9 Months!

I'm not sure how this happened. I think I say that every month but how the heck do I have a 9 month old? I sit here remembering the day we found out we were pregnant, 18 months and 2 days ago. Remembering the day she was born, 9 months ago. These 9 months have been wild! 

June is healthy, happy and "strong willed." We had a doctor's appointment about a week ago because she was pulling at her ear (just a little cold virus/teething, no biggie). While the doctor examined June she kept commenting on her strong willed personality. This was obviously no surprise to me but kind of funny to hear from a medical professional. She suggested that I start reading on how to raise a strong willed child. My mom was right, this is freaking payback. That being said, does anyone have an suggestions for books on strong willed children?

Junie has one tooth, the bottom left. The right one is slooooowly breaking through but isn't through quite yet. I can tell it will come in any day and fast, just like the other one. In fact, the other one came in so fast that we were at a wedding when it happened. We left June with my parents at 3pm and by 8pm her tooth had broken through! And here I was so worried that she would never get teeth.

She's cruising big time, to the point that she pretty much refuses to crawl anymore. She hates being on the ground or even in her once beloved jumper. She's pretty fearless and when she falls she cries but not because she's hurt or scared - because she's mad that she can't pull herself back up. This will probably sound horrible but I totally let her fall and don't try to catch her. My point of view is I've made the house as child proof as I can, we have carpet and I put pillows around her so she needs to learn how to manage herself and her movements to master them. She seems pretty frustrated that she can't walk so I have a feeling that walking will come pretty soon.

We still feed Buggie pretty much everything we eat. Her new favorite is oatmeal for breakfast. I make my bowl and then scoop a little into a ramekin for her and dollop it onto her tray. She'll eat nearly 1/2 cup on a hungry day. We've discovered that she's allergic to eggs and it was totally my fault. The "rule" is that you're not supposed to start eggs until 12 months but I figured that since she had a very expansive palate that she would be fine. Not the case. Poor Junie broke out in hives. The second time she had egg (yeah, mother of the year over here forgot the homemade - that I made - mac & cheese had egg in it) it was even worse. Serious welted hives all over her face, chest, neck, and shoulders. I was so incredibly sad for her. She didn't seem bothered by them but I think that's because she's not really bothered by anything except us. 

So let's go over that handy Baby Center Milestone Chart:

                      Most Kids Can Do                Half of Kids Can Do             A Few Kids Can Do

9 months

Stands while holding onto something Jabbers or combines syllables Understands object permanence

Cruises while holding onto furniture Drinks from a sippy cup Eats with fingers Bangs objects together

Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent

June can stand while holding onto something, totally jabbers and completely understands object permanence.

She can definitely cruise, has drank from a sippy cup (a straw, no less) since 4 months old, has eaten with her fingers since 5 months old and LOVES banging objects together.

She plays peek-a-boo like a champ. Thomas and I are still debating the "dada" to the correct parent. She can identify us when we ask, "Where's mama? Where's dada?" And can say baba, not quite mama. She does say dada to me but really mostly to Thomas. So I'm on the fence about that one. 

Looking ahead, she's kind of already amazing at the 10 month old chart too. I really don't mean to brag but I'm rather proud of my sweet Buggie! Want to see how she did the last few months? Check out 8 Months!, 7 Months!, 5 Months!, 4 Months!, 3 Months! (I didn't use the chart until 7 months and was pretty sick for the first few months and month 6.)

I want to hear about your babes! How are they doing? Do you ever check their progress using Baby Center? Let me know in the comments!

Check out that tooth! And the first one is her loving her FAVORITE thing in the entire world, her bunny. 

Seriously, WTF is this? I can't get rid of this chart! AHH! Let's just all pretend it's not there.