Nine Months

Where has the time gone? In just a few days Stella will have spent as much time in the world as she did in my womb. That's crazy talk! This has been a big month for her. Milestones have been reached, independence gained, and big girlhood is being acquired. It all started when she figured out she could pull down the bumper pads in her crib for a view of the world outside. I thought it was adorable when she fell asleep like that, using the bumper pad for a pillow.

Then, one day, I put her down for a nap. We heard lots of giggles and excited noises, but no sleeping noises. After a few minutes, I went to check on her and this is what I saw. She finally figured out how to stand up in her crib for an even better view of the world outside. And do you see that grin on her face? Do you see how proud she is of herself? Scary and adorable all at the same time. Now she is often standing up in her crib, surveying her room, when I go in to get her from her nap. And always with a huge grin on her face.

She has also figured out how to crawl. She started on June 14th (not the day after my last post like I predicted). I can only assume she was super pumped about it being Flag Day. At first it was just a little bit of crawling and then she would fall back to her tried and true scooting.

But, she's gotten much better at it over the last several days and now it's all crawling all the time. Everywhere. Into everything. Needless to say, she keeps me on my toes.

Don't worry - the DDR mat cords are still a favorite.

As she's been gaining some independence, her little personality has been blossoming. It's been really fun to watch. She is one determined little tyke. When she decides she wants something, there's no deterring her. Again, scary and adorable all at the same time.

She's also learned to pull herself up to things like furniture, me, or this little activity table which is another favorite play thing for her.

This thing can keep her busy for awhile. And it makes noises, so I can be in the other room and know if she is safely playing at her table and not getting into things she shouldn't.

Just look how happy she is.

She's starting to work on cruising, but she's still figuring out how to work those little feet to her advantage when she's standing on them. For now, she's kind of afraid to move them once she's up. Which leads me to this next awesome picture.

She didn't have very good foot placement when she pulled herself up. Her feet were a little too widespread and they slowly slipped farther apart as she was playing. She didn't realize they were slipping until it was too late. Finally she got stuck like this. She was afraid to let go of the table and didn't know what to do to get out of the situation. Just after I snapped this picture, she got brave, let go of the table, and fell softly on her bum. Problem solved. Though she's had her fair share of bumps and bruises this week. I expect that to continue.

She's also just sprouted her third tooth. Upper right front. I expect the upper left front will soon follow. It might take a little while, though, because this one I could see just under her gum for weeks and it finally popped through. The other one I can't even see yet, so we'll see how long it takes.

She's also getting much better about letting other people hold her. She still loves her mommy best, but gets super excited when her daddy gets home from work. It won't be long before she's jumping up and down in excitement just like Scout does when he gets home. And, she does pretty well with familiar people as long as I'm not in sight - and even when I am in sight on a good day. Although, at this point, she a lot of times prefers to not be held at all so she can cruise around and explore.

We continue to be of the opinion that she's the cutest thing around. Can you blame us?

And, in honor of turning nine months old, she took her first big girl ride in a shopping cart, sans car seat.

Captivated by the many different varieties of cheese. That's my girl!