9 months

Standing tall

Climbing the stairs

Miia stares outside, wishing the rain away!

Standing and laughing...so grown up!

Something about this picture reminds me of a picture of Keef, so I had to include it...

Daddy, proud of his Giants, and Miia celebrate the big win!

Being a 9 month old baby has its ups and downs. Miia is now cruising along furniture, opening cabinets and drawers (and smashing fingers), waving bye, pointing, and climbing stairs. Although we're trying to teach her signs, the inability to communicate her needs leads to excessive whining. I sure hope she can pick up the signs quickly! She has, however, come up with a phrase that sounds something between doggie and I get, to indicate that she wants to see and touch something. She especially loves photos of other babies as well as Lexi, our dog, and Buddy, my parents' dog, so she gets particularly excited about those. When I take her shopping, she is using her new phrase to point at everything in the store, but unfortunately there is very little I can let her touch and she is not afraid to let me know that she is unhappy about that. I hope to squelch the mini tantrums quickly by not giving in and diverting her attention elsewhere. Her love to explore is so fun to watch. It makes me remember how exciting the world can be!

• Weight: ~17 lbs
• Height: 27.5"
• Hair: Dirty blond (I see the red disappearing as it grows in)
• Eyes: Blue, looks like we're going to have a blue-eyed baby for good! The eyes generally change by 9 months, and Miia's are still the same bright blue color.
• Teeth: 6 (4 top and 2 bottom)
• Foods: Miia is now eating chunks of food, such as banana, rice, bread, and grape pieces, like a pro. She has the hand-to-mouth coordination down and we're so proud of her! She has also started eating baby food with meat...while I still make some fruit and vegetable options, I do buy a lot of jarred food too. I wish I was better about making food!
  

Eating rice at Panda Express with GG and Aunt Rita

We kept putting off plans to take Miia to the pumpkin patch, but finally a sunny day arrived, and we were able to make the trip to Wheatland. We saw animals, which of course Miia loved (although she looks miserable in the picture below because she was so tired), and when Keef, Tara, and Mallorie joined us, Miia was thrilled to see her baby cousin.

Checking out the piglets, but too tired to enjoy


Not too tired to love the pumpkins though!

Tara, Keef and Mallorie

Daddies and daughters

Halloween included a trip to Elk Grove to see Jason's parents. They wanted to check out her costume, so we put it on and witnessed her climb a step for the first time. She loved her new trick and when she tried to come back down, toppled on her face. Ever since then she has been climbing our stairs and I've been trying to teach her how to come down backwards, but she doesn't have the hang of it yet. After the visit to Elk Grove, we took her by my grandma's house and then my parents where she got a couple of Snickers bars and pretzels (of course I ate them!). We finally made it back home in time to put Lexi in her costume and pass out candy to the neighborhood kids. Miia loved seeing the kids, but it had been a long day, so she soon went to bed.

Climbing the step

Daddy and Miia

Miia and Lexi, make quite the pair!

Climbing our whole staircase!

The new job is going great--I am finally getting into a rhythm of work and caring for Miia. She still isn't napping all that well, but somehow I fit it all in! I also finally decided to get help for my tailbone (which I thought I broke during labor) since it is still causing me so much pain. The physical therapist thinks that my pelvis actually went out of alignment, causing the pressure on the tailbone, since one leg was over an inch shorter than another. She tried to pop it back in place, but my muscles and ligaments have tightened up since delivery, so I'm supposed to do stretches and then we'll try again next week. I felt some relief from the moves she did yesterday, but still feel the pressure. I would be so relieved if it was my pelvis bone that caused the pain rather than a broken tailbone, because it is a much easier fix and if it happens again during delivery, it could be fixed almost right away, rather than suffering for another 9+ months.

Jason and I also celebrated our 5 year anniversary on Oct. 29th! It's been such a blessed 5 years and I am so grateful for such a loving, helpful, supportive husband.