9 months!!

Lila Jane Cundiff, you are NINE months old!! That's OFFICIALLY 3/4 of a year! (Unlike last month when I said that, and you were actually 2/3 year. I hope you get your math skills from Daddy.)
You are 18 lbs, 3 oz, and 27 inches long. You are in the 50th percentile for height and weight, and in the 75th percentile for your head. You definitely get that big ol' brain from Daddy!

I'm starting to retire a lot of your 9 month clothing. You are definitely fully in the 12 month size now, which is just perfect. I've bought you mostly 18 month clothes for fall/winter, so I think that's going to be about right. You are still known at school for your crazy wardrobe. I bounce around between putting you in all of these sweet little vintage looks, these crazy mix-matched patterns and pieces, and tons of crazy accessories to go with everything. Even the doctors office calls you the "girl with the bow in her hair"! People have often stopped us when we're out and about to ask how in the world we get that bow stuck in your hair. You still don't have a whole lot of hair, but it is starting to thicken up a bit on top, and get a bit longer. Your little "sprig" ponytail is at least an inch tall now!
This has been a BIG month for you, Lila! You started crawling, and then pulling up within days of each other. That makes Mommy and Daddy SO nervous! We've been very busy trying to baby-proof the house and make sure you don't get into anything you shouldn't. Your favorite toy at home is your little activity table that has LOTS of buttons to push. It lights up and talks and plays music, and you spend LOTS of time there. At school, your favorite toy is a large U-shaped ball activity center that is the perfect height for you to pull up on. You like to stand at it and practice your mad dance skills!

You also bumped up to EIGHT teeth either on your 9 month birthday or the day after. You don't like to let me in to check as easily as I used to, so I'm not exactly certain which day it popped through.
Even though you still seem so tiny in comparison to some of your friends, you're definitely still the best eater! We still haven't really found any foods you won't eat, though you do show preferences for some things over others when there's more than one food on your tray. You also really want to feed yourself. Even for things like yogurt that must be eaten with a spoon, you often try to grab the spoon from Mommy and try to push it into your mouth all by yourself. You're finally doing AWESOME with your sippy cup! Now that we figured out you like straws best, you're really going to town! We can even get you a big kid cup with a lid and straw at a restaurant, and you can pretty much handle it all by yourself! You definitely take after your Aunt B and Cousin Collin, though, because you like to bite your straw. It makes me giggle every time.
We used to laugh because you were such a serious baby. You could watch us and hang out forever without cracking the least bit of a smile. That baby is LONG gone! You are always SO happy now! I love peeking into your classroom through the window. I never stand there long before you spy me. Every single time you see me in that window, your face lights up like a Christmas tree! And every single time, my heart skips a little beat. I can still come and go from your room easily, and you are always happy to see me, but you rarely ever get upset when I leave. I think you do best if I tell you bye bye and wave to you when I leave rather than trying to sneak out. If you catch me sneaking, I think it hurts your feelings.

You LOVE to wave hello and goodbye to anyone and anything. You often wave bye bye to the house when we leave in the mornings. You also love to give me and Daddy "ZRBT"s on our arms. You've started trying to give kisses, too. Today you even started kind of blowing kisses, but you were doing it with your palm out instead of against your mouth. It was SO cute! We'll work on that one a bit more...

Lila, when I write these birthday posts for you, I always go back and look at some of the older pictures of you. People always tell me to enjoy the baby days while they last, and that it will all go by in the blink of an eye. I really do try to savor every moment with you, but it's not making it any easier to watch you grow up so quickly. I told Daddy tonight that it really does make me feel this strange kind of sadness when I look at your tiny baby pictures. I feel like that baby is completely gone, and I miss her so much. I love the baby we have now even MORE, if that's possible, but in my mind we started out with a completely different baby, and there's just none of that left. It's another good reminder for me to really try to soak up every snuggle, kiss, and image in my mind, and with pictures. No matter how many pictures we take, I always think it's not enough.

I love seeing you grow and change, and getting glimpses of the personality you are starting to get as you develop. Nothing in my world compares to your big smiles and drooly kisses. Being your Mommy is the BEST thing that ever happened to me, and I have no doubt Daddy would say the same thing. I think we have done almost as much growing and changing as you have over the past nine months. I love the changes you've made in us, and can't wait to see how our little family continues to grow together over the next weeks, months, and years. We love you, Lila Jane. Bunches and bunches like grapes and bananas.