9 Months

This adorable baby is now 3/4 of a year old..............

To say that I find Adrienne charming is a gross understatement. This kid has some serious personality, and she knows how to use it. The new scrunchy-faced smile she is flashing in the above photo gets me every time, and gives me flashbacks of a 9 month old Jillian

They are definitely sisters, don't ya think? 

Adrienne is a busy girl these days. She is an extremely fast crawler, and is becoming more adept at cruising. It's cute to see her confidence grow as she pulls to stand next to new objects. The stairs are a favorite attraction these days, and she even made it all the way to the top (16 steps) by herself at bath time this week (with me glued to her for safety, of course).

Adrienne has nearly outgrown her infant car seat, and it's only a matter of weeks at most before we bid it farewell and put her in a "big girl" convertible seat. It's kind of a chore to lug her into a store in the seat these days, so she has begun getting a new view of shopping aisles as she sits directly in the cart.

Adrienne continues to be a good eater, and is most passionate about avocado, sweet potatoes, and yogurt. She finger feeds herself puffs, mum-mum crackers, yogurt melts, diced banana, and small pieces of baby bel cheese. She loves to chomp on bigger pieces of food through the safe mesh feeder, specifically apples, carrot sticks, and even asparagus! I have real hopes for an adventurous eater here!

Adrienne drinks water from a sippy cup like a pro these days, and devours the occasional bottle when I am away. On most days she nurses about 5 times in a 24 hr period, though I am trying to replace one of those feedings with an afternoon snack.  She has 5 teeth (3 on top, 2 on bottom) and several more waiting to pop through at any time. It makes my mouth hurt just to look at her swollen gums. Though she rarely bites me now, the mere presence of so many teeth is starting to decrease my enthusiasm toward nursing her.

And then there is the subject of sleep. We have made big progress in the last month, thanks to a little bit of tough love here and there. Often, Adrienne will go to sleep between 7-7:30, and wake somewhere between 4-5:30 to eat before falling back asleep until around 7. I can deal with this, as it is much improved over her 10 p.m. and 2ish a.m. feedings of before. Occasionally, I get lucky and she'll sleep  until 5:30 or 6, but this is not the norm. Yet. I am not giving up. When we are able to be home for naps, she naps well twice per day. Often she gets a short morning nap in her car seat, then a more substantial afternoon nap in her crib. I will never tire of looking at this precious, peaceful face as she settles in for a much-needed slumber--faithful duck lovie at her side.

Oh sweet baby, you are fast approaching toddler status. I am doing my best to savor every last fleeting moment of your infancy.