On the move

We've been asked a lot lately about whether or not Tara is crawling. She's not. Not a proper, 100% crawl, anyway. She's trying so very hard and will be there any day now. That's not to say that she isn't mobile, though. She is very, very mobile.

A few weeks ago she started like this:

She then progressed to this:

Now, this is where she's at (sorry about the funny color):

If she's out in the living room there's no stopping her, since the floor is so much easier to slide around on. She also is very good at turning in circles while sitting. Crawling is certainly just around the corner.

A little adult time

This past Saturday I slipped out of the house *alone*. Gasp! I had been invited to a baby shower to celebrate the impending arrival of Maggie and Sam's sweet baby boy. Since the shower was being held in West Seattle, a ferry ride away, we decided that I'd get a day out and Jeff would get some daddy/daughter time with Tara.

I wore a dress and nice shoes (and a real bra!) Sorry if you didn't want to know that, but I'm still giddy over it, so tough! I took a purse, instead of the baby bag, and didn't have a single baby related item in it. I got to meet lovely new people, eat some amazing food, and got to ooh and ah over how beautiful my friend is. Just 3 weeks away from her due date, she makes pregnancy look good!

It was nice to have some adult time while cooing over new baby things. Even though Tara is just 9 months old, there's just something extra special about buying gifts for a new baby. I can't wait to meet little Evan!

9 months

Dear Tara,

You are 9 months old! You now weigh 19lbs 8oz and are a whopping 29 inches long! You're tall for your age, but that doesn't come as much of a surprise to us. Your parents aren't exactly on the short side.

You are bursting at the seams with new developments. Two weeks ago you realized that you could move with a purpose and started butt scooting to get around. It's ridiculously cute, but it means that we have to watch you like a hawk now. We've run around the house, baby proofing and moving everything out of your eager little reach. You are also trying very, very hard to crawl. You lean forward from a sitting position until you're on your hand and knees and start rocking. You can't quite get past your feet, but you get stronger every day and I'm sure that you'll be zooming around the house in no time.

Last Friday was the day you turned 9 months. It was also the day that I discovered your very first tooth poking through. Both of your bottom front teeth are coming in and you are surprisingly cool with it. I'm cool with that. It's nice to not deal with the typical teething madness. I'm going to miss your sweet, gummy, no teeth smile, though. I'll miss it very much.

You also have an ear infection, an cold, and a tummy bug right now, which you are also strangely cool with. I swear kid, you're so happy every day. This is such a huge change from the baby that you were the first few months of your life that it's sometimes hard to remember those times.

You started going to daycare 1 day a week. I do not consider it a coincidence that illness has suddenly descended on this house. But you seem to really enjoy your time there, mostly because you're such a social baby and enjoy playing with the other kids. We continue to go to swim lessons twice a week and once a week to story time at the library. You're a kid on the go!

I feel like I had more to say, but it's getting late and I should be getting to bed. You'll wake up yelling for me soon enough. I fear you've given me the yuck, as well. So I'll wrap this up here. Love you baby girl. Feel better soon, ok?

Love,

Momma