Amelia and Annie's Awesome Adventures: A Lost Legging, A New Tooth, and A Missing Nap

Such is life with a 9-month old. . .um. . . cough, cough. . . Ahem. . . a NINE MONTH OLD!

Amelia is 9 months old today. Life feels very full of randomness too. Finding a Saltine corner on the changing table. Discovering a tooth that came in without anyone noticing. Crying bouts for no apparent reason. Giggling sessions for no apparent reason. Toys talking in the other (empty) room. It's all a bunch of loose ends and I find myself constantly asking, "How did that get there?" and "Wait, where did (fill-in-the-blank) go?"

For instance, today we went shopping. This is her ready to run errands.

See that legging? The one with the rainbows? The one that started my whole legging obsession? Well, it's no longer. I let her carry it when I put her in the stroller today. Not two minutes into the store, I look down and Rainbow Baby Leg is nowhere to be found. "Punkin, where's your legging?" She didn't respond. The nerve. We retraced our steps all the way out of the store and to the car. Gone.
I puffy hearted that pair. Here they are in a previous glory.

Now that Amelia is eating real foods, parenthood feels more real than ever. Nothing screams "MOM" like a chunk of pancake stuck to your butt for heaven knows how long. Or the soggy cheerio that mysteriously finds its way onto your neck. She eats with her fingers which is awesome. It really does make things easier because you can hand her a cracker and go about your business making dinner while she turn that thing into an appetizer. It does however, change the whole eating ballgame. It reminds me why I hated bussing tables when a baby had been in the restaurant. I've actually had to locate my broom. (Enter proper witch joke here.) She and the dogs have discovered the true crux of their friendship--she puts out hand with food and they lick it while she giggles. The other day, she leaned over and started laughing at Luke--with food IN her mouth--and I'm not kidding when I say that he would have taken that food right out of there had I let him. And I think it's safe to say that she wouldn't have minded one bit.

The flip side of their relationship is that Amelia is really moving on this whole crawling adventure and she loves, LOVES to chase the dogs. Tails first. Luke and Mollie much prefer the food game over the chase game, however, but that's half the fun.

In other developments, she is talking every minute. She understands words too and reacts when you say 'water,' 'kisses,' 'dogs,' and 'night-night' among others. I bought the Baby Signs set today in hopes that we can help her communicate better. Since she can wave and give high fives, I figure she can tell me when she has a poopey too. Of course, her babbling intersects with shyness, so she only does it around us. We've begun weaning and hope to be done with breastfeeding by April 1. It's a bittersweet transition that I am both looking forward to and nostalgic about.

Not helping with this transition is Amelia's new attachment to me, right on track with her age. She cries when I leave the room, hand her to someone, or otherwise don't give her enough attention. I'm shocked by this attachment phase because I have been certain that she hated me all along. She's not much of a cuddler and prefers to be alone most of the time. Not to mention that I am positive that she resented me for all those months that she was so miserable. So imagine my surprise when I walk away from her and she starts crying and chasing me. And it's only gotten worse from there. I admit that I secretly love it even if it is worrisome and heartbreaking too. She's my little shadow . . . which I didn't think was possible since she is Justin's shrinky-dink. That face has Daddy's Girl written all over it! I guess there's still time for that, but for now, I will keep and enjoy my little partner.

More stats Monday after her 9-month appointment with Dr. Emge.

Onto the good stuff.

For the record, I had to stand her up. But she had to keep herself there.