Sweet Mary Grace- 9 Months

Miss Mary Grace,

You are officially nine months. This has been one very busy month for you- crawling, Christmas, and your first tooth! You have been busy growing up and Mommy has been busy trying to catch up with you.

What's Going On. This month has been a really big growth time for you. You started crawling on December 15th and have not slowed down since. We spent a weekend with Poppy and Marlene and you soaked up all the attention- you definitely do not shy away from the spotlight. You met Santa for the first time, and judging by your Christmas loot, you must have been at the top of his 'Nice" list. You saw your first New Year, took 9 month portraits, and cut your first tooth! You have been saying 'Momma' for a while now, and recently you've added 'Uh oh' to your vocabulary. You are in love with Louie and since you are mobile we cannot keep you away from the porch doors- you insist on watching every move he makes.

A Growing Girl Indeed. You are now in size 3 diapers and still wearing 6-12 month clothing, and I estimate you weigh about 18 pounds. During bath time recently, I noticed that you are losing your baby look and instead you are looking more like a little girl. You will be a toddler before I know it. You're still leaning out and have lost your little thigh rolls, but those fluffy fat cheeks and little pot belly are still there and it's so cute I can hardly stand it. We may kiss you 1,000 times a day.

Eating Like A Big Girl. During Christmas break, Daddy and I started changing your eating routine a bit. You now get one 6 oz bottle in the morning (around 7-ish), oat meal around mid-morning before nap time (around 10-ish), a vegetable for lunch (around 1-ish), a fruit late in the afternoon (around 4 or 5), and then yogurt before bath time (around 7 pm). You get your last bottle (6 oz) just before you go to sleep. You sometimes drink 2 small 4 oz bottles to help get to to sleep during nap time (one mid morning nap, and one afternoon nap). We try to have you drink as much juice during the day as possible to cut back on your formula intake.  Yogurt is your new favorite- I believe you could eat your weight in it. You are now eating Puffs and drinking lots of juice. I plan to start Baby Led Weaning (BLW) soon. You are beginning to feed yourself- you've perfected the mess making. I am constantly sweeping and mopping around your highchair (such a glamorous life, right?).

Goodbye Hairbow

Nighty Night, Sleep Tight. I hope I don't jinx us by saying this, but you have the bedtime routine down pat, honey! You take a bath around 7:30. Afterwards, I give you a bottle while Daddy reads your Bible story and we then say your night night prayers. Sometimes you fall asleep while eating your bottle, but if not, we just lie you down. You are wonderful at putting yourself to sleep and I am So.Very.Thankful. You are almost always asleep by 8, but definitely out by 8:30. You sleep until 7-ish, but have had a few 12 hour nights which were AMAZING! You take about 2 naps a day- 2-3 hours in the morning and usually only and hour or so in the afternoon.

Waving to Daddy

I thank God everyday for putting you in my life, Mary Grace. Nothing I will EVER do will be as important as being your mother and I cherish you more than life itself. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I know I hug and kiss on you every chance I get, but I don't ever want to miss an opportunity for you to know just how much you are loved.
Lots of love and kisses!
Mommy and Daddy