9 Months

Zoe turned 9 months old today! There have been some really fun developments this month. For one thing, she is on the move! It was much more difficult to get pictures of her for this month!

Some developments this month include waving, flicking her fingers over her lips while making noise (we call it blubbering), reaching for people other than mommy, getting up on her hands and knees (only a few times), getting into a seated position from her belly (only once), and my personal favorite, saying "mama."

Zoe definitely still prefers to be with me, but she is starting to warm up to people she sees regularly. This has made Cole very happy. However, when anyone comes near that she doesn't know, she burrows into my chest and stays until said person is no longer a threat. She continues to play pretty well on her own, but still wants to be where the action is. I love that she wants to be with me, but her ability to be with others as well has made life a bit easier. I can get a break from time to time, spend time with the boys, and get things done around the house. 

We're still on a four hour schedule around here, although Zoe seems to be pretty flexible when we go longer or shorter than the schedule. She still nurses four times a day and eats solid food three times a day, mostly along with our meal times. She desperately wants to be able to eat food food, but she still doesn't have any teeth...and there are no signs of any coming in yet. She doesn't seem to be too picky about any food that we will give her. Along with all the fruits and veggies that she likes, she also really likes to eat puffs or rice rusks.

Some of Zoe's favorite things to do are peek-a-boo, hang upside down, fling her arms, huff, "dance" and "sing" when she hears music, play with cups, crawl over people, "clean" things with rags, and eat. Her only apparent dislikes remain being hungry and tired. 

At 9 months, Zoe weighs 16.5 lbs (7.5 kg, 20%) and is 27.5 inches long (69.8 cm, 40 %). Zoe remains a quiet little thing, but we are starting to hear more babbling when she's sitting and playing on her own. She's also starting to be more vocal when interacting with other people. I love to hear her little voice when she's talking and laughing! She's also becoming more expressive and interactive and we can see her starting to play with and mimic us. We love to see her personality continue to come out. 

Zoe is still an extremely wiggly baby. She likes to be on the move and able to see in all directions. However, as I mentioned before, her clinginess has gotten better which makes life easier for me. I have noticed over the past month that her level of wiggling is associated with how tired she is...the more tired, the more restless and wiggly. When she gets that way, I know it's time for bed!

Zoe is a great sleeper. Nothing has really changed in this area in the last month. She normally takes two naps (2 hours or so) and then sleeps for 12-13 hours at night. We has a few rough nights when we returned back from the U.S., but she's back on track and doing great! She loves her fuzzy pink blanket and really wants it when she's tired. If you pick her up when she's tired and give her the blank, she will immediately burrow into you and get snuggled. 

The boys are such good big brothers to Zoe. They look out for her and like to play with her. Cameron loves to give her a bottle and sing to her. Harrison like to hold her, but she rarely has the patience to sit with him for very long. She loves to watch them and likes when they interact with her. When she gets upset in the car, they are very quick to talk or sing to her to help her calm down.

Here are some pictures from the last month.