nine months

dear Sweetpea,

i think August may have been our most exciting month yet! technically speaking, the action started the last few days of July when your great-grandparents Wayne and Janeen came to visit on their way back to Massachusetts. they brought you a bear that plays peek-a-boo and you were enthralled with Gramps' Donald Duck voice and Janeen's nursery rhymes. you are so lucky to have three sets of great-grandparents still living! 

on the last night of their visit, we discovered that your first tooth had popped through -- at age 8 months and 3 days, to be exact! you celebrated by devouring a few rice rusks ("mum-mums"). your second tooth made its appearance two weeks later. you've had a few fussy days and some night-wakings, and if you're really miserable, some Tylenol calms you down, but you're still generally your happy little self! you love to feed yourself peaches, bananas, cucumbers and plain pasta, and we puree our dinner leftovers for you to eat the next day (chicken pot pie, spinach lasagna, sweet and sour chicken with rice ... whatever's on the menu!). 

our next adventure came on the weekend of August 9, when we flew to LA and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway with Jon for Amelia and Ryan's wedding in Monterey. the scenery was stunningly beautiful, and we were so thrilled to be a part of Amelia and Ryan's special day! you were a great traveler for the first two days, and then a combination of missed naps, that second tooth, and the time difference took its toll. you had a hard time taking daytime naps in the hotel room since you could still see us, although once Daddy had the brilliant idea of moving your crib into an alcove across the room, you settled down a little easier. after a few good hours of sleep on Saturday afternoon, we headed over to Amelia and Ryan's darling little house for their reception. you got to play the piano with Auntie Jeanne (Amelia's mom) and we partied it up with the newlyweds! 

you're now crawling like a champ whenever you see something you want, although you often times will pause and sit back for a few seconds before continuing on your merry way. and the daycare ladies tell me that you don't move very far when you're there, because you don't have to! there are lots of toys right within your reach and you're entertained just by watching the other babies. within the past few days though, you've started to get faster and faster -- which made this monthly photo session a challenge! 

you'll pull up to your knees and you can stand supported, but you haven't quite figured out how to move that foot and get into a standing position by yourself yet. i'm just waiting for the day i walk into your room to get you after a nap and find you standing there! we did lower your crib mattress a couple of weeks ago, which made me a tiny bit sad. you're growing up, baby duck! and as you get older, you have more and more fun with your toys. you got to "swim" for the first time this week and you loved splashing around. you'll "read" books aloud to yourself and tap your index finger on the pages, and your most hilarious hobby is talking to yourself in the mirror of your tambourine. i bet there's a pretty cute baby in there that talks right back to you! 

still no definitive First Word yet, but "bye-bye" is a strong contender. you'll say it while waving, which makes me think you're starting to associate it with meaning, but often times it shows up in a string of other syllables and you don't consistently wave either. you do often screech "ma-ma-ma-ma" when you're hungry or want to be picked up, and it usually works! every once in a while you give us some serious whining, arched back and whimpering and all, but you figure out pretty quickly that we don't play that game! 

oh, Sweetpea, you look like you're about sixteen in that picture. we love watching you grow, but there's no need to rush. you're still our baby girl!