9 Months!

Dear Meerkat,

What a month!!! This past month has been a milestone month baby!

First, you got your first tooth! You put Daddy's finger in your mouth, and he felt something sharp. We couldn't really see it very well at first, but we knew it was there. It wasn't long before it made its way through your gums entirely. Now you have a beautiful white little tooth on the bottom righthand side of your mouth. It hurts when you chomp down on our fingers! It's strange how powerful that one little tooth can be. It won't be long before you're eating big girl food. We've already started giving you little biscuits, and you love them!



The very next day (after the tooth discovery) you began to crawl for the first time! You teetered on the brink of crawling for so long, we knew you would be moving forward this month, and sure enough...! We got a video of you crawling the day you started.
Now, you crawl everywhere. We have to constantly wrangle you away from cords, the laundry basket, the cable box, the catfood bowls, and the dining room. We put you in your jumpe.roo and play.pen every so often, until we can successfully babyproof everything to allow you the run of the downstairs.

The day before your nine month birthday, you pulled yourself up for the first time. Daddy laid you down for a nap, but you had other plans. When he went downstairs, you started to cry. He heard you stop for a minute and then start back up, so he went up to get you. And there you were, standing up, holding onto the side of your crib. You haven't done it again, but I'm hoping you will soon, so I can catch it on camera! :)

You're outgrowing all of your clothes. You wear 12 month old clothing now. You zipped right through the 6-9 month clothes so fast that we barely got you to wear all of them once. We bought several things that you wore once and never wore again.

Now that you're mobile, it's hard to get you to pose for pictures. When we put you next to your mouse, you were constantly flipping over,

crawling toward the camera,

pulling her on top of you, etc. We only got a couple good photos. The rest are you flipping around. At one point in the photo shoot, you were trying to get away from the mouse and you hit your head on the wall. :( Both you and Mommy were a bucket of tears. I held you and rocked you while we cried. You ended up with a little red mark for a little while that night. You can see it in some of the pictures.



Sweet baby, keep growing strong and big! I miss your little baby toes and face, but that beautiful little baby is being replaced by a smiling, happy, GORGEOUS little girl. Everyone who sees you (and I mean everyone) compliments you. They are always commenting on your big eyes and long eyelashes. I know I'm biased because I'm your mommy, but I really think you're the most beautiful little girl I've ever laid eyes on. I'm so thankful I get to look at you every day. You're going to grow into such a pretty, intelligent woman. Don't ever let that go to your head! Don't be vain or conceited! Just know in your heart that you are pretty. Be confident!



I love you so so much! Get ready baby, the countdown is on! Only 3 more months until your 1 year birthday. Let the planning begin!!!