Nine Months Has Come and Gone

Mobility.

That word, more than almost any other, describes Selah more aptly than I would have thought possible of a 9-month old! Mobility and personality. If I thought she had personality before, she has upped the ante these last several weeks.

Seh is a charmer, that's for sure. Give her a room full of people and she will work the crowd for all she's worth. She smiles a ton (an adorable, little scrunchynosed smile that says, "See how fun I am?"), waves at everyone and everything  with both arms until her whole body wiggles, bounces and squeals if you sing to her and claps her hands to show how pleased she is with life. She's crawling and cruising and tonight - even standing unsupported.

After moooooonths of her only knowing how to shake her head "no," although she didn't grasp the meaning, she has finally mastered the "yes" nod. And she will bobble her adorable little head around from no to yes and back again until you join in the head shaking.

Speaking of shaking, I think she'll be a mover and a shaker and a real go-getter. The little lady can move incredibly fast. Her favorite things lately to speed-crawl for are Ben (getting closer to catching him), clumps of Ben's hair when he's not around, pens and markers and various specks of things she finds on the floor. Whether she's crawling to something really quickly or grabbing something and crawling away with it, she has definitely figured out how to get from point A to point B really fast.

I don't think we have much longer until her speed crawl turns into a speed walk. She has been cruising from the coffee table to the couch, or legs to a toy, for a few weeks now. She pulls herself up on anything that will stay still long enough. One of her favorite bedtime games (when she's supposed to be winding down in her crib) is to stand up, fall down, stand up, fall down. If you see her doing it, she gives a big crinkly-nose grin.

Selah is eating a lot more solids now, including Mum-Mums and some kind of little Gerber snacks. She is holding strong at 2 teeth, but fussiness this last week makes me think #3 isn't far behind. She gets super excited when she sees me grab her spoon for some solids or a bowl for finger foods or snacks. I'm still trying to figure out how to begin easing her into more solids and more normal mealtimes. She does so well with 5 meals a day (nursing) and solid snacks that I'm not motivated or super sure how to get her nursing less and eating more like a kid. Is it too early? With an anniversary vacation later in the year, I want to be sure she'll be OK eating normally and taking fewer bottles. Any tips?

She is seriously the most exhausting and most fun little person to be around, all at the same time. She is such a joy, and so sweet and obedient. God has graciously blessed us. We pray every night that He will pursue her and that she will come to genuinely know and love Him at an early age! Until that day when she meets the heavenly Father, it's (a challenge but) a complete joy to parent her!