Nine Months

Señorita Clementina,


Sometime between 11:59:59 pm on February 28th and 12:00:00 am on March 1st, you turned nine months old.

We began the month with a few excursions; the photo above was taken at the arboretum. As you can see, you found it to be a very relaxing place to visit. You are not sweet at all when you are sleeping. Nope, not one bit.

Our second outing was a bit of a drive; we traveled to Galveston to see the aquarium at Moody Gardens. You definitely enjoy seeing the fish swim around. Your favorite animals were the penguins. You loved watching them dive and swirl through the water and their bright colors really captured your attention:



This month was the month of mobility. Granted, you were scootching and rolling last month, but this go 'round you learned to get from one spot to another with some speed. In a very short while you went from scootching to pushing on your belly to an all-out army crawl that all began with your sudden ability to sit up.


That look you're giving me right there? That would be a "Whaaaat?" because that toy? It is so not yours. Little klepto in the making - excellent.

Back to the sitting up. I said sudden because one day, you could just do it. A couple days prior I would sit you up and you'd begin a slooooow tilt and fall to the side. Then, ta-da, you didn't. No real practice, just accomplishment. This was very quickly followed by a need to go forward from that position and then, the army crawl. If you ever show a desire to join up, there is one thing they will not need to teach you, that is for sure.

This new-found ability used up your energy very rapidly, but you soon discovered another way to entertain yourself while resting:


Oh, yes. As much as this month was about mobility it was also about Cooper. You love your doggy, and now you know how to get him to come and entertain see you. All it requires is a few kicks of the feet and bam! there he is...whether you want him or not. Considering that he has desperately wanted to play with you from day one, to say that you have made his year is absolutely the understatement. He is mostly gentle with you, for fear of you being taken away by my estimate, and only "pretends" to chomp you. This includes some head-butting in your belly, which makes you cackle in delight.

He is still way faster than you and does not want you touching him (grabbing his hair). Very rarely you get a handful of it in your grubby paws...and then, of course, you pull and pull. He obviously knows your intentions because he simply freezes and looks at me as if to say "I am not doing anything. Nada, woman, look." while he waits for you to let go.

Your Cooperchewlones made you crawl. Rather, I should say, he gave you the desire. You maneuver through the landscape on your belly and forearms with either him or his toys in your sights. Why we bought baby toys for you is beyond me. All we needed was to let you go after his things! I believe this is partly because you know you will get interaction from him if you get near him or his toys, but still.

Our hopes are that you and he will become fast friends...if we can all get through the toddler years in one piece. So far, so good; here you two are looking out over your domain together:


Aside from investigating all things doggy related, you've been using your monkey toes and the legs attached to them to explore your surroundings as well. These days your preferred method is that of kicking. Anything. Everything. The list includes the sofa, me, your Dad, the walls and, my favorite, your crib.


That's right, your crib. When we put you down for your afternoon nap, you spend the first bit yammering and squealing and then, inevitably, you kick the crib. You then fall asleep, so I'm no dummy, I'm not intervening.

Another new thing this month is your interest in babies, or rather, the image of a baby you see in the mirror. Up until now, you never really cared about your image in the mirror. I've been taking you to the playground twice a week where you get to watch other children, a couple of whom are around your age, play. We also had a friend visit; oh how amazed you were to see someone your size on the floor with you playing with your toys. Together these made you interested in the baby in the mirror.


You pat the baby's face, you talk to the baby, and most entertainingly, you try to kiss the baby. Speaking of kisses, let's show everyone what we mean. Here is your go-to kiss position:


Yup, the open slobbery mouth. Excellent.

Here is how you use it to "kiss" people:


Um, yeah. Right now kissing and biting are barely discernible. We'll have to work on that one.

Your discovery of the baby in the mirror should not overshadow your other discoveries this month. One of the strangest has to be that your Daddy, he has hair. On his legs. Oh, my...what is this stuff? I must investigate. Let me get closer. Nope, still can't figure it out. Maybe if I lean over and taste it...


Girl, all I can say is ew.

Also, when is the hair on your head going to grow? I mean, your Dad's legs are totally winning the battle right now.

Regarding new tastes (Still, ew.), there are a few more foods on your list this month. You have eaten all of the meats that we can get our hands on. You love veal and beef. Chicken and turkey are okay and the ham? Um, it made you gag. We'll have to try that one again later. As far as food goes, you're pretty good about trying anything and you like everything (sans ham). You consume the veggies as easily as the fruits and the meat seems to be going well also.

It may have taken you a while to warm up to the idea of eating, but now that you've got it, you're a champeen eater.

Towards the end of the month, you began making some new faces. The funniest has to do with your teeth:


Apparently you'd love to hop right into the aquarium with the fish.

Then there's what you attempt to do at the stairs:


Really, that can't possibly be good for you.

Oh, and then there's the frustration face:


You just can't seem to get the elusive handle into your mouth for chewing, no matter how hard you try!

Finally, the face you make when you are enjoying yourself, especially when you are experiencing something new:


This is your face at the aquarium when you were watching those penguins. You obviously enjoyed them.

There is one last thing I must mention for this month; a new sound. While you have been expanding your "talking" for a while now, this one...it is silly. You take your hand up to your mouth and move your fingers as one, back and forth over your loose lips while you make noises.

It is very much like Porky Pig when he says "Aba-dee-aba-dee-aba-dee-that's all folks!"

Love,
Mom