I'm only a three year old mother so I don't have many ages to choose from, but I do know that I LOVE 9 months. I remember really liking 9 months with Starlet and I am IN LOVE with my almost-nine-month-old Grace. After reading a favorite blogger talk about her 3rd, I wanted to write and figured, "Why not break the 'not writing' ice with a post about my baby?"
It has been a fast nine months. When Starlet was 9 months, it felt like she was SO BIG. I really LIVED in every moment of every day of Starlet's first year of life. Due to depression and transition to mommy-hood, it was a very slow year. But Grace, at almost-nine-months, is still a baby, my baby. I'm not in such a hurry for her to grow up. I feel like I pushed Starlet to grow up in someways. (I still push her because she's the big sister, but that's a whole other blog post.)
Let me paint a picture of my baby. I'm gonna pick nine words/phrases to describe my little one.
Smiley!
Grace is all smiles and always has been. Not only is her smile beautiful, she has a dimple in her right cheek that shows up when she smiles real big: a DIMPLE! So cute. Grace smiles at every one whether they be friends at church, grandma on Skype, or strangers!
Social.
Grace has always been alert and aware and loves interacting with people. She was two months old when we blessed her and
she smiled at all of the visiting family. She likes to be where the party is and gets sad when she's alone. I really think she'll be an amiable people-person like her mom.Social.
Verbally expressive.
When Grace was born, she had to learn how to cry, but once she learned, HOLY BUCKETS. Boy has she got a good set of lungs. Ever since she learned how to cry (loudly cry) she has been very verbal. She made many different sounds when she started cooing with various inflections. Now she babbles and makes silly noises. When she's ecstatic or completely tickled with something, she makes this hilarious gurgle/cough/cackle noise as if she has to hack her laugh out of her body! When she's at the end of her rope or wants another bite of food, the whole world knows it! Lately when she's distressed she'll call, "Mama! Mama!"
Sense of humor.
Grace has this funny sense of humor! I think she'll be a clever, witty joker who can say the right thing in a snap! Weird or unexpected things make her laugh which is so funny! Her belly laugh is the best.
Adoring sister.
The one person who can make Grace laugh the easiest and hardest is Starlet. Grace absolutely adores Starlet. Ever since Grace was LITTLE, her attention has been glued on Starlet. She used to just follow Starlet with her gaze, but now she crawls after her to be with Starlet. At breakfast, when Starlet is done and runs from the table into the front room to play, Grace from her food, watches her, turns away, and nearly forgets that she's still eating! I think Grace will want to be just like her older sister.
Carnivore.
Speaking of eating, holy cow! This is little girl is a BIG eater. Compared to other babies her age, she's probably a light eater, but compared to Starlet HOLY BUCKETS! She gets so excited when she sees a full bottle of milk and gets super cranky when her tummy is empty.She puts everything and anything in her mouth. I feel like Starlet didn't do that as much.
Determined.
Grace never quits. Thanks to her new object permanence, if she was trying to get something I don't want her to have, I move her away, put her down, and then she returns to the object as soon as possible. Grace tries, and succeeds, to snatch Starlet's binkie right out of Starlet's mouth! Sometimes Grace has to follow her all over the TV room, but WILL eventually get that binkie! (The stinker.) I love how she extends her reach to get food off the table or a toy off the couch. She is so stinking determined!
Strong.
A companion to determination is strength. When God dished out strength to everyone, Grace got a good, healthy spoonful. She has ALWAYS been strong. Her kicks inside me were tough and fierce. When she was born she had a difficult time figuring out the rhythm of breathing while she ate because she sucked down her milk so hard! She rolled over at 2 weeks old (yes, I said 2 WEEKS) and a couple months ago would pull herself up as I lifted her off the ground by her little arms!
Mover.
All her strength and awesome coordination allows her to do anything she wants and to go anywhere she wants! She has NEVER stopped moving. She was very active in my tummy and can always be found moving some part of her body be it a toe, wrist, ankle or finger. I was talking to fellow mothers about how 9 months is a FUN age and one of them said, "Yeah, they are so interactive and not very mobile..." I had to promptly interject because Grace is exceedingly mobile. She's FAST too! Grace just keeps going and going and going; she's my Energizer bunny! She stands up by herself and has actually taken a step.
-Cool Mamma
