Happy Nine-Month Birthday!

Dear Eloise, 

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping your up with your updates the past few months.  So, this will be a little catch-up for months 8 and 9.  A little list of all the fun things you do.

* You love to play.  Like, LOVE it.  So much so that the past few nights you've sat on a blanket in the living room with your dad and I and played with all your toys for a few hours straight.  This includes: banging toys on other toys.  Banging toys on furniture.  Banging toys on people.  Knocking toys together.  Pulling toys out of toy bin.  Hugging stuffed animals.  Pressing buttons.  Eating toys.

* You love paper.  Not a surprise - you are my daughter.  The only problem is that you love to eat paper.  You recently ate a piece of the developmental screening sheet Cookie brought us.  So that solves that.  Unfortunately, this also includes non-board books.  The other day you were "reading" Pat the Bunny in your crib.  I came in to find that you had also eaten part of its cover.  So, Pat the Bunny can only be read with supervision now.  Luckily, nothing happened to you.

* You love to read.  Other than eating books, you also love to look at them.  Any book, really.  You love the pictures and you talk to them every once in a while.  You turn pages, sometimes you shut the books before the story is over.  It's pretty cute.

* You love to talk.  Blababdadablebleble.  Talking to your toys, to us, to your crib, to your stuffed animals.  It's fun to listen to you.  Just in the past three weeks or so, you've begun to really use more consonants.  It sounds like you're really having conversations now.  You can say mamamama-ish and dadadada-ish sounds, but not really in reference to us yet.  I can't wait to hear what you have to say.

* You love to hug and kiss people.  More like eating their faces, but that's okay.  We don't mind.  You're sweet and cuddly.

* You love to play peek-a-boo.  It makes you squeal in happiness.  Or snort.  Your biggest laughs are like little pig snorts.  It is almost unbearably cute.

* You love to make us laugh.  I find so much joy in looking at you and finding that you've been staring at me with that completely-exposed-gum smile for a minute.  Then you wrinkle up your nose.  And you laugh, and I laugh too.  

* You love to wave!  You've really gotten into it.  Waving at new people now.  Usually you wave, then promptly stick your finger in your mouth, like you don't know what to do after the waves are over.  You can also clap (that happened a few weeks ago).

* You love to try to move.  You do not like to be contained.  We're not quite to crawling yet.  You find your way around using your stellar belly scoots and upper arm strength.  I have a feeling the crawling will come soon.  You're starting to pull up on your crib, but haven't made it all the way quite yet.  

* We love YOU!  You are so much fun to have around.  A little bundle and burst of joy.  A little toothless (yes, still) echo of God's love for us.  A spiky-haired, crazy little chubs who is growing up way too fast.  

Stats (from your appointment yesterday): 27. 75 inches long; 17 lbs 6 ounces; 44.5 cm head circumference

Eating-wise, you eat lots of solids - pureed fruits and veggies like apples, pears, prunes, bananas (love those!), peas, etc.  And you just started on combination foods.

That's that, baby girl.  

Love, your mom