9 Months

Hadley turned 9 months old on the 3rd...which was now almost a month ago, but better late than never, right?

She weighed 21 lbs., 2 oz. (90th percentile) and was 27 1/2 inches long (50th percentile).

She is wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes and a size 4 diaper.

So, Hadley, what have you been up to this month?

You are a busy, BUSY girl and are into everything. Thankfully our house is still baby-proofed from our home study, but it is still not baby proofed enough for you, my adventurous girl. Even when we put you in your walker you still find a way to get into stuff you're not supposed to (not to mention you fly around the house in that thing like you're in a high speed chase).

You are also a daredevil which makes shopping interesting. I wear you in the lille' baby carrier a lot. You love it, but my back doesn't. ;)

you screamed because you wanted out of your car seat and then turned around and tried to climb back in

don't worry mom, the concrete floors probably aren't THAT hard

baby wearing in the summer in Houston...because who doesn't like to sweat out 10 gallons?

You fought it at first, but you have finally settled into a pretty good nap routine. You take one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Sometimes they are only 20 minutes and sometimes they are 2 hours. You were pretty stubborn and even fell asleep sitting up on a few occasions, but now usually I can just lay you on your side and rub your back for a minute and you are good to go with no fussing.

but I'm not tired!!!!

must. not. lie. down.

We have a great bedtime routine down, too. By around 7 or 8, you are ready to end your day and go down easily in your crib. BUT...we are still working on getting you to stay asleep. You slept through the night great when you were younger but now you're up a couple of times and only want your momma. Sometimes you want to nurse but sometimes you just want to cuddle. And since you are sharing a room with your sister, we can't really let you cry it out at 2am so you almost always end up in our bed. Not ideal...your momma is tired, baby girl!

You started eating table food right at 8 months and now that's almost all you will eat. You're not a fan of purees aside from the occasional pouch that you can feed yourself. Forget trying to spoon feed you...someone is quite independent. You are also losing interest in nursing and the longest I can get you to sit still is about 3 or 4 minutes (except in the middle of the night....). We still do 5 nursing sessions a day but I'm about to drop one to see if that helps.

do I have anything on my face?

this is more like it!

you also like to munch on teething wafers

You had your first ear infection this month. You never ran a fever but I was suspicious when you were being a cranky-pants (you are normally a very happy baby) and when you fell asleep in your high chair. Antibiotics and rest did the trick and I enjoyed the sleepy snuggles that you rarely give me anymore these days.

first and only time this has happened

When you are awake you are moving, moving, moving. You crawl at lightning speed and pull up on everything and try to climb in/on/under whatever you can. Such an active and adventurous baby.

catch me if you can

see ya, suckers!

You are developing such a fun and silly personality. You carry things around in your mouth like a dog. You love finding tags on things. You love destroying magazines. You are infatuated with shoes and since I never put them on you, you find everyone else's and try to put them on yourself. You give the cheesiest grins and I just love that you smile with your whole entire face. Sometimes you remind us of those old Bitter Beer Face commercials. the BBF has replaced the RBF you used to sport which I find hilarious. You crack us up, kid.

your brother thought this was the funniest thing ever...thankfully these were clean!

hee hee 

You have a few nicknames. Your daddy calls you Claire about 90% of the time. Which drives me nuts, btw, since he was the one that was adamant on choosing your first name. But that's a story for another day, ha! Other names off the top of my head: Hadley Hoo, Haddie Lou, Miss Claire, Claire-Bear, Puppy Dog, Nugget, Happy Baby, Sunshine Girl, Tiny, and Smalls.

And sometimes after bath you are referred to as Thunder Thighs while we squish your adorable naked tushy. The kids also like to serenade you with a catchy tune that they made up, appropriately titled, Junk in Her Trunk.

She's got junk, JUNK! In her trunk, TRUNK! She's got junk in her trunk, she's got junk in her trunk, she's got junk in her trunk, she's got junk, JUNK! In her trunk, TRUNK! 

who are you calling fat?

Oh sweet baby, we adore you! It's hard for your mama to comprehend that you've only just been on the outside of my belly for as long as you were on the inside. We had no idea what we were missing out on before you came along. You sure do enrich our lives and fill our hearts. Love you BIG!