nine months

My dear sweet daughter,

You are nine months old...wow! You have been here with us for longer than we knew that you were growing inside of me. You were our little miracle then, and you still are today. Every moment I spend with you is pure joy. I don't know how you manage to do it, but somehow I love you more each day. These past nine months {NINE MONTHS?!?!?} have been so incredible, and I love watching you grow. Every stage we go through together is so fun, and even though I sometimes think about your little tiny newborn days, it's hard to mourn their passing because you are a bundle of fun now!

Oh how I love your smiles! They seriously melt me. I love that you smile as soon as you see me, no matter how long it's been. You still have that huge open mouth smile, but I sure do love your new, push those little gums together as tight as you can, grin. It makes me laugh every time! You are such a happy baby, and I love that your daddy and I know exactly what to do to make you smile. You have started laughing when we laugh sometimes, and it is too cute. You especially love to do this with your daddy in the evenings. You will just stare at him and laugh and laugh when he laughs so silly with you. You even try to mimic his noises. It is the sweetest thing ever!

You are very verbal these days as well! You have your "m"s and your "b"s down, and you are still saying "mama" which steals my heart everytime. We think that you are calling your daddy "baba." We are still working on those "d"s. I love hearing you jabber away at your little monkey friend in the car. I will just turn the music off so I can listen to your sweet little voice. You have started picking up on a little bit of sign language as well. Even though it doesn't look much like the actual sign, you can do "more" and "eat." I love that you are beginning to communicate with us!

You LOVE to eat! Oh my goodness, sweet girl, you do enjoy your food. The only time you really get fussy is when you are ready to eat {or to sleep but who doesn't get grumpy then?!}. You are still enjoying your baby food, especially the fruit, and you have developed a love for Puffs. Mommy and daddy love these too because they keep you busy so we can eat at the same time :) When we went to Dr. S for your 9 month appointment, she told us that you could start eating all kinds of table food now, so we are all excited to start exploring new choices. I am certain you will love it. No teeth yet, sweet pea, but we know they will come soon. You are still nursing 4 times each day, and I really enjoy those times to just sit still with you, even if it only lasts for 10 minutes!

You sleep so well for us, and we are so thankful. I still rock you to sleep each night and sing our songs. It is such a sweet time for me, and I always look forward to holding you while you fall asleep! You still sleep with a little blanket that Mimi made for you, and it is just too sweet. You love to play, but these days you are into EVERYTHING!!! You love to stand at your toy chest and pull all the toys out. I don't know that you have a favorite toy, but you are definitely loving your books. You are also very interested in things that are not toys like magazines, DVDs, cell phones, dog bowls, etc. I love watching you explore the world around you.

You are crawling all over the place, and mommy and daddy have a hard time keeping up with you! You are super quick, and your newest crawling discovery is the bear crawl. You realized that crawling that way is MUCH faster than the traditional hands and knees version. Even though you keep us on our toes, it's pretty cute to watch! You are pulling up on everything you can get to, and it makes me nervous sometimes. You love the fireplace and glass screen...yikes!...and the TV stand, both of which make me anxious. You also love to crawl into the kitchen and pull up on the oven and the cabinet doors. Holy moly, you keep me busy! Daddy and I have had to tell you "no" a few times now but only because we love you and want you to be safe.

You still love being outside, and we took advantage of the last couple of days of summer this past month and went swimming a couple more times. You would just get the biggest grin on your face and squeal as we played in the pool. We also just sat in the grass a few times, and you thought it was very interesting...and fun to eat! We had to watch you really closely :) Anytime you are fussy, we know to go straight outside, and it always does the trick! Bath time is still one of your favorite times of the day as well, and daddy is the resident bather! You never fuss when he washes your hair, unlike when mommy does it, and you are both always laughing and talking. I love listening!

This month involved a little less traveling, which was nice for all of us! We went to College Station a couple of times, and you did great as always. You got to see the new building at mommy's old school, and you got to spend some fun time with LeeLee in Houston. Other than that, we have just had lots of low key days at home. You still love going on runs with your daddy in the morning, and I love seeing that huge grin when you get home! Your newest trick is giving kisses. Oh.my.goodness. I am in love with this. We say "kiss kiss," and you lean over and give us a big, open mouth kiss. So precious. You love to kiss the pages on your book too. Sweet girl.

Micah Elisabeth, I don't think it's possible that your daddy and I could love you more. You are such a gift, and we thank God every single day for you! We are so proud to be your parents, and we love showing your beautiful, happy face off everywhere that we go. We love experiencing life with you and are grateful to be your mommy and daddy. You are deeply loved, by us and by your Creator. We pray that you will grow to know the Lord intimately and passionately pursue Him. Happy nine months, precious baby girl!

I love you, to the moon and back!

Your Mommy