9 months old

It's hard to believe that Eliana is 9 months old today. She's come a long way! Just last night Leif and I were talking about how she used to fit on his forearm with her head in his hand. Not any more! She is busier than ever and a bundle of joy. At 9 months old she can:

• Sit up on her own
• Pull up to standing
• Cruise on the furniture
• Army crawl (or "power-flop" as Leif calls it)
• Walk with her push-walker
• Imitate sounds
• Give kisses (they are the sweetest!)
• Play ball
• Play peek-a-boo
• "sing" when she plays the piano
• Feed herself rice puffs and cheerios (and tonight it was by the fist full!)
• Growl
• Obey when we tell her "no."
  

There are a few things she does occasionally, but only when she wants to, too:

• Stand on her own for up to 3 seconds
• Take one or two steps on her own
• Go potty in the little potty
• Crawl on her hands and knees
  

She is definitely learning something new each day. I end this celebratory post with a heart warming incident from this evening. Ellie, Leif, and I were playing in Ellie's room. She was hanging onto my shirt and I said, "Give Mommy a kiss." and she repeated the word "kiss." Then, she leaned over and gave me a nice wet kiss on the cheek, complete with the sound "mwa" and everything. Then she grinned, hugged me, and giggled. THOSE are the moments a mommy lives for. Happy 9 months, Ellie.