NINE MONTHS

NINE MONTHS

Raising a 9 month old is very exciting and exhausting all at the same time. Morgan is full of life and into everything. I think my house is child proof enough and then I find something else I have to hide or move. Morgan will tip over the garbage if you leave it out, play in the toilet water if you leave the seat up (now I understand why guys forget to put the seat down sometimes), rip any paper she can find, completely empty her diaper bag, pull on any cord or wire she sees, and her favorite is playing with the remotes. She does it all with a smile on her face that is quickly removed when I tell her NO and take the item away or move her. She is crawling really well and can speed crawl when trying to get to something she is not suppose to have. She is pulling up on everything and cruising on the furniture. Morgan loves to walk behind her walker or pony and is getting steadier everyday. The video clip below was taken when she turned 9 months (Jan 20th) and it is amazing how much better she is 'walking' now. The clip shows her 'walking', crawling, pulling up on the couch and giving it a raspberry, and waving at the camera. She does not wave on command but will wave at times. Her favorite toys are definitely the ball pit and the zoo toy (a monkey, giraffe, and elephant go around an arch in a circle when one of the two red buttons is pushed-she usually takes the animals off and puts her socks or a ball on the turntable and then turns it on). Every other toy has to be dragged into and out of the ball pit. Morgan is showing her adventurous side. She flipped her ball pit over and climbed on top-not sure how she got it flipped over. She also climbs on her bouncers and tries to 'jump' off the top. She has no fear about trying to climb off the edge of the couch or bed and actually did 'climb' off the edge of the couch before I could catch her. She caught herself with her arms and didn't even cry; I think I was more scared than she was.

Her 9 month check-up went very well. Morgan was in the 50th percentile in all areas. She was 27 1/2 inches long, 18.5 pounds, and her head circumference was 43 cm. She fits well into her 9 month clothes and her infant car seat is getting a little small. She takes 6 oz of formula every 4 hours and baby food between sippy cups. She usually eats the equivalent of one baby food jar between 7-11am and then another jar or rice cereal around 6 pm. We try to put her to bed around 7:30 and she sleeps until 5-6:30am. She still only takes 30-45 minutes naps twice a day-I'm so jealous of my friends' babies who take 1 1/2 to 3 hour naps. I just remind myself that every mother has her own challenges and pray that God gives me the ability to handle her lack of napping. She is also having really bad separation anxiety when I leave her at church or at a friend's house. She if fine at home when I go to another room because she knows she can crawl and find me. She is also usually ok if I leave the house as long as Carl is there-this is a plus because I know other babies sometimes get upset even when the Daddy is nearby. My friends tell me the more I leave her with someone else the better it will get and believe me the more opportunities I can find to leave her with someone for a few hours the more sanity I have.

The month between 8-9 was very busy. She turned 8 months at the start of our 2 1/2 week vacation in Florida and Texas (we visited 5 cities). Morgan was great during the day however would not sleep at night unless right next to me. That made for some long nights and on top of that I was not feeling well from the pregnancy. By the end of the trip, I was ready for MY vacation! It was nice to be able to see friends and family. We saw my brother, Travis, and his family, my Dad's mother and his brother's family, Carl's roommate from college and his family, and one of my old co-workers that moved from Panama City to Austin. I worked a couple of days at my friend's stationery and invitation store which was a nice change from being with Morgan 24/7 for 2 1/2 weeks. I am looking forward to being at home for the next month.

Morgan sitting still for a second-I think I took 50 pictures to get this one!

Morgan likes to play Peek-A-Boo

Morgan on top of her ball pit!

Morgan climbing on her bouncer

Morgan loves to swing

Morgan loves to sit in a high chair and be part of the dinner table
She flaps her arms when she gets excited

Everything is Bigger in Texas!

Even the Food!

Morgan trying to get the cat

Morgan trying to get the Dog

Me and my former co-worker Karla at Kerby Lane in Austin

Video Clip of Morgan 'walking', crawling, pulling-up, and waving.

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