9 Months

Dear Lilah,
Forgive me if I leave anything out in this letter; I am writing it from the comfort of our bed because I am sick with strep throat! Your daddy stayed home today so that he could play with you while I rested. I can see you two outside talking to the painters working on the house. The two of you are such a great pair these days; you are definitely his little girl. You smile like there is no tomorrow when he is around! It makes my heart happy to see the two of you together. This month has felt like the fastest month so far; I felt like I just posted your 8 month letter. I had several different blog post ideas in my head that I have been meaning to write, but the month just flew by before I had a chance to get around to them. At the beginning of the month, you starting cruising around on the furniture. It started out as you pulling yourself up to standing against various items, but it wasn't long before you started making laps around the coffee table in the living room. Since you have begun this cruising adventure, you pretty much abandoned all crawling efforts. You would much rather roll to your destination then pull yourself up and walk around. You have started to get more and more brave lately; you oftentimes will let go of the coffee table with both hands and use your chin to balance yourself. You can also bend down to pick up toys while standing against the furniture.

This month we visited the Museum of Fine Art in Houston where you were quite vocal, especially in the quiet exhibit halls. We find that you like to vocalize loudly in places where you can hear your voice echo. This month you went on a boat ride for the first time. We went out on Gigi and Grump's boat on Lake Conroe with Travis and Heather who came in from San Antonio to visit us. Last week you unfortunately experienced your first bout of illness. You were running fever for about two days and you were quite cranky for a few days, but you were such a trooper! You were fine as long as either Daddy or I was snuggling you while you rested. This month you had two "date nights" with Daddy while I attended quilting class. The classes were two hours long, and it was the longest I had ever been away from you. I never would have imagined it still being so hard to leave you (even for short periods of time) at 9 months old! It makes me realize how lucky I am to be able to stay at home with you everyday.
This month you didn't gain a whole lot of weight, but we're not worried about it. Dr. Injac said that this is totally normal once babies start moving around. You are starting to have more fun playing with different foods; you are putting your 5 little teeth to use! This month you started taking sips of my green smoothie that I drink every morning. You can sip through the straw like an old pro! We sit here together in the morning passing the cup back and forth, each taking our turn to sip.
This month you mastered the wave and "bye bye"; however you are still a little unsure about when to use it and many times I wake up in the morning to you waving your little hand and saying "bye bye" to me.

Lilah, your giggles have become even more infectious! I am convinced that we could end all of the violence and hatred in the world if we could just bottle-up your dorky little laughs. You are growing up too fast for this momma, and I try to remind myself to soak up every little ounce of your "babyness" because it is so fleeting. We love you Bean, and we can't wait to see what you will accomplish next!
Love,
Mom