Esme you are 9 months old today!! WOW! You've been entertaining us on the outside almost as long as you were on the inside.
This post is a bit daunting since I missed your 8 month post and these two months have been FILLED with new developments and milestones. They happen so fast it's almost hard to keep track of them all (don't worry we write them down on your special calendar, so they are remembered).
As of two weeks ago, you weighed 15 pounds 10 ounces and are 26 inches long. That puts you in the 3rd-10th percentile. Doctors are happy with that because you look healthy, are crazy active, are growing symmetrically and don't have huge parents. However, you no longer look like a little chub.
You have skinnied right down. Especially your arms. They used to be layers upon layers of rolls. Now that you are climbing and pulling yourself up on to anything and everything, they are looking lean and mean. (Ok, there are still some wrinkles of chub but not like days of old.)
Climbing is not the only thing you do, but it is definitely your favourite activity. Grandpa says that if you see a chance to climb there is no toy that will stop you or distract you. And it's true. Any toy, no matter how exciting it was moments before will be ditched if you see any object, person or piece of furniture that looks even remotely climbable.
Although, even that is changing. These days you've gotten so confident in your climbing and standing that you no longer feel you need to empty your hands to climb. You'll just take all those toys up there with you. Even if it means you have no grip space left. Sometimes that works out for you. A few times have ended in tears. One of which also resulted in your very first fat lip. That was a sad day for you. But two minutes later you were back at it.
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| *Note: All these pictures only show your early days of climbing low objects. Now you can climb up to stand by the couch, the coffee table, the entertainment stand. |
Being more confident in your climbing is also leading to you branching out more. Sometimes you will try to let go and just stand unsupported for a few minutes. Other times you will take a few steps while holding on to the furniture and you always try to get to the next piece of furniture within sight. It appears that walking is not far away. With the speed that you catch on to most activities, we may have a walking baby before Christmas. We'll see though because you already have a tried and true method for getting around. The crawl.
You have switched from doing the marine-style crawl to doing an actual hands-and-knees crawl and are pretty speedy. Combine a crawl with the ability to climb and it's getting increasingly difficult to keep you out of areas not designed for you.
You love to climb up onto our entertainment stand. It used to be only the bottom shelves that you could reach and you would happily pull out all the DVDs multiple times a day. Now you can climb up to the top shelves. You stand there and pull out everything one by one and when the shelves are empty, you reach the top of the stand and happily look around like "Look at me! I did it!"
Kitchen doors and drawers are being explored more each day. And any basket, in your opinion, is made to be climbed and plundered. Laundry baskets full of freshly folded clothes are best. Followed by the baskets of clothes on the bottom shelf of your change-table.
You are getting more and more talkative. You do say "dada" and "daddy" and "mama" or "mom". They still come in a stream of babble so it often seems like just something you say. But daddy is said most often in an excited tone while playing and mama usually more in a whine, when you are distressed or really hungry. So maybe you do know what you're saying.
Yesterday you said what sounded like "up" and it was at the right time when you wanted to come up. You've done it again today. So we'll see if that is your first official word. Also, it sometimes sounds like you are saying "Hi". It's pretty cute.
A favourite new development of mine is that you now sit up in your crib while you wait for us to come get you after a sleep. I love being greeted by a smiling baby sitting there happily waiting for somebody to come get her. You also climb the sides of your crib (no way you are getting out though, the base is as low as it can go) and soon I'm sure you'll be standing there waiting for us to come get you.
Sleeping at night has gotten better. You don't sleep through the night yet *sigh* but you don't get up nearly as often as in the past. There is always at least one middle-of-the-night feed and then sometimes an early morning feed (between 4am - 6am). The best nights are when the early morning feed doesn't happen until you are ready to get up for the day between 7am - 8am.
Food! You are a good eater of solids. After we gave up on trying to feed you bland baby cereals and just started feeding you child-safe stuff from our meals, you became a super eater. You love food. Not that you eat a ton of it. But you are willing to try most anything and especially love it when you know it is exactly what we are eating.
You definitely can tell when we are eating something different than you and will make it very obvious that you won't settle for the substitute. Some favourite foods of yours are curry & rice with cottage cheese, mabo tofu and pea soup. You have mastered the self-feeding of cheerios and are getting good at feeding yourself other bite-size pieces of food as well.
You have teeth! Two on the bottom are through and it seems that you might be working on a couple more. (Either that or you are getting sick.) Those are some sharp little razors and woe betide the finger that has to pull out anything you are not supposed to be chomping on.
We are getting less pictures of you these days, since we need our hands free to be able to intervene if you get a bit out of your depth and because you are almost a blur of motion. We are trying to catch snippets of activity on video though.
Winter is here and it's not your favourite (like mother, like daughter??). Mostly because you've never liked to be confined. You still won't sleep with any form of blanket on you and have only recently allowed us to put hats or hoodies on your head without a fit. But snowsuits and mittens are just no fun at all. At first you fight it, but once you are bundled up and barely able to move, you sort of give in and sit there more still than we usually get to see you. You look very adorable in your winter clothes!
You still love people! Any people. Going out and seeing people, or playing with friends is your other favourite activity (probably more favourite than climbing).
Yesterday you were flirting with two young men sitting across from us at the Costco food court for quite some time. They were happy to oblige you with goofy faces since you would reward them with ear-to-ear grins and call out to them.
You
LOVE your cousin Gray!!! Love, love, love. To the point of exhaustion on all parts. Since you must always be near him, on him, in his face, sharing toys (or not sharing).
Both of you have quickly learned that whatever toy the other is playing with is the one that you need. It is obviously the more exciting one. At first you didn't know this Esme, and were happy to pick up a new toy as each toy was removed from your grasp. But you quickly learned that you both need to be playing with the same toy at the same time and some great tug-of-wars ensued.
Gray loves to give you hugs and try to pick you up. You love to give him kisses and touch (grab) his face. Gray loves to run and you love to be carried around chasing him, like tag. You will both laugh out loud. You have to be where he is. Especially if your Daddy has just picked up Gray to play with him. You know that means you need to also be picked up by Daddy, immediately!
You give kisses to some people and not as much to others. Gray is the primary recipient but you love to kiss Daddy, Gramma and Auntie Erin. Not that you don't love the other people but something about those four just inspires you to break out the kisses.
There's more, much more. But this post has already gone on a long time. You are starting to rustle so your nap is almost done and I still have to go back and put some pictures in with this text.
Monkey girl, we love you!! You are our joy and our delight!
