9 Months Old

-20 lbs
-29 inches long
-This has been an especially enjoyable month with Estelle
-Loves to pull herself to standing
-Started crawling!!!!!
-Adores other children (this has turned into a problem now that she can crawl and smother them with love)
-Blows kisses
-Says "Da" in reference to her Dad -so cute hearing her say "Da" at the phone when we facetime him at work.
-Started pointing and babbling. She has full on conversations.
-Loves to empty baskets, bookshelves, boxes and knock down towers. In fact emptying the bookshelf is her first task of the morning and she cannot let the tower with the stacking cups stay up. She goes to great lengths to knock it down.
-Loves, loves, loves water. Showers, baths, the pool, and even the ocean. Doesn't mind getting water in her face. She's a mad woman splashing in the pool. When she joins me in the shower I put her on the tub floor while I wash my hair, she sits looking up at me with her mouth open and tongue out.
-This baby can pack down the food. Her favorites are bite size banana chunks and Chobani greek yogurt. She takes much pleasure from feeding herself but loves food so much that she takes just about anything from a spoon or fork too. 

In this picture I had put her in the bumbo on the kitchen counter while I put away the groceries. I thought I had put all the groceries away when I turn around and see this! She opened the bread bag, emptied it, and started feeding herself. I was less than 2 feet away the entire time. Such a tricky girl. 

I'm not going to lie, February wasn't the easiest sleeping schedule with baby Estelle. We had just returned home from a visit to mainland where she caught the hand, foot, mouth bug from her cousins and Gram, Grandma and Grandpa Baxter came to visit for the month of February. She really was a good baby considering she had sores all over the inside of her mouth and a disrupted schedule but she had transitioned herself back into the bed next to mom AND wasn't napping well in the crib. BUT March brought about a great change. She is back in the crib at night. She goes down between 7-8PM and sleeps until 6-7AM. She also picked back up her usual 2-hour naps twice a day IN THE CRIB. Loving it! Makes for a much more pleasant baby.

She loves to pull herself to standing in the crib. One time I laughed when she plopped herself to sitting. That was all the encouragement she needed- then it was up and down, up and down laughing all the way until she couldn't pull herself up anymore. So funny. The crib is a great way to make the bed, fold the laundry, etc.  AND she loves being in there as long as I'm in the room.

Estelle suffers from severe separation anxiety. When we are alone at the house she is content as can be playing with her toys as long as I'm on the floor too. If I sit at the computer (2 feet away from her) or go into the kitchen (which mind you is the same room as we live in 540 square feet) then she would throw her body in my direction and scream, not cry but SCREAM. I've tried sneaking away, speaking calmly to her as I let her know I'm going to throw away her diaper, and just plain walking casually away. Nothing worked. Don't get me wrong she is a super happy baby, just as long as I am right next to her. I kept telling Trace that she would be happier with a little distance once she got mobile and I was right! Crawling is so nice. I can walk into the kitchen or even out of her sight into the bathroom now and she happily follows. I hear the little hands slap on the linoleum and her squeal with delight as she rounds the corner to find me.

My only trick for putting the baby to sleep is to nurse her. (I know, I know, you are "supposed" to train your child to put themselves to sleep...) But it works great, and like clock work for her naps and usually at bedtime. But her dad's got some special sleeping power over her. They just go lie on the bed and 5 minutes later they're both asleep! I've tried this at night when nursing didn't work. I lay perfectly still with my eyes closed while she is rolling, crawling on me, giving me open mouth kisses and it will go on for over an hour with no luck in the sleep department. I'm just grateful for Trace on those nights when nursing doesn't cut it.

The beach is fun now! I bought a cool tent that pops up in 5 seconds and folds down in 10. I throw towels down and toys in the tent and she is content crawling about inside. Here we are enjoying a day at Makaha Beach Park- a new found favorite.