9 Months Old

17 lbs 11 oz (25-50%)
inches (50%)

When we went to Emilyn's 9 mth appointment at the doctor, she got a good report. We went a little early so they weren't too worried about her not crawling or moving around too much yet. I told the doctor that she wasn't even interested in moving from place to place. She was content to sit and play. That changed the next day. She has been rolling, lunging, and attempting crawling ever since. Her iron was a little low so we just have to watch that, and she had an ear infection in one ear, and fluid ready to be infected in the other, so I'm really glad we went in when we did. She weighed the exact same as Matisyn did at that age, but was 3/4 of an inch taller.

9 things about Emilyn at 9 months old:

• She smiles whenever somebody looks at her, she loves people and attention.
• She is happiest when she has somebody to play with. She loves patting people's faces, putting things in her mouth, shoving her hands in your mouth, grabbing hair and glasses, playing with noisy toys, rolling balls, and eating.
• She still loves her sister, although nobody knows why, since Matisyn is so rough with her. She squints when Matisyn gets close as if she is preparing for what is coming. Matisyn loves her to pieces and just wants her to play with her, but still hasn't learned how to be calm.
  
• She looks like a sumo wrestler with rolls of fat and a big, round belly, and she appears to have rubber bands down her arms, which make her even more adorable. Her eyes are changing colors, but we're not sure to what yet. They look kind of green, brown, blue, gray right now. I'm guessing they'll be hazel like her Dad's since she looks so much like him so far. Matisyn always says, "Emilyn doesn't have much hair, just like Daddy!" All kidding aside, she is good looking just like him!
  
• She is no longer content to sit still. She wants to explore and see the world. She is rocking on her hands and knees and is very close to crawling. She rolls, lunges and scoots to get where she wants to go, but gets frustrated when she can only scoot backward. She claps all the time, and models many behaviors like making sounds, spitting, and clapping.
  
• She loves people food, and is no longer very interested in baby food or being fed. She has tried lots of new foods and loves to feed herself. She shovels it in in fist fulls, and can often out eat Matisyn. She has amazing fine motor skills, and shows these off when she is eating.
  
• I am still nursing, but I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it up. She is so distracted and fidgety that it is hard to keep her focused and not frustrated waiting for the milk to come in, except in the middle of the night. She still wakes up a time or two in the middle of the night to eat, and it would be nice to do away with those feedings soon. I'm not tough enough or ready to let her cry it out yet, and I enjoy the special time with her.
• She usually takes two good naps a day. She is still great at going down to bed on her own. When she is tired I can just take her right to bed and lay her down. She does not like to sleep anywhere else but her bed though, except in the car, which makes it hard to go places during the day if I want to preserve her nap schedule.
• She is still loud, and the pterodactyl is in full force. She will let you have it if you are not giving her the attention she needs or are ignoring her cries for things that she cannot have like choking hazards, chocolate, and anything you might be drinking. When we were at the doctor's appointment the doctor described it as Emilyn really experimenting with her voice. That is an understatement. Even when she is happy and content she is loud, but I like that. She babbles and talks constantly. She is starting to say ma ma, da da, and ba ba, but I don't think she is relating them to the objects yet.

She's still the cutest little baby and we love her. She is growing up way too fast, just like Matisyn. Matisyn has been a great little travel companion, and aside from a day or two, and one or two breakdowns, she has been really good. She seems to have turned a corner in her behavior since Christmas, and has really calmed down. I hope it is the beginning of great things for this year, because without the tantrums and sad drama, she is pretty wonderful. She is constantly making me laugh with the things she says and she stretches my imagination far beyond normal capacity. I've really enjoyed getting to spend time with my girls without the home responsibilities to worry about. We spent an hour the other morning just wrestling and playing games on my mom's bed. That is precious time with them, of which I never seem to get enough.