Letters from the Evans: 9 months of Sunshine!

Clara Beth is 9 months old today!

Sweet baby girl,

You are developing a personality! You are expressive, loud, opinionated, and so loving. You like to flirt with friendly strangers (as long as I'm holding you), and you like chase Maverick around the house (which, incidentally, he does not really like).

You crawl and pull up EVERYWHERE and on EVERYTHING. You have two speeds: off and on, there is no slowing you down when you're awake.

Some of your favorite things to play with lately are door stops, the rocking turtle, anything with wheels, pretend food, and the musical table. You are even learning how to dance when you play with the table! The rock'n'roll songs are your favorite :)

You have cheerios every morning, usually yogurt for lunch (blueberry is your favorite flavor right now), and eat "big people" food with us for dinner (the more spices the better). You adore rice and beans, and I do mean ADORE them. You also really enjoy eating Puffs (Maple and Apple being your two favorites).

You are slowly transitioning from a morning and afternoon nap to just one longer nap in the early afternoon. It means you are wiped out by bedtime, but it seems to work for you. Bedtime is at 8pm SHARP - no sooner, and no later. You insist. Your internal clock is apparently right on when it comes to bedtime. Your "night night" routine is pretty solid - bath, book, nurse, and music. Then you cuddle with Polly and your blanket and babble yourself to sleep. It's incredibly sweet, and I'm so proud of you for embracing bedtime. Nap time ... well ... we're getting there :)

You still love to be in your carrier when I wear you, but you're starting to be okay with sitting in the cart at the store as long as there's plenty to keep your hands busy and to put in your mouth.

Did I mention you love snacking on mulch and grass? Yeah, you do. I have to keep a VERY close eye on you when we play outside!

You are 27" long, and 17.8lbs. You are on the tinier side, but you come by that honestly :)

You have some allergies, which we're bummed about, but we'll deal with them as they come.

I love to watch you learn. You have learned to "share" your toys with your Daddy and I. You like to pretend to feed us and then snatch it right back, which makes you giggle. You love to open and close doors of all sizes. You're learning the names of some objects, like "banana" and "ginger bread man." You love feeding Maverick, so he's always parked right under your highchair like the smart pup he is. You have added "mama" and "dada" to your vocabulary, and it's AWESOME.

You are amazing. Precious. Daring. Engaging. Full of zeal and life. I'm so proud of you, and I love you. You are my sunshine.

Love,

Mommy

This is how we spent your 9 month birthday:

Cheerios: breakfast of champions and little girls.

mmm mmm

Then we went to Bouncing Bears with Ms Jamie, Ayden, Ms. Jody and Blyth. You were a little overwhelmed at first, but like usual, you adjusted quickly and started playing.

Umm, Mom? It moves up and down...

I knew exactly what you were going to do as soon as you found that ladder. Girl child, you are going to give me gray hair.

"I should try this"

Dare Devil!!

Note: I was right there with her, my hand is just out of the picture, promise :) I was far too nervous to just let her climb without me right next to her!

How come this one is so steep?

Time to slide with mommy!!

That was fun!!!

After playing at Bouncing Bears we went to lunch with our friends at Aviator's Grill over at Hook's Airport. It was yummy, and you really enjoyed watching the planes as well as watching Ayden and Blyth play outside and feed the ducks.

By the time we got home you were pooped out, so down you went for a snooze. It lasted 2 hours! Good job sweetie!

You woke up, we played for a while, and then off to the doctor we went for your 9 month well-baby check.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but you believe the scale and measuring table are instruments specifically put on the Earth to torture you. It's not true, but I can't get you to see reason. Oh well.

Once we measured and weighed you (27", 17.8lbs) and dried your tears, we waited around for Dr. Watson.