2 Little Love Birds: nine months

n i n e m o n t h s o l d

weight ... 20 lbs., 15 oz. 75%
height ... 27.5 in. 50%
head circumference ... 47 cm. 90%

| LOVES |

Standing/Walking.

Bird toy (from G'ma and Pa West)
Bath time.
Eating.
Puffs.
Pushing the radio flyer wagon.
Liam.
Chewing on Shoes.

| HATES |

Getting dressed.
Diaper changes.

| DEVELOPMENT // GROWTH |

This month Lyla started getting her two top teeth and man have they been a literal pain and taking their sweet time. For her, teething has also caused a persistent diaper rash that lasted weeks and a chronic runny nose. She pulls herself up to her knees on just about everything she can find and stands when the object is sturdy enough to grip onto. It terrifies me whenever she tries to do it in the bath tub. We also lowered her crib mattress this month because of it. She loves pushing around a little radio flyer wagon that was Liam's when he was a baby and gets frustrated when no one is helping her walk around the room. She is full on crawling now at lightening speed and getting into everything in sight. She learned how to wave, make a lip smacking sound, and best of all, say MOMMA! She is still wearing some 6-12 month and some 12-18 months clothes, size 3 diapers, and 3-6 month shoes.

| SLEEP |

As much as I have read all the things and tried all the tricks, this little girlfriend marches to the beat of her own drum when it comes to sleep ... meaning there isn't any routine. Some days she'll take two naps and other days she'll only take one. There were a couple of days this month where she was refusing to sleep at all so I brought her in my bed like I used to when she was tiny and it only lasted about 20 minutes. She is still waking up once most nights but will occasionally surprise me with a full nights sleep (HEAVEN!). If she wakes any more than one time in the night, I send Nic in to change her diaper and lay her back down because she doesn't associate him with nursing and I'm doing my best to wean her of that habit at night now that she is a consistency good eater during the day. She has held on to the 7 pm bed time and wakes at 6:00 for the day if she slept through the night or 7:30 if she was up in the night to nurse.

| EAT |

We have worked our way up to solids three times a day now, breakfast, lunch, and dinner with us. We started off occasionally giving her bites of foods we were eating if they were soft enough (fruits, pancakes, mashed potatoes, etc.) and noticed spitting up became less frequent the more these foods were introduced so we transitioned her over to a baby led weaning diet throughout the month and rarely give purees anymore. She has tried so many different things and loves pretty much anything we put in front of her like cucumbers, hummus, peanut butter, pancakes, tortellini, peas, cheese, yogurt, strawberries, etc. A few foods she has been hesitant about so far are bananas, mashed potatoes, and watermelon. I think her issue with the watermelon was how cold it was. She even tried ice cream for the first time and cried because of it. haha I finally figured out she has the most reflux issues with breast milk and movement right after so I've tried to stick to nursing her only before naps/bed time. The one feeding that is tricky to give up is the morning one (especially if she slept through the night). On those days I just recognize that she will spit up a little bit more in the morning than normal.

Dear Lyla Mae,

Nine months in, nine months out! Your dad and I like to call this the "back breaking stage" because you must.always.be.walking.! haha It's also the stage though that your personality has begun to shine through and for that, it might be my favorite of them all! You have such a happy spirit. You smile at us, at your toys, and especially when you are getting into something you know you aren't supposed to. haha You want us to help you walk everywhere and in the moments when you are on your own, you crawl as fast as you can to the nearest ledge within reach to pull yourself up and look around. Your not afraid to let go when the mood strikes you which means there have been a few head bonks and it freaks us out! I wish I could keep you in a protected wrap of some kind to avoid those moments! It is very obvious the word "no" means nothing to you yet as you try to grab the nearest dirty shoe you can find and chew on it. haha It's a good thing we moved the shoe rack to the garage! You wave whenever you hear the word "hi", this tiny little fist opening and closing. We have matching swim suits, you and I, for the summer and I love every minute of it!! We celebrated your first Memorial Day and our first Mother/Father's Day with you here in our arms and I'm realizing how quickly your year of "first holidays" is coming to a close. You love attention (especially from Liam) and to be surrounded by everyone. You're curious about everything and won't let anything hold you back. That fearless part of your personality makes me so proud and terrified all at the same time. haha You love to sit on my lap, chew on my tube of mascara, and watch me in the mirror as I get ready in the mornings. You still sleep on your tummy with your feet bunched up underneath you. You have discovered holes in mouths, noses, and ears. You also have a fascination with your tongue. Mix those two things together and the other day you were trying to stick your tongue and your fingers in poor Liam's ear as you were riding beside him in the stroller. haha Luckily it made him giggle more than get mad (which he is starting to do more of now that you can get into his things). Speaking of Liam, he still calls you "ya ya durl" and I hope he never stops. Oh how I wish I could bottle up this stage and keep a piece of it forever. Love you so much my Lyla girl!
Love, Momma

| NINE MONTH PICTURES |

Lyla's first time on a swing ...

The baby goat finding someone just its size!

Her first Memorial Day ...

The first of many matching moments, matching swim suits ...

The first time she realized she could pull herself up in her crib (most adorable grin and SO stinking proud of herself!), and the last moment her crib mattress was that high ...