Michaela @ Nine Months

Nine months and a day old!

Yesterday got away from us mostly due to computer issues. So this isn't the timeliest of posts. Oh, well.

My little miracle isn't that little anymore. I can't believe she's nine months already! My pregnancy seemed to drag on forever (because I was so sick), but these nine months with Michaela have truly just flown by.

Growth: We will see the pediatrician later this week, so I'll update with some stats at that point. I am really eager to see how much she has grown in length and weight since we last went in during November. I can tell you that she's now wearing 12 months sized clothing. We have a few items of 9 months clothes that still work for her, but most things that weren't two-pieces were just too short for her torso anymore. Her shoe size still seems to be a 3, though, and she is still wearing a size 3 diaper.
Updated on February 23: At her appointment with the pediatrician, we learned that she is 28.25" long, and that she weighs 19.2 pounds. She is tall and thin. She's gained less than two pounds since her appointment in November, but she's grown 1.25 inches. Her length puts her in the 72nd percentile, and her weight in the 53rd.

Eating: Well, her enthusiasm for food seems to come and go. She really likes things she can feed herself, but she's not that coordinated about getting those morsels in her mouth. Much of it winds up in the seat of her highchair. She's usually very interested in what I'm eating, and she will almost always "beg" to be fed some of my food. That's fine with me! I offer her a taste of almost anything she shows interest in.

Sleeping: Michaela is a pretty good napper most days. It is typical for her morning and afternoon naps to be at least an hour in length, sometimes two. We're still cosleeping, and I am very content with that arrangement. I like having her in bed with me. On the weekends, it's nice to sleep in a little bit later and see her wake up with a smile on her sweet face. That really reminds me of her daddy. He almost always woke up with a smile for me. How I miss that!

Other developments:

Michaela's top front teeth are making their way down. I'd estimate them at about 1/4 of the way emerged. Long before they were visible, she was grinding her bottom teeth with the top ones. It really gave me the heebie-jeebies!

Michaela pulls up on furniture, and she will stand for long periods of time. She likes to pull up at our living room window sill and watch the world go by. When she's done with that, she expresses her frustration, and I help her get down. She needs to learn how to sit down from a standing position. There are times when she doesn't wait for me, or I'm around the corner and she falls. Those are terrible moments that usually end in tears. I just swoop in as quickly as I can and hold her until she feels better. She's usually just scared, but we do have hardwood floors and I know she's clonked her head a few times. Gives me major mommy guilt.

She's vocalizing so much! In the past month she's started saying "mama" and "baba". Just last week, she clearly said "bye-bye" as I buckled her into her carseat, and she waved goodbye. Too cute!

Everyone who cares for her here at the house takes the time to point to the pictures of Daddy and Mommy that are around the house and on our fridge. A few days ago, we were reviewing the pictures on the fridge, and I asked her where Daddy is. She pointed right to a picture of him! I just hugged her so tight. It was a very touching moment.

I guess the last thing I'll mention here tonight, is that we took our first trip to Disneyland last Monday. Michael's mom retired from Disneyland, and therefore she has a lifetime pass to the park. My mom and my sister joined us for an afternoon of fun together. One of the things we took her to was Tiki Room, and she was so interested in singing birdies. We actually sat under one of the main characters in the show named "Michael". I am aware of little things like this all the time. I don't know what those in Heaven see or know about those of us here on Earth exactly, but there are times when I really feel like the Lord wants me to know that Michael knows what's up with us.

So, there you have it! Nine months! I'm already starting to think about her first birthday party. Yikes!!!