.: The Ninth Month

Ah. My heart is at peace.

We have survived yet another long Minnesota winter and can finally awaken from our dormant states. The warm sun. Trees full of luscious, green leaves. The smell of a dewey morning. The brilliant sound of songbirds, the excitement of a tiny seedling emerging...

All these things awaken me to the fact that summer is soon here. Simply put, I am alive again. My eyes are opened, and I see things from a new perspective.

Including my girls. It may be their subsequent growth spurts, or simply the fact that we are getting out of the house more, but whatever the case I now have a 2 year old who is well on her way to being a threenager and a 9 month old who is obviously becoming her own person- personality and all!

I'm beginning to have the slightest sense or what the 'Turner family of four' will be like. And I am excited.

At nine months Pepper...
...weighs 17 pounds, 14.5 ounces (44th percentile- huge jump since last checkup)
...is 27 inches long (24th percentile)
...sleeps 5:30am-5:30pm with no interruptions.
...takes two long naps each day.
...has gams, rolls, and is irresistible to kiss and squeeze!
...loves to feed herself and is doing great at chewing. She gets so excited to eat.
...feeds herself a bottle.
...went from having two to eight teeth in a matter of days!
...screams at the top of her voice whenever she wants something.
...Did I mention she screams? WHENEVER she wants something. Maggie has even gotten into the habit of responding to Pepper's screams by chatting with her, giving her a toy, or making up silly songs. Anything to just. make. it. stop.
...shakes, bangs, bops, bounces, and splashes.
...aggressively points her body and yearns to go different directions when we hold her-- this girl has got to learn to crawl soon.
...still loves cuddling. Likes to bump heads and smush faces with others.
...wears 9-12 months sizes.
...really responds to music.
...has begun to use her version of sign language for 'more' and 'all done'!
...likes to raise her hands above her head and swing them round.
...always takes her socks off in her crib at nap time. Also props her feet up, kicks the wall, and rolls and scoots all around the crib.