9 months

Avery turned 9 months old today... hard to believe.

Today was a rough teething day, so 9 month pics are going to happen tomorrow or Saturday. :)

Avery at 9 months:

~ She is still talking NON-STOP. Sometimes we have little "conversations" and I love it. She says "dog", "dada", "bubba", and "hi". Everything else sounds like gibberish, but her facial expressions communicate that it's much more sophisticated. :)

~ She has started waving! She'll say "hiiii" and (slowly) wiggle her little fingers. She sees how excited we get and decides she will keep doing it... so the wave usually lasts a while. :) Sometimes she "waves" with only her pointer finger. It's so cute.

~ She's learned how to make a popping/smacking sound with her lips and does it all the time. In the last week, she figured out how to "click" and we'll do it back and forth for minutes at a time! It's amazing to me that she mimics us already!

~ She LOVES to walk/cruise around in her walker, or walk holding our hands, furniture, or her push toy. Still has NO interest in crawling... getting better at walking - she even wiggles her hands away from mine like "mom, I don't need you - I can do it", but she soon realizes she DOES need me. :)

~ She has just started mimicking my laugh... I think she's mocking me. :) Almost every time I laugh, she makes a forced coughing sound and smiles. She did it quite a few times for Gina today and we were both cracking up (which continued the mocking... a viscous circle)!

~ Sometimes when I ask for a kiss, she'll give me one - wide open mouth, of course! :)

~ She has started banging toys together - every time she holds a toy, she finds something to hit with it. She likes the different sounds she can make. :)

~ She will (gently) place her hand on yours when you say "high five". Love it.

~ She is still in 3 month clothing. Joe calls her "petite-y petey". So cute. Her check-up is on Monday and I'm thinking she may have finally doubled her birth weight!

~ She signed her first word!!!!! Just this past week, when Joe and I have signed "bath" and said "bath time!" as we do every night, she started moving her arm just like us! We thought it was a fluke, but it's continued every night now. :) I LOVE IT!

~ Her first tooth is coming through!

~ Her favorite foods (out of the current restricted diet) are pears, blueberries, and peaches.

~ She's POOPING! She ironically did not poop today, but she has been pooping about once per day - with NO pain! :) Unfortunately, with teething, she's refused her medicine (no matter what I try)... but she's still pooped on the days she hasn't taken it, so I'm continuing to praise God!

I am so thankful for my beautiful little girl. She gives me such joy each and every day. At times I am in awe of the tremendous blessing she is. Happy 9 months, baby girl! :) I LOVE YOU!