9 Months
Each month continues to fly by!
This month she (as predicted) learned to cruise quite well, and quite fast for that matter. She goes from couch to couch, to Pack 'n Play, to chairs around the table, to the china cabinet, to the wall, to the baby gate... I'm sure you get the picture! She also is interested in the kitchen drawers and likes to pull up and see what she can explore. Our drawers aren't that easy to pull open, but she has a few times found her way into the tupperware drawer and started making a mess! :) We also got her a push toy, to help her practice walking! She's so stinkin' cute walking behind it! Her legs are quite wide (to help her with her balance I assume), and she needs an alignment check all the time (she pulls to the right). We've also caught her standing alone (no hands) for a few seconds here and there. She hasn't taken her first steps yet, but it is likely coming soon. David and I were both walking around 9 months, and it appears that Kayla will follow that path.
She also learned to climb stairs. I'd really only let her climb up our 1 step to the first landing. But we were at a friends house and she went for the stairs, so we let her go (standing right behind her)... and she was quick! She clearly understands the concept! She struggled a few times, thanks to her not very long legs, but she got up 4 or 5 of them right in a row. She is also interested in climbing up boxes, couch cushions, or our legs - whatever she can get to.
She's also crawling faster and faster. It's so cute to see her high-tail it for a cat, or when she is being chased by her daddy. Speaking of her dad, this past month she has started to associate the noise of the back door opening with daddy coming home from work. When she hears the door open, she gets a huge smile on her face and starts crawling from the living room into the kitchen to find him! It is so super cute!! One time last week when he came around the corner she said "dada"!!! I don't think she knows to associate that word with David yet, but her doing it that once sure did melt his heart!
She also props up on her knees and bounces up and down on them when she gets excited. LOVE IT!
With the weather finally becoming nice, Kayla has been sitting in the grass outside, and that is a new experience for her! It was also a new experience for me to pull shreads of pollen out of her mouth!!
Food: We started eating breakfast together in the mornings. She eats Cherios and a fruit (typically a banana). I am amazed by how much she eats! And I'm also amazed at how long it takes her to eat! I can usually count on her eating for about 20 minutes, if not more. This allows me to eat my breakfast, empty the dishwasher or do any dishes, or work on anything else in the kitchen! She's eating a large dinner too. New foods that she's tried this month: egg yokes, animal crackers, watermelon, potato wedges, Perogies (oh my word, she LOVES these), Pinto beans, peas, chicken (when she first had it, it was hilarious to watch her eat it because it doesn't disolve in her mouth like most of the other foods would if she sucked on it. So, she'd just have several pieces in her mouth, and not know what to do about it! We'd have to sweep it out because she started crying! Now she is getting better about chewing and swallowing!! It's fun to see the development!), ice cream (which she did not like... too cold, maybe?), broccoli, cucumber, pancakes, baked beans, party potaotes, cantalope, apple wedges...... We can usually count on her to eat dinner for about 30 minutes minimum! We often have an afternoon snack together as well.
She continues to talk more and more each day. She's always trying new sounds and new pitches. She also likes to makes noises by playing with her lips. So adorable.
At one of our baby showers we got some fridge magents. One of them is an interactive farm "game" and Kayla just loves it. She often crawls into the kitchen and plays with it, talks to it, etc. She is (often) so good at entertaining herself. It is so fun that she can move around the house and get to what she wants. On the flip side, it can be frustrating that she can get to what she wants when she can't/shouldn't have it!!
She is growing up so much, we just love it!
1. Her eyes are still a pretty blue color
2. Her left tear duct is still plugged.
3. She rarely spits up now. I used to do laundry because I was almost out of burp cloths. Now I only use maybe 1-2 a week.
4. I should have been keeping track of this all along, but Kayla has now lost her bald spot! Finally, her hair has grown in since she isn't spending much time on her back these days!!