9 Months

Esperanza is 9 months old today! She has now been outside of the womb for as long as she was inside. She's adjusted quite well and has become curious and accepting to this crazy yet amazing world we live in. She's growing in so many ways and at a rate that is quicker than Mando and I can keep up with. One day she'll do something new and before we can fully grasp it, she's moved on to another new thing.

Just before lunch

Esperanza eats all kinds of food these days. Yesterday I tossed out the window the 'four day wait rule' b/c we were at my moms and she made some yummy lentil soup. It had a lot of stuff in it I hadn't introduced to Esperanza but seriously, with spices included it could take forever to introduce everything if I waited four days in between a new item. So, I gave Esperanza the lentil soup and she loved it - more flavor than she'd ever had before. We also ate it for lunch today and no strange rashes yet. We gave her some steak (pre-chewed of course) the other day and she loved that too! She really loves food in general. If she's unhappy for whatever reason, I can put a handful of Otie-O's in front of her and they will keep her busy and happy until they are gone. She still has no teeth, but I've pretty much stopped pureeing foods and now just dice them - ever since Esperanza discovered she can feed herself, she no longer wants anyone else to do the job for her, and pureed foods eaten with hands is not always a smart way to go.

She 'talks' even more now and continues to put together various constantants with vowels. While none really come out as words we can understand just yet, she can understand a lot of what we say to her. 'Kitty' is the word she knows best so far, or at least the one she responds to most. She LOVES our kitty's and one of them actually loves her too. Our little black kitty we call 'kitty' will let Esperanza pull her hair, ears and tail all while purring and loving the attention.

Esperanza will sometimes yell really loud and other times she will whisper. She whispers what sounds like the word 'yeah' pretty often. After the bath tonight, she kept saying it and even after nursing her to sleep another 'yeah' came out of her mouth.

Ah, the personality of a 9 month old baby girl. Her personality is growing every day as she discovers her various likes/dislikes & causes/effects all while we learn to distinguish her needs verses her wants and how to balance it all. It has been a real eye opener for me just in the past month or so noticing and realizing that she is her own person and not just my little girl. She tests her limits with us and lets us know when she doesn't like something, whether it be getting in the car seat, being fed something she doesn't want or getting her diaper changed. While she certainly doesn't get a choice with most things, it's amazing to see how she tries. Armando and I always joke that she's trying to 'train' us.

Esperanza is also quick to smile, often playing games with strangers that want to hold her. She'll smile and hold out her arms as if she wants them but then will shy her face away into my neck, then smile and do the routine again. And she's ticklish! Mostly her thighs and ribs but really if you get her in the right mood, you can touch her anywhere and she'll start giggling.

She is intrigued by the game of dropping things and watching someone pick it up for her, just so she can drop it again and again and again.

She has learned to wave hi and bye, sometimes waving with both hands. I give her a bath every evening and afterwards as we leave the bathroom we pass by the mirror to wave hi to Esperanza. There have actually been a few times I thought she really did say the word hi.

Esperanza is working really hard at trying to get around. She can't yet, at least very far. She can 'scoot' on her bottom, will sometimes lunge forward from a sitting position and end up in a laying position or on her hands and knees and she will sometimes roll but not more than once or twice. It's nice for me, but I know it must be frustrating for her. I'm soaking in these last few days or maybe weeks of her being immobile but am also looking forward to the adventures we have ahead of us.

As we approach our move to Camas this weekend, I am anxious to get in there and make the house our new home. There will undoubtedly be challenges the first few days/nights (hopefully not too long) getting Esperanza used to the new place. It'll be an adjustment for all of us, but we'll fall back into a pattern and routine fairly quickly I am certain. I've already set aside Esperanza's kitchen cupboard that I plan to fill with 'approved for Esperanza' kitchen items to play with. As a stay at home mama, I plan to be in the kitchen cooking a lot more for Esperanza, Armando, myself and anyone else who wants to stop in for a visit. I can already taste the rewards!