9 Months

9 months old

Lena's 9 month check up went well.  No shots this time, so I know she was happy about that.  She weighed 17 pounds and 7 ounces, and measured 27 1/4 inches long.  She is still in the 25-50 percentile for height and 25 percentile for weight.  So she is continuing to grow at her own rate.  Our next appointment will be in 3 months when she is 1 year old!  I cannot believe that is just around the corner!!

Lena is still eating her breakfast and dinner meals as she did last month, but now she is also eating baby yogurt, drinking more water, and she loves snacks.  She eats Puffs, Mum Mums, and Crunchies.  She gets so excited when she sees them. 

She has begun cruising around the coffee table, and I'm curious to see when she will take her first steps.  We're in no hurry and know she will do it in her own time.  She is very strong and has great balance, but she is so very careful and cautious.  I guess that is not a bad thing :)
We really have to keep a close eye on her because she is putting everything in her mouth now, including things she finds on the floor.
A new game we like to play is the laughing game.  We act silly and do silly laughs to her, and she makes herself laugh too.  She thinks it is so funny, and it really cracks us up. 

It was so special celebrating Lena's first Christmas.  We spent Christmas Eve in El Campo, then drove home so we could have Lena's first Christmas morning at home.  After Lena saw what Santa brought and opened her gifts from Mommy and Daddy, we went to Holly and Ryan's for Christmas breakfast.  After breakfast, we went to Beaumont for Christmas Day.  Lena was very observant and enjoyed watching her older cousins opening presents.  Then when it was her turn, she liked ripping the paper and loved all of her gifts.  She got some really wonderful things - She got a baby stroller from Santa.  We gave her some books, bath letters/numbers, and a "snuggle buddy" (a bla bla owl named Prudence).  She LOVES hugging and sleeping with her.  She also got a chair, Shop 'n Ride toy, music table, Learning kitchen, keyboard, Dino ball popper, a pretty bow hanger, shoes, cute outfits, and some other fun little toys and books.  She has had a blast playing with all of them.  Mom and Dad gave Lena a set of "Baby Signing Time" DVDs.  They introduce every day signs to babies with songs and examples of other babies using them in context.  She LOVES watching them, and has even started using a few of them (more, milk, baby).  It is so sweet, and we are hoping this will help her to be able to communicate the things that she wants and needs. 

 

Christmas morning!

Happy Birthday Mimi!

    

After spending a few days in Beaumont for Christmas and celebrating my Mom's birthday, we came home to regroup for our next road trip.  A few days later, we drove to McKinney for my cousin Hannah's wedding.  For such a long trip, Lena did well in the car.  She was much happier if she had a riding companion (Cory or me) back there with her.  We went to the nice rehearsal dinner, had lunch in McKinney town square, and danced the night away at the wedding.  It was a lot of fun, and Lena was a trooper despite her cold and cough (that she hadn't been able to get rid of since before Christmas).

Dancing with Aunt Beth at the reception

She loves Aunt Beth

Pretty girl

 On New Years Eve we made our way back home.  Our friends Heather and Shawn invited us over to ring in the new year.  We had a fun time!

Happy New Year Baby

Before we knew it, we were heading back to work.  We had a work day on January 2nd, but Lena's daycare was closed.  So she had a fun girls day with Aunt Holly and Chloe.  They had fun playing with all Chloe's toys, went to ballet class, and went shopping.  What a fun day! 

Lena's cold and cough lingered on and on, and then her cough really started to sound bad.  We needed to follow up after her ear infection to have her ears checked anyway, so I made a doctor's appointment.  But then 2 days before, she started running a fever.  So Cory went ahead and took her the next day.  We were sad to find out that she had a 3rd ear infection, and this time in both ears.  Poor sweet girl.  She has finally gotten over her cough and cold, and she just finished up the antibiotic.  We go back for a follow-up appointment in a few days, and we're really hoping that the infection has cleared up.  If not, Dr. McDavitt will probably recommend that we see an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist.  She said November through February are the worst months for ear infections, so if Lena could make it to February without getting another one she would feel much better.  So we will see. 

Lena just spent this past weekend in El Campo with Cory's mom.  Cory went to deer camp for the last hunting weekend with Anthony and Brady.  I hosted a wedding shower for my friend Heather, so it was very helpful to be baby-free for the weekend.  I missed Lena a bunch, but it was nice to have some time to catch up on things (including this blog) and to get to have a fun girls night with friends.  I know Lena had a lot of fun spending some quality time with her Honey too. 

Well in the next few months, we will be planning Lena's first birthday.  I can't believe how fast time has flown by.  She is such a sweet, loving, funny little girl, and I can't imagine our life without her.