Aaaand She's Off!!!

Susannah, yesterday was a big day for our country. We were remembering and mourning a horrible tragedy that happened 10 years ago. But you, in your typical fashion, wanted to brighten our day, so you decided to crawl yesterday!!! You have been learning for over a month now. Almost every day your daddy or I say, "Oh, today is definitely the day she will do it." because you have been so close for so long. But yesterday you officially took off. Needless to say, this morning, first thing, you and Mommy took a trip to the Exchange to buy every baby proofing gadget that is on the market. Here you are in all your crawling glory:


You still have to concentrate pretty hard and you aren't moving too fast, so Mommy is going to try and enjoy her last few days of peace before the you figure out how to go really fast and the real storm hits our house.


Last week was a big milestone for you as well.....your nine month birthday and your first visit to the American Pediatrician's office. While the Dr. visit itself wasn't all that we had hoped for (let's just say Mommy unknowingly dropping her car key behind the secretary's phone and then searching frantically for it for 30 minutes, with very little concern or assistance from the staff was just icing on the already very disturbing cake. We are definitely looking for another Dr before your one year visit.) you did recieve a clean bill of health. Mommy was excited to have your height and weight measurments right away without having to go home and do the conversion from the metric system. You weighed in at 19 lbs and were 28 inches. This puts you in the 75th percentile for both. The kicker, though, was your head measurement. You were in the 97th percentile for that one! We are assuming this just means that you will be super duper smart like your mommy.

We know that you are smart because you already know how to clap your hands (haven't been able to snag a photo of this yet) and play peek-a-boo. Here you are simultaneously helping mommy with the laundry and entertaining Daddy with a game of peekaboo.
"Where's Susannah??"

"There she is!!"


We also know you are smart because you still love books. Your favorite is "10 Little Ladybugs." If you see it, you won't pay attention to any other book. But if it isn't in the vicinity, you will happily settle for others.

We also know you are smart because last week you spit up about an hour after I dressed you in this outfit and this week, you spilled water on it and spent the afternoon pulling at the neck like you wanted to be freed from the heavy burden that it is to be a Georgia fan this season (okay, for the past few seasons). I know baby, Mommy feels your pain.

I don't have a photo to go along with this, but I must mention that another way we know you are smart is that with just 3 nights of tough love, you taught yourself how to sleep through the night!!! We are so proud and sooooo relieved. It was really hard to let you cry it out for those three nights, but now, after my first full nights sleep in nine months, your mommy is elated. You are also taking all your naps in your crib now instead of needing a stroller or carseat ride. This proves just how much there is to be said for stability and familiararity when it comes to babies. You were a trooper during all of the craziness of our trans-atlantic move, but now that we are settled, you are thriving and it makes me so happy to see.

Yet another sign of your intelligence is your apprehension at dog beach. Even your cool shades can't make you completely relax when there are tons of sandy, wet dogs running around. You love hanging out with Dada though.


On the eating front, you are back to your normal, hungry-girl self, after a rough week last week. You love your puffs and mum-mum rice snacks. You love baby yougurt, especially banana flavored. You also love any kind of banana baby food. Banana and pumpkin is one of your favorites. Actual bananas, however, still give you a little trouble. No matter how small I make the pieces, you still gag. You will get it one of these days I'm sure. You are a big fan of avocados though. I tricked you into liking them by coating them with cheerio dust. (Thanks Shannon for this great idea!)

It is clear why you have to practically hosed down after every meal. Sometimes you decide to play with your hair in the middle of a meal, which translates to a sticky clumpy banana/pumpkin smelling mess that Mommy's attempts with a comb do little to help. Of course, this usually happens right before we have to go somewhere.


Yesterday you looked particularly adorable in your church dress and white hair bow, so we tried to take some pictures. You never stick your tongue out anymore, but yesterday you pulled out that old trick everytime we clicked the camera button. Here is the best one we managed.

Take that back, this is the best one. :) You recently decided that, while you don't necessarily want to smile for that black contraption, you definitely want to examine it more closely.


Susannah, being your mother is the greatest joy of my life. It is also, at times, quite the intimidating and frustrating challenge. But I thank God for giving me the opportunity to love you and watch you grow. You amaze me in a new way everyday. I can't wait to see what you have in store for me next.






PS. Be on the lookout for a post with a video link. We took a hilarious video of Susannah and Meadow yesterday that we are going to post soon.