Eliza turns 9 months old today! Wow. It would be lovely if time could start slowing down a bit now.
She continues to be so happy, observant, social, strong, and coordinated. Here are some of my latest favorites with her:
-Babbles and words! She regularly repeats or intiates: "Ma ma" for me and "Ba ba" with a wave for Bye, Bye. She also produces the occasional "da", "na", and "ya". My favorite may be her frequent deep grunts, tongue "thbbt"s, and exaggerated gasps.
-Smiles. She cocks her jaw to her left and gives the most hilarious, cock-eyed, two-tooth (now four- tooth!) grin. Often with closed eyes, with her smile taking over her face. She also throws her head back and tilted towards one shoulder in this "oh this is too much" sort of smile. Scrunched nose, likely accompanied by a little laugh/gasp.
-Laughs. John especially can make her lose it. The two of them cracking each other up is THE cutest, most heart-warming sound in my life.
-Her social proclivity. This girl. Studies everyone. And if someone fails to acknowledge her, she will tilt her head to the side and study them harder. She enjoys playing with toys and moving around, but whenever she is seated, she would rather connect with people than observe any other thing.
-Her coordination. Dang. She is strong and has a solid core, so she rarely falls while discovering new motor skills. Granted, when she does bonk her head, to any degree, she lets out the quite the dramatic, feminine cry. Tough as nails with her brother and other kids wrestling and playing with her, but head bumps- major tears. Currently she is crawling up a storm, climbing stairs (agh), standing up by herself from a squat, pulling herself to standing everywhere, and absolutely loving her motor freedom. She has yet to process the marching motion, and I really wouldn't mind if she held out on that for at least another month.
-Her interest in her brother. Forget baby toys. Whatever John is playing with, she wants to play with. And of course, whatever she plays with, goes straight to her mouth... She lights up whenever John is around. When I bring her with me to get John from his nap, leg and arm spasms take over and she crawls around like a shrieking mad woman on his bed, unable to contain her excitement.
-Her cuddliness. Cuddle opportunities are much rarer now that she is on-the-go, but I love how she nestles her head on my shoulder when I sing her a song before her naps. I treasure each one of those cuddles.
-Her calm observations of her world. I love participating with her in her excitement over movement, noises, people, and interesting sights. She claps and squeals, and loves to make eye contact as I "yayyy!" and clap alongside her.
-Her compliance with travel. As long as I switch things up, she is an easy traveler. Thank goodness, because we are back in summer mode and have some exciting trips this summer!
-Her love of food, especially independent eating. With baby food she is increasingly bored, grunts, or sometimes protests. She is happiest with diced cheese, fruits, veggies, or bread in front of her where she can feed herself.
-Her joy with the outdoors. She loves kicking and splashing in water, and will tolerate a pool float for some time (until she decides to gulp the water, yikes). She thinks wind is exciting. She loves to touch (and eat) grass, flowers, and sand. So her joy will hopefully just continue to grow as she moves more and ingests less.
Sure love you, baby girl. Happy 9 months!
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