Emma: 9 Months

Emma is getting so big! She had her 9 mo appointment and weighed 17 pounds, 5.5 ounces (25%ile), was 26.5 inches long (10-25%ile). She desperately wants to be more mobile than her rolling tactics allow but actually does get around pretty well, all things considered. We often find her in precarious locations like this:

She has begun to eagerly grab at any fingers in the near vicinity to use to pull herself up. She hasn't quite figuring out how to move her legs once in the walking position but sure loves to stand. I often come in after her nap to find her up on all fours and I've seen her get from there to the sitting position on a few occasions. I think crawling is in the very near future!

She is learning new things every day. On May 28th, she clapped for the first time and she is just figuring out how to wave. She is in the copying phase and likes to mimic the various sounds we make. Oh, and she discovered her voice. She LOVES shrieking as loud and high as she possibly can.

It has really struck me this month that Emma has her own personality and it is beginning to shine through! She's generally easy-going and happy to sit surrounded by toys or roll around the room and find her own fun. But she also has a bit of a willful side that she is declaring over the past couple weeks. She's figured out how to cry and scream when she doesn't want something and stubbornly wait in her highchair, not touching her food in hopes I will give her something else (which I don't do and she eventually eats what's served). She also is tender and sensitive and has developed a real sense of fear. She is 100% scared of dogs, even stuffed ones. If one even comes in the same room as her, she begins blinking rapidly and squinting her eyes, pulling away and screaming in fear. This caught me quite by surprise as Isla was never this way so it drove home the point: we have two very different, unique children. And I love that!

Emma is such a little ham! She is still doing her signature move where she tilts her head to the side when we say "sideways" but now she adds some drama to it for extra attention. She loves to throw her cup (and food) off the side of the high chair and then quick lean over to watch it hit the floor. Kids are so smart. And they learn early!

We've transitioned Emma is to pretty much all finger foods which has made her quite the happy camper and over the past week, I fed her cut up pieces of the family meal every night. This is making dinner much easier. The main challenge now is cutting up the food fast enough--she's an eating machine! This month, we've introduced wheat, yogurt, cheese (which she seems to prefer in combination with bread or tortilla--quesadilla or grilled cheese), salmon, zucchini, berries, radish, asparagus, watermelon, orange, grapefruit and the list continues. Since she's done so well, I'm no longer really doing the introduce-foods-one-at-a-time thing but rather just avoiding a few key items: milk, egg whites, shellfish, honey and nuts (although I accidentally fed her sweet potatoes that had been cooked in peanut oil--oops!) She loves meat, particularly shredded chicken and she's a sucker for Cheerios. She becomes instantly hungry anytime she sees that big yellow box. She's made me a proud mama, watching her chow down on steak w/ anchovy sauce and spicy rapini. (Yep, no teeth on this one either....)

This girl also loves the bath. As soon as you put her in the tub, she begins flailing and splashing with all her might. It's really quite entertaining and the girls have a great time in there together.

Oh, and she probably could use a haircut but I just can't bring myself to do it! You know it's bad when you alternate which side you part your kids' hair each week in hopes that maybe you were just doing it on the "wrong" side before... Nope. Emma's hair is chalk full of cowlicks and it wants to go every which way, including straight into her eyes. I've tried clips but then found her with one in her mouth (total choking hazard!!!!) so now that's out... The top middle is all her original hair so it's about 3 times as long as the rest but it's precious and just love my girls, crazy hair and all!