9 Months Out

This last month with Ava has been...different!

I have felt like she has already hit the 9 month mark a long time ago - she has seemed so grown up to me lately!

She eats so much table food it's ridiculous! Just this morning she ate an egg - scrambled, a piece of french toast, almost a whole banana, and a sprinkling of blueberries. And she might have even had some yogurt; I can't remember now. I mean, how can she only be in the 19th percentile for weight when that's what she eats?! And not to be gross, but now that I'm a mom I talk about this stuff all the time...her poop has almost no visible pieces of food in it anymore so I know her body is doing a better job of breaking it down and absorbing it!

She still refuses to crawl. She can get to hands and knees from sitting and she'll reach out for things, but then she flops to the floor no matter how much bribing we do. She gets around on her belly by turning in circles or rolling around. 

She is much better at pulling up and she can do it on more things! She prefers to stand and play; that is what keeps her happy during playtime.

She has been super fussy this last month, which I think is a big factor in why she has seemed older to me. Lots of fits! Whining! Fussing! But for a good reason...baby girl has cut 4 teeth in only 4 weeks! I'm sure her mouth hurts her a lot. I give her lots of teething toys to chomp on and a dose of Motrin when I feel she really needs it. But I'm pretty conservative with medication so that's rare. 

She's been learning what to do with her mouth full of teeth. She'll bite her arm! I think she's moved past this phase for the most part. But for about a week she'd bite her arm and then cry, and then go right back to it to bite it and cry again! I've been giving her a teething toy to take the place of her arm, and I think that has helped. Poor girl! She's been doing lots of hair pulling and pulling on her ear, too, which I suspect is also teething related. I hope her fussiness settles down a bit after tooth #6 comes in - I need my super happy, smiley girl back!!

Ava and I have been enjoying outside time! Ava pants loves to be outdoors to feel the wind in her hair! We play with her doggie, lay out a blanket and play with toys, or walk to the park for some swing time. She laughs louder and louder each time she swings!

We've been having to "discipline" her a bit...her biting has gotten a bit out of control! If she was in a preschool, she'd be the biter for sure! I know it's due to teething, but we still have to tell her a firm "no" and redirect with a teething toy and set her down. She will bite our shoulders if we are holding her or lean over and bite my leg if we are playing on the floor together. She occasionally bites while nursing, but it's not very hard, thankfully!! It's usually when she's done anyway so then we just move on to playtime. She also likes to pull my hair, so we practice "gentle". She doesn't pull as hard now...for the most part!

Ava still enjoys shopping, but now that she's become a bit more mobile, sitting is less fun for her. I feel like our days of "easy" shopping are numbered!

She is a very routine girl when it comes to sleeping. We recently took a road trip and she slept horribly the whole time. She does so well with her dark room, crib, and sound machine that if one of those components is missing, it really throws her off. Poor girl threw a fit each time we had to put her back in her car seat!

I have discovered a new emotion recently. I feel it when people talk about how cute she is, or we just chat about her in general. I look at her, and I can feel my eyes start to well up with tears. I think it's love and pride mixed together. I just love her so much, and I love exactly the way she is. She's my baby, and I couldn't imagine any other baby. God truly picked the baby we were meant to have. It's so crazy to think that some day (hopefully) God will choose another baby that is just right for us. It's so amazing!! It's beyond my understanding.

Here's a fun photo of me at exactly 40 weeks (just 24 hours before she was born) and me holding Ava at 9 months old!

I'm so excited to be able to wear maxi dresses because I choose to, and not because they are the only clothes that fit me!