Checkin' in at 9 months

9 months.  It really isn't celebrated as a major milestone or anything, but when you think about it, it really should be.  We mothers are pregnant for nine loooooong months.  Some of course are a little shorter or longer, but for the most part you think of a pregnancy as 9 months.  (Actually though, it's really 10 when you do the math.  And when you've been lugging around that big ole belly for that long, you want to get accurate credit for all those months.  :-/ )  It's just amazing to me how in those short/looooooong months so much happens.  You watch this little blob of cells grow into a little peanut looking creature, then into the cutest fetus you've ever laid eyes on.  And when that baby arrives, you're whole world changes.  I've only watched two of those little miracles come to life, but I'm sure mothers (and fathers) of more would say the emotions are the same every time.  It's such a surreal feeling when you see your baby for the first time.  A tiny little being in this big 'ole world.

As I look back over the last nine months with Kate, again I'm amazed at how much and how quickly she's changed.  From the sleepy little infant to the busy little bee she is now.  And all this has just been over the last 18 months of our lives.  Isn't God's work truely amazing?  All in 18 months -- a year and a half.  No wonder we say time flies, when you consider how much kids change in such a short time.

It seems that lately Kate does something new every day.  Today, when Jackson coughed, she mimiced him.  Sean noticed it first and sure enough, we tested her and she did it again.  She really seemed to get a kick out of it.  Yesterday, my parents saw her take her very first step.  She was holding on to the couch, turned away, let go and took one step, before plopping down into the floor.

Sometime earlier in June, she started clapping and shaking her head no.  I love watching her shake her head.  She has such a mischievious look on her face when she does it.  And of course she crawls like a crazy woman.  Don't give her a chance to get up the stairs b/c she'll be climbing them in the blink of an eye.  The scary part about that is she still has no concept of gravity.  Just like when she's on the couch or bed, if she wants down, she'll make a dash for it.  Head first!    

And holy moly, this kid still eats like a champ!!  If she can shovel in it, she wants it.  All those chunky purees I have left, not so much.  She wants to feed herself.  Just in the past couple of weeks she really mastered the pincher grasp concept.  When she's really hungry she still uses the 'open palm, grab as much as can' grasp, but hey she proved that she's capable of that developmental milestone if nothing else.  Her favorite foods lately are sweet potato sticks, toast, broccoli, carrots and all the diced up fruit she can get her hands on. 

All that eatin' didn't go unnoticed at her well-visit with Dr. Chip last week.  Since her 6 month check up she had gained 3 pounds 4 ounces!  I was impressed, especially given her increased mobility since the last appointment.  Now don't get me wrong, she's still a little peanut in the 15th percentile for her weight.  :-)  What amazed me the most though was her obvious growth spurt.  Maybe that explains the big girl appetite! One must eat to grow I suppose.  Since the last check she had grown 3 inches!!  Dr. Chip's nurse, Ruth, even had to do a double-measure on that one.  She jumped from the 50th percentile to the 85th percentile in 3 months!  So all that eatin' wasn't for naught after all!!  And the noggin', yep it grew quite a bit, too!  Also, growing 3(cm) in 3 -- now at 93%!  3 lbs, 3 inches, 3 cm -- all in 3 months!!  Yowzers girl!!