9 Months Old!

My Baby girl is 9 months old.  9 MONTHS OLD!!!!  How time flies...  we went into this month wide eyed and ready for adventure.

This month Mallie has really started moving.  She can roll from one side of a room to the other in no time flat.  She tries, and it really close to, crawling but she can't quite figure it out yet.  She gets up on all fours, then starts to move and then her arms give out and she ends up flat on her belly again.  Which she doesn't seem to mind because it means she can roll to her next destination.  She has figured out how to rotate her body to get shift directions but is not a fan of corners... she gets stuck on them and gets pretty frustrated and usually hollers so we will move her.

 

 

Speaking of hollering, this little girl is becoming quite... loud and used to getting her way.  I foresee this being a problem and want to address the behavior but am a little unsure how to discipline a 9 month old.  I get the most frustrated with this while feeding her.  I will give her a spoonful of food, and go into the kitchen while she is "chewing" to grab something.  The second Mallie sees me walk away, she yells out to get me to come back.  I go back to her with more food... only to find her mouth is still full of food.  She also has started swatting the spoon while a feed her, making a big mess of things. 

In terms of eating, Mallie is doing great.  She eats meat, veggies, fruit, and her gerber cereal mixes and has started on dairy.  Plain yogurt is not her favorite but she loves vanilla flavored yogurt.  

 

We have been out blackberry picking on our daily walks and she is a Texas girl for sure, if by nothing else, her love for wild, fresh blackberries.  Yummy.  We have had lots of mid afternoon snacks along our walking route the past week or two. 

 

 

Sadly Mallie's Aunt Jamie's grandmother passed away in April.   On their trip to Texas, she (Jamie) and my brother Kyle stopped by the house to say hi to Mallie.  They also helped out in a huge way and babysat her for a few hours (THANK YOU!!!).

 

She LOVES Mackie, our dog.  Thankfully, Mackie is a very sweet and gentle dog because Mallie pulls, pokes and prods that dog all day long.  

 

She is able to get into the sitting position but we have not actually seen her make the transition.  I find her sitting in her crib in the morning, in the middle of the kitchen floor when I come inside from a quick trip to the mailbox, etc.  She is obviously very proud of this skill because she is all smiles when we catch her sitting.

Aprilfest time!  

And fun playing with family.

Her second tooth came in. That sweet gummy smile is growing whiter with teeth every day.

Separation anxiety is setting in and there are tears shed when someone new holds holds her.  They usually clear up the second I walk away and she gets distracted... but I am still hoping this is a short lived stage.

Mallie is all giggles and smiles at home (except for the times she is not) but when we go out in public she still stares down new people.  She is not amused by strangers (or un-regular non-strangers) and their grand gestures.  To win her affection, or at the least to get her to crack a smile, a  sides ways glance and slight smile or simple silly face express goes a long way.  Loud, in her face, giant movements seem to either annoy or confuse her.  I am certain that the being annoyed part she gets from her Daddy.  It would make things easier when we are out in public if she would give smiles away freely but I am sure in some way we will be thankful for this trait in the future.

At 9 months old this little girl is keeping me busy.  It seems like I have more to do now then when I was working full time.  The business is a blessing and we are very thankful for all that God has provided for our family.