Charlie Grace is now 9 months old. In order to get her to sit still for even a moment I had to resort to mega bribery using her favorite toys: pink puppy, giraffe and monkey, and a peekaboo ball. It worked… sort of.

At 9 months, Charlotte:

• Weighs… who knows how much. Her 9 month well check is tomorrow so stay tuned! All I know is that she is able to wear a few 9 month outfits, but is mostly still in 6 month clothing {and size newborn shorts, apparently}… so still itty bitty compared to most of her peers, especially when she is wearing a disposable. When she has in a cloth diaper {which is practically always} she is able to wear 9 month clothing because her round rump fills it out.
• Loves to be outside {mama’s girl}, but is still cautious on grass and mulch at the playground. Not so cautious about eating said mulch and grass, though.

• Loves to ‘read’ books {and gnaw on book corners}

• Has become quite mobile; she loves to zip around the house chasing Baxter down, grabbing his tail and making a ‘vvvvv’ sound. Not sure why she pairs that sound with him, haha, but she is persistent and it’s so funny how he tries to ignore her.
• Loves playing peekaboo {really she just loves being surprised… which must come from Chris, because we all know I don’t do well when frightened or taken off guard}

• Loves to pull up on/climb onto/climb over anything and everything in her path. Last week she climbed the first flight of stairs in our home {with Chris spotting her of course}
• Is beginning to eat more volume at each meal. This morning she ate an entire banana! She is also quick to remind me at each meal that she prefers to feed herself; it’s hard to keep up with her demands! I think more finger foods end up in the “food graveyard’ below her highchair but she is persistent and it keeps her really busy so I can finish other things in the kitchen. Win – win! Her main source of nutrients is still nursing and she is showing no signs of weaning. Each month that passes I allow myself a mini victory dance for that accomplishment 🙂 
• Is still loving her classes at The Little Gym. She’s the cutest bug in class! {note: opinions may be biased}

• Has been introduced to her daddy’s video game love {don’t worry, she just gets to mash the buttons on the remote, no screen-time for her }

• Continues to babble throughout her day and has said a few more words after we say them {what we in the ‘speech’ world call direct imitation}: up, ball, puff, all done, hey, bye bye, dada…and my personal favorite…. apple. She’s a little distracted by her cheering squad of ladies at the nephrologist’s office, but still delivers 😉

• Is not yet sleeping through the night. She will typically wake up once {but occasionally twice) each night, usually around 3am to nurse. She takes two naps during the day {one around 10am and the other around 1:30 or 2pm}. She is flexible with her schedule though and goes down easily for the most part.
• Has graduated to a new ‘big girl’ carseat {thanks to Lola and Grandpa Baker}. It was difficult to finally decide on one, especially since our current car is small… not the most ideal for a giant carseat. She seems so itty-bitty in it now but I know it will keep her safe. The only drawback is that it is hard for her to fall asleep because it is not as reclined as her previous seat. This is the only photo I have of it since it is so spankin’ new. I think it’s a good representation of Charlie Grace at 9 months though: pink cowgirl boots, leopard print dress, pigtails, and snuggled with her favorite toy-of-the-day… a spoon.

It’s driving me nuts that the mirror in the above photo is crooked. If I am driving I have to have it straight before we can leave the driveway!

This little miracle has grown into a sweet squishy nugget with oodles of personality and confidence. I can’t believe it’s been 9 months already. Time to start planning the 1st birthday. I am in serious denial.

Later this week I hope to post about what we’ve been up to for the past month. Spring always seems to bring with it a slew of events and activities. I was just telling someone a few months ago how easy it would be to find a time to hang out because “our schedule is so flexible”… just kidding, I can barely find time to put a stamp on a card and stick it in the mail right now!