9 Months Old!!!!

Grace is 9 months old! I think there is something amazing about the fact that she has been outside as long as she was inside now. We are also now in the last quarter of the 1st year which is amazing to me. We're starting to talk about what to do for her 1st birthday because it is going to be here before we know it.

Growth: We took Grace to the doctor yesterday for her 9 month appointment. She weighed in at 18 pounds 11 ounces and 27.5 inches long. She has moved down from the 70th percentile to the 50th percentile in both height and weight. She has also sprouted one of her top teeth and the other one is just about to break through. That bring her up to almost 4 teeth.

Sleeping: Grace is still on the same schedule. Naps at 9 and 1 and bedtime from 7-7. She has been staying up longer after I put her down for a nap some days and just playing in her crib. If she's not tired she doesn't sleep as long. I think it is important to keep her on a schedule so I just put her down and sometimes she falls asleep right away and sometimes she'll sit and play for up to 45 minutes.

Nursing: I'm still nursing Grace 4 times a day. I actually gave this it's own category this time because the last month has been a little wearing on me. Grace is a great nurser BUT she will not eat around people. She is so curious it is hard for her to stay focused and eat. Sometimes I get annoyed having to take her to a quiet room when other people are around even though she is a fast eater and we're only gone for 10 minutes. She won't just let me throw a blanket over her. Maybe because it was the holidays and we were gone and traveling a lot I noticed this more about Grace. The goal is to nurse for a year and now that we are 9 months into it the end seems really close. I plan on enjoying the last 3 months of this experience. I'm sure I will mourn the end a little but I think the timing will be right.

Eating: Grace still has not met a food she doesn't like. We started feeding her lunch this month so now she eats 3 meals a day at the same time as 3 of her 4 nursing times. I decided to start working on finger foods with her for lunch because we have lots of time to just sit there. I generally serve her up some food and make myself lunch and eat with her while she is eating. She's slow and messy but it is great that she can feed herself. Some new foods that I can remember her trying this month are broccoli, cottage cheese, yogurt, tofu, fish, spinach, mangoes and potatoes. I've also added some spices like cinnamon, fresh garlic, and cumin to some of her foods.

Playing: Grace has moved on from just pulling up to cruising. She is very good at it if there is something she wants (i.e. camera, remote, cell phone) and completely disinterested if one of those items is not enticing her. She likes to bang on things, listen to music, clap her hands, and listen to her own voice. A couple cute things she has done this month are pointing with her index finger and saying "da" as she points and she has been "dancing" lately too. Whenever she hears music or singing she starts bobbing her head and moving her body. She also loves to give kisses and hand me her toys. Whenever she hands me her toys she gets so excited. Sometimes she will barely take them back from me before handing them to me again. I hope this means we have a good sharer on our hands.

Communicating: Grace is really really good at mamamamama. I actually am pretty sure she knows that if she wants to get my (or Matt's) attention that is the sound to use. She hasn't said dada in reference to one of us yet. She does always make the sound "da" when she points at things so it might be her own word. I can tell she understands a handful of words I say which is very exciting to me. I would like her to know a couple of signs but haven't been disciplined about teaching them so I'm not sure how that is going to work out.