we've hit the 9 month mark here and i can hardly believe how fast time is flying. i was just looking at old pics of the peanut the other day. let's reminisce.

day one

one month

three months

six months

and ta-da!!

nine months!

KP and i joke that i spend most of my days recently preventing the peanut from offing herself. now that she's mobile in the walker, she's determined to get into places that she was not allowed until now. bathtime is fun too but has its own share of trials. she once tried to drown herself by eating her toes that were STILL UNDERWATER! she learned pretty quick that you can't breathe in the water once you are out of the womb.

what's this mommy?

i'm pretty proud of her lately. she's sprouting teeth like nobody's business. seems like every 10 days or so we get a sleepless night where she's in a lot of pain. we do what we can to calm her but sometimes she's very awake. the other night she cried for close to 2 hours. the night after that was only 30 minutes and then she started sleeping through again. i just hope that she gets all her teeth fast. let's get this over with!

toast is yummy

as of now, i'm still breastfeeding which i'm pretty proud of. i never thought that i would make it this far. the allure of continuing much longer, though, is faltering. the peanut is becoming increasing squirmy and distracted. she takes a bottle so it's just a matter of weaning to cow's milk and rice milk (i want to give her both) when the time is right, around the one-year mark. i'll be working with the pediatrician but i suspect it'll be a lot easier than i think.

solid meals are not very fun around here, though. the nut is a picky eater. she only likes a handful of things and when her teeth hurt she spits her food which is no fun for me. i have to close my eyes and go to my happy place or else i melt down nuclear-style. she loves cheerios though. doesn't every kid?

num num num

so the weaning and sleeping are all on track due to the baby whisperer. i don't talk about my parenting style here much because who really cares? but some might want to know, i guess. i started using the baby whisperer routines when she was 6 weeks old. it took a long time but i've taught her how to sleep independently in her crib. she cries when she needs us but happily goes off to dreamland on her own (with a pacifier and blankie.) she takes two naps per day and is a mess without them.

just so you know, the days don't always go as planned and she does bunk a nap or nightsleep here and there due to teething or gas, but all in all, these routines have really worked for her. quite frankly, her personality demanded it. she needed a lot of guidance from the beginning and i did my best. not all babies are like her. my cousin's littlest baby boy is a sleep-anywhere-anytime kind of kid! what a joy he is! i guess we're all lucky in our own ways. i'm glad i worked so hard on my baby girl. she's a very happy kid and i never have had to have her cry-it-out.

future chef?

she doesn't travel well, though, and this has proven to be quite a problem. both KP and i have families around here and getting her out to see them is hell on earth. she doesn't like being in the car or around strangers. she doesn't like going without her naps. she doesn't like to stay up late (she sleeps from 7:15PM to 7:30AM every day!) a lot of this is her personality and a lot of this is because i have her on a routine. i'm certainly not sorry about that but i suspect that when she cuts down to one nap per day after she's a year old and is more ready to socialize, this will become less of a problem. i just have to wait it out.

got a little something right there

i don't think that i can accurately describe how happy this little kid has made me! dude, i even quit my job to stay home with her and i never thought that i would do that (i WAS making quite the bankroll at my last place of employment.) to think that 2008 is just around the corner and so is march! she's getting so big.. i keep telling her not to grow but she won't listen to me! oh well, i'll just have to cherish every moment in the meantime.

love you peanut!

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