Anna's Ninth Month

Beginning tomorrow, Anna has been outside longer than she was inside!

And boy is this kid getting harder and harder to snap a good picture of!

Almost immediately upon turning 8 months old, Anna started pulling up!

She's getting so mobile so fast!

Her lanky little body is starting to feel more and more like a toddler when I carry her to the crib for naps.

Just as she did as she transitioned into being a "sitter," Anna is no longer content to play the way she used to...she wants to play standing up like a big girl, because sitting on the floor is for babies.

Which means Mommy or Daddy are required to spend at least a few hours a day hunched over holding her up on her wobbly legs. Monkey finds it disturbing.

Monkey: "How should I cope with this?  Definitely gonna poop on the chair."

I love that this is her new favorite way to watch the My First Signs video:

And here she is practicing "stepping."

She's having a ball with food.

We've given her lots of fruits and veggies, both cooked and raw, and every organic baby food squeezy pouch we can get our hands on.

She loves watermelon the best so far, not a big fan of avocado (yet), and the stewed celery and carrots the other night were a hit.  It's much, much more fun to let her feed herself than to try to wrestle a spoon into her mouth and out of her grabby hands.

She LOVES to mess around with the spoon, though, so sometimes we let her have one at dinner time even though there's no need for one.

Other perennial favorites: mommy's smoothie and water, especially if it's out of a cup.

After several months of really never sucking her thumb or anything else, Anna has been regularly sucking on her index finger or thumb whenever she starts getting tired or frustrated.

It's handy as an unmistakable visual cue to me that she's getting anxious, and it really helps her relax as we get ready to head to nap time.

She claps her hands and loves to "give me five"!

She sometimes copies us by nodding her head "yes" and taking my rag away from me to "wipe up messes."

She's getting really really good at lift-the-flap books and always turns the page the right way at the right time.

She uses her little index finger to investigate just about everything.

We don't have the pincer grip yet, but I believe we're moments away from it.

Guess who's gonna be a stuffed animal junkie...

We love you so much, Anna.  Your determined personality, curious little intellect, and budding sense of humor are completely adorable and delightful.  I love spending my days with you and watching you soak up the world around you.  What a gift and treasure you are!