9 months old!

Chloe is nine months old! Hard to believe she is getting so close to one year old. This month it seems like Chloe has really matured and is acting and looking older each day. Last time we went to the doctor at about 8 months, she weighed 14 pounds 15 ounces. We go again next week for her 9-month visit. She continues to be on the same eating and napping schedule. Chloe is eating more at lunch and dinner and has started to eat some table food. She has tried bread, pasta, parsnips, cucumbers, cheese, and little bits of things we have on our plate. Chloe seems to gobble down her meals at dinner and will get vocal if you wait too long to give her the next bite. She has also started to like picking up her food herself and eating it. It is absolutely adorable to watch her gracefully pick up and with much determination, bring the food to her mouth. A lot of times it ends up falling down or sticking to he her hand but she will try really hard to get it into her mouth. We watched from the kitchen as she tried to eat a puff. She was lying on the ground and after multiple attempts to get it in her mouth with one hand, she decided to grab it with both hands and bring it to her mouth. When that didn’t do the trick she picked it up, rolled to her side and snatched it up. You can see her brain turning as she is trying to figure out what to try next.
She is still working on crawling. She will get on all fours, and shift a few steps back or forward but not too much more despite daddy modeling it for her. It is quite a sight to see. She usually just giggles at him. She is also even more of a little monkey now. She will climb all over you. We will be folding laundry on the ground and she will climb up your legs and on to your lap. She wants to be in on the action and wants her hands anywhere they shouldn’t be. She will go on her knees and bob up and down. Chloe will go from a crawling position to a sitting position and turn and twist to whatever it is she wants to have. She has also started playing with her toy pony. She will sit on it and move back and forth. She has used her tiny feet to roll herself backwards. She has also started playing with a baby stroller. She will stand, holding onto the stroller and attempt to take a step forward or pull the stroller backwards. She looks real proud when she is standing and holding onto the stroller. Chloe loves to say “da-da”. This past week, Paul walked in from work and Chloe looked up and smiled real big and said “DA!” It was probably a coincidence but it seemed pretty legit to me. Chloe also looks just like Paul did at her age. We put both pictures side by side and it was unanimous that she looked unmistakably like Paul. She sure is a daddy’s girl!
This month we went on our first family walk outside together. We walked down to the lake with the stroller but C didn’t want to sit in the stroller, so instead one of us carried her and the other pushed the empty stroller the whole way. We are definitely looking forward to taking more walks in the evening and enjoying the extra day light each night. I am on spring break this week and I am looking forward to spending all my time with Chloe. We are also getting some new windows installed and look forward to being able to open the windows and enjoy the spring air!