Our little baby is 9 months old...

Now, seriously. Didn't I just give birth to this beautiful baby girl, like yesterday. Sometimes it feels that way... sometimes it feels like she's been a part of our family forever.

Alex turned 9 months old on May 18th. She's had a very busy two months (since I last posted about her specifically). After months and months of constant drool (sometimes necessitating two, three or four changes of clothing a day), her bottom two teeth debuted 3 days before her 8 month birthday. Other than her gums being a little sore (she wouldn't let me anywhere near her mouth), she weathered teething nicely, with just a hint of fussiness and clingy-ness. What a trooper.

Until recently, Alex has been our little bump on a log. She had no interest in crawling and absolutely hated being on her stomach. Over the past couple of weeks, Alex has mastered sitting up from a prone position, getting on all fours and crawling (albeit backwards). Her greatest love is standing, and the music table is her new best friend. She can use it to pull herself up to a standing position, and even take a few steps around the table by herself. She's walking a whole lot better while assisted (heavily assisted), but she doesn't yet have the balance to take off on her own. It won't be long, though. Addie learned to crawl and walk in the span of about three weeks, right around 9 months of age. Alex is hot on her trails and will soon be chasing after her big sister.

Another cute thing she's been doing lately is waving at herself in the mirror. I usually change her diaper on the bathroom counter. Every time I lay her down for a diaper change, she rolls over, smiles at her reflection and waves to herself in the mirror. She even says something like "hi." She also says "dada." Although Kris swears that it is deliberate, I think it is her normal chatter. I'm still waiting on "mama," and at this pace, it looks like I'll be waiting awhile.

Her 9 month well-baby visit was today, May 20th. Her stats from the visit were:

Height: 28.5 inches, 75%
Weight: (gulp) 21 lbs 14oz, 95%
Head: I forgot, 50%

So, yes, she's a big girl... no big surprise there. She's also an extremely happy, good tempered and sociable baby. I love her to pieces. Wouldn't you?