9 months old... + a few days

Dear Katie,

I'm a couple days late on this post - hopefully you will forgive me. I actually have a very good excuse as to why I have been behind. It's called taking care of YOU! :)

Last Thursday, you turned 9 months old! Three quarters of a year since you came into this world, and I can 100%, honestly say that I don't know what the world would be like without you in it. You are growing into not only the most beautiful little girl, but you are becoming as smart as a whip. Here are just a few of the things that you have started to do over the past month:

*As of August 14th, I have stopped breastfeeding you all together, so you are now 100% on formula.

*You absolutely LOVE to drink water out of the sippy cup. Water. A 9-month-old who loves water. You're definitely our child!

*You started to eat "adult" foods here and there, along with your pureed baby food. Foods have included: cheerios, saltine crackers, gold fish, bread, toast, peaches, bananas, cheese (lots and lots of cheese), cheese ravioli, cheese tortellini (see what I mean?), pasta salad, black olives (weirdo), rice, deli meat, graham cracker (your eyes lit up the one time I gave you one) and Jell-o (it slipped out of your mouth).

*You are starting to make the transition from drinking your formula in a bottle to drinking it in a sippy cup.

*This past week, you started eating the school breakfast and lunch (so far, just toast and peaches).

*You have completely mastered crawling.

*You literally want to pull up on anything and everything in sight, whether it's Mommy or Daddy, Tungsten, the barstools, the couch, your crib/dresser/nightstand, the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, your Jumperoo.

*The door stopper is your most favorite "toy" right now, along with the drum set I bought you from Goodwill (remember what I told you - you should always bargain shop!).

*When you wake up, you now not only stand up in your crib, but you apparently think you are a beaver and are trying to eat your way through the crib (note to self: buy a plastic guard to cover the rails).

*While standing, you have let go of the wall you were holding onto and stood by yourself for 3-4 seconds before sitting.

*You have attended 4 classes at Gymboree and absolutely love it. The teacher, Amber, has nicknamed you the "resident dancer" because you LOVE to dance in my arms when the music is on.

*You laugh ALL of the time. OK, maybe not ALL of the time, but it's pretty darn close!

*You are down to 2 naps a day (please stay like this for a while!!) - roughly at 10 and 2.

*Most nights, you sleep from 7:30 pm - 6:45 am.

*You got 2 more teeth in the past month - the outer top two (it looks like you have fangs!).

I'm looking forward to seeing how much you change from 9 months to 10...I am sure that there will be a lot happening!

Love,
Mommy