day it was! Sascha loved it. You were so fascinated by the water, I couldn't get you to look up.

Looking out into the ocean

Flying


Something funny?

Daddy always makes Sascha laugh

That water is cold

Latest trick - turning your head from side to side when you don't want something, as if you're saying no. Makes us laugh every time. You're so serious about it too, your eye brows curve in and you start going back and forth. This usually happens when I am feeding you, and when someone wants to take you and you don't want to go. Also you grunt impatiently when you want something like your sippy cup with water.

We have now heard you say, "mama", "dada", "nana", "baba", and may be even "papa". You make all sorts of funny sounds.

Still working on crawling, you're getting stronger and stronger, I've seen you leap from seating position and onto your tummy as well as rock on your hands and knees for a few seconds. I have even see you take a few steps while inside the walker. We've started working on baby proofing the house since it looks like you'll be mobile soon.

A few weeks ago we had a couple of bad nights when you would wake up at 1 am, well it seems that you have stopped doing it, good thing too I am was getting to work super tired. The first two times I think it was triggered by peas, they had given you an upset tummy, then the other 2 nights it seemed like you were hungry, which makes sense because your last 2 meals of the day you refused to finish, so then you got hungry at night. I guess we can't attribute it to teething because no teeth have come out yet.

8 Months

My lil' munchkin... Can time slow down? You are growing way too fast and developing  quite a personality. Here are a few  favorites of the 8 months amateur pictures that I took . You were very cooperative! 

Day dreaming Sascha

Serious Sascha

Happy Sascha

Playful Sascha

You are definitely over  your little sickness that you had and feeling much better. We went for a doctor visit again, and everything seemed to check out ok. You weighed 15 lbs and 4 oz at your last visit only a day ago, that's only a 4 oz gain in 2 weeks... Not very much at all, so you're definitely still our little munchkin. I think you're meeting most of your milestones ok. You're working on the crawl, not too far, you mostly stay in one place and rotate around on your tummy, and you now roll over all the time, unlike before where you just didn't want to do it. Also you're getting much stronger with  your push ups and sit ups. Still no teeth yet... which is just fine with me since I am still nursing a little bit... may be I'll last another month or so. 

You're quite a talker, and a screamer, your main two words are "mama" and "dada" but you have many more sounds that you make, some of them very screeching loud! It was so awesome to hear you say "Mama", I didn't think it was going to happen so soon after you just started to say "Dada" but it did! Another big accomplishment is that you're finally sleeping without a swaddle, you fought your way though it, and now I just don't swaddle you and you're able to sleep through the night. 

Actually last night was rough for us. You decided to wake up at 1:30 am and start crying. At first it seemed like you just wanted attention because you stopped crying when I would come near the crib and then you'd start up again when I left. Then we tried to let you cry for a bit, well I couldn't last very long, it's really hard to just hear you cry. Plus it didn't sound like a settling down fussy cry, it sounded like something was definitely bothering you cry. So at that point I tried everything, milk - you only took about 2 oz, diaper change, pacifier - not wanted. Finally I decided that it was your tummy that was bothering you because I gave you peas that day. I was warned about peas making babies gassy and uncomfortable but I have introduced it before and it didn't seem to be a problem. I should say though that you are not a huge fan of peas, I pretty much have to mix them with something to disguise the texture and the taste. I think I will not be giving you peas any time soon. It could have also been teething, I guess time will tell. I rocked you to sleep and you finally dosed off a little after 3am, and I was able to transfer you back into your crib. 

I mentioned before how you're developing a little personality. You mimic a few things. For example when people turn their head and talk to you, you respond with the same head tilt and a smile, it's just so darn cute. Well and you definitely let us know when you don't want something, like food, bottle, or toy; you start to fuss and sometimes start turning your head back and forth indicating  a clear "No!" Also it's been incredibly hard to trim your nails, I used to be able to do it while nursing, but now you just will not have it. I cannot get your hand and hold it still, you pull it out and start wiggling around, so that's been a challenge, I am lucky if I can get 2 or 3 nails trimmed at a time. Once in a while you scratch yourself, your ear or next to your eye, if you would just let me cut those nails that wouldn't happen! Generally you're a total wiggle warm, before I could get away not buckling you in every chair, but not now, you're such a curious little monkey... moving as much as  you can, I've even seen you twist out of the bouncer and nearly tip over your little chair trying to get to something... a little scary! 

When you want to be picked up and you see us coming to get you, your hands go up in the air... letting us know "get me out!".

You still love baths and playing with your bath toys. We're going to try out bathing you in a little Snug blow up tub that fits into a regular tub to see how you like that since you've been able to sit up pretty well. 

You're extremely ticklish, and giggle a ton when tickled... it's the cutest and funniest thing ever! I'll have to get it on video sometime.

You started to waive too, not really on demand... or bye bye, but we're working on it... as well as teaching you to blow kisses and clap. 

All right I think that about sums it up for your last month, I am sure I am forgetting a few other adorable little things that you do, and for that reason I should try to post more often... but time gets away from me.