9 Months and 35 years

     Well, Sarah Avery, you are officially nine months old.   And you are officially crawling.   The past month has been pretty challenging because you were so very frustrated with your lack of mobility.   (You were also frustrated with the constant face planting that occurred several times a day in your attempt to learn.)   But since you finally took off across the kitchen two days ago  (straight for the oven, I must add), you have been so much happier.   You love exploring.   You are becoming a better eater and are officially a German baby as you eat a pretzel from our neighborhood bakery every single day.   We have settled into such a nice routine and I am trying to savor every single minute of you at this age because you are so adorable.   And so hilarious.  
     You know how to wave now and it is your favorite party trick.   Anytime we ask you to do anything, you just start waving with an expectant look on your face, waiting for us to applaud.    You still pull hair, but you are getting better.  You say "dada" and we swear that you have your own version of "Susannah."   Mama is still yet to be heard though.   But you are a Mama's girl.    And you love to cuddle.   One of the favorite parts of my day is when you lay your little head on my shoulder when you are tired or feeling shy.   You cry anytime anyone other than me sneezes.   It scares you every time.              
     And you still love your sister.   You love to watch her and you love to laugh at her.   Sometimes she makes you laugh during dinner time and, since your laugh is infectious, before we know it, we are all in fits.   And those are the moments when I look around and think, "How in the world did I get this lucky?"   (Just to keep it real though, if you cut to 20 minutes later when I'm crunching cheerios with my bare-feet and have green baby food on my white jeans, I am probably thinking the same phrase, but in a much more sarcastic tone.)  ;)

Here are some pictures from the week:

You love to roll the ball.   It is probably one of your favorite games.   And you have pretty good aim for an infant.  

You weigh 18 lbs and are 29 inches long, which puts you in the 39th percentile for weight and the 92nd for height.   

We have been having crazy weather lately so this morning you were in your snow suit for our morning walk.   And you were enjoying your pretzel of course.  

Another one of your favorite things are the toy groceries.   

You play with them at least a couple of times a day.   And you also have really crazy hair most of the time.  ;)

So sweet and so, so funny.

I know this is blurry, but I had to include it because it was the first time that you are Susannah truly played together.   This is happening more often and it fills my heart to watch.   

In other news, this weekend we celebrated your Daddy's 35th birthday!    Susannah helped him open his present.  

Rain + Saturday = Still in our pjs at lunchtime.  

This picture cracks me up.   The feet up, the night gown, the ipad, the pbj sandwich.    What a life.  

We did eventually get dressed and played with our zoo toys some more. 

And watched out the window as this bride waited to walk down the aisle.   (One of the best parts of living across from a beautiful church is that you get to attend a wedding every weekend in the summer.   From the comfort of your living room.)

When we got back from our afternoon walk/playground time, it was time to help Daddy with his candles.  

Peanut butter brownies and ice cream for the win.

Daddy loves his girls.  

Susannah has been really into coloring lately.   Overnight she went from crazy scribbler to stay-in-the-lines fanatic.    And she is slowly starting to write too which is so fun to watch.  

Kindergarten is out for the week so yesterday we played "Doc McSusannah" for a while. 

Notice all the animals lined up in the "waiting room."

Now back to you, little wild child.   You are a much better eater these days.   Less and less food is getting slung across the room and more and more is actually being consumed.    Your mama is counting that as a victory. 

I ordered these foam alphabet tiles for the kitchen since you and I spend so much time in there.   I wanted you to have a comfy place to play while I cook.   

Unfortunately, within 5 minutes of putting them down, you figured out how to dismantle them.   And they are the perfect teething toy so I'm still trying to figure out how to out-wit you and keep the floor tiles on the floor and out of your mouth.  

You have been in heaven this week having your sister home all the time.  

You love watching her and playing with her.  

And watching ya'll together makes my heart so full.

We haven't had any fights yet, even when you tore up a couple of Susannah's puzzles.   

I'm sure her patience will end soon, but right now, you can do no wrong in your big sister's eyes.

While I changed the sheets, you guys had a ball playing in front of our closet mirrors.

Laughing

"Do it again, sissy!!"

And to end, I must mention the johnny jumper.   You love it and you do some serious jumping in that thing.   

Well, Sarah Avery, that is all for week one of your ninth month.   We are so proud of you and love you so very much.   You have brought so much joy and laughter to our lives.    We can't wait to continue watching you grow into a little person.    And to your Daddy, a great big Happy Birthday!   All three of your girls love you with all of our hearts!