9 months old already...

I cannot believe our little Mia is 9 months old already.  The time has just flown by.  I remember when she was born and I could hardly believe that she was mine and that I was finally a mommy.  :)  I remember thinking, okay, so I have a baby but I really can't picture having a baby that sits up or crawls.  Well, here we are already.  Mia is growing and growing, and since we've reached another monthly milestone, it's time for PHOTOS!

My little lucky charm LOVES paper and making it crinkle!

Man, but it's getting harder and harder to do these floor shots!

She is SO wiggly when I put her down on the floor now and refuses to stay still!  The instant I put her down she wants to immediately take off or go after something.  I'm thinking that if we are able to have another one, the monthly photos will be done in the car seat so I can buckle them in once they start the wiggle worm phase!  lol

I looked through some old fotos to find some early car seat photos and wow, can you talk about a heart melting walk through memory lane? The difference was fun to see, but kind of sad to see as well because of how fast the time's gone. 

Here's the carseat comparison:

Man my heart melts just seeing this photo of my tiny, one week old Mia!!!

Now at nine months old - wow how's she's grown!!!

And now for the traditional blanket ones which are still fun, but more challenging.  lol

She still loves the giraffe and you can see how much she's grown in comparison to the photo below.

My tiny sweet little munchkin!!!

Okay mom, I'm done now.  Thanks. (little turkey!)

At 9 months, our little Mia:

• is friendlier with strangers, but still needs a little time to warm up (I'm thinking she's making sure they aren't a doctor who's going to poke and prod her)
• is eating baby food and baby cereal like a champ, usually at 2-3 times a day, but no table food yet
• sometimes still chokes on baby finger food (I think sometimes it gets wedged in the back of her cleft palate and makes her gag)
• goes to bed around 9pm and sleeps until around 8 am
• takes two naps during the day for between 1-2 hours each - yay!
• is crawling all over like crazy, but still not so interested in walking as of yet though she likes to stand and play on her Leap Frog table
• her favorite chew toy is a little blue orajel finger cover  type of baby toothbrush
• has ALMOST 4 teeth in - that darn fourth one (the second one on her cleft) can't decide if it wants to completely break through or not
• has survived 2 ear infections and 2 surgeries
• claps when she's really happy or really upset
• LOVES being outside and going for rides in her stroller
• still goes into extreme snuggle mode when she's tired and ready to go down
• if mom doesn't realize that she's tired and ready for a nap or bed, she'll give me another warning by letting rip a high pitched squeal
• has realized that she can throw fits when she's upset or you take something away-not so cute and sweet  :)
• loves toes and shoes - hers and others (yes, even complete strangers!)
• still an observer and likes to see what's going on and where and how  :)
• loves to crawl under things and bang things
• survived her first partial fall from her high chair :(
• still loves books
• has a LITTLE bit more hair, but does NOT like it being put in a rubber band
• loves baths and is an EXTREME splasher now
• still loves power chords and can spot them from across the room, so we can't leave hardly anything plugged in
• has been to Rodeo Austin, Sea World, the Alamo and the San Antonio Riverwalk, her first concert and firework show, as well as Seattle, WA, and a few trips to Utah, and Odessa and El Paso, TX - what a well traveled baby we have!  :)
• is still such a joy and the light of our lives!!!

And now for some photographic proof of some of the things listed above:

Proof of her love for splashing - my clothes started out DRY!!!  And yes, I totally think that's a little self satisfied smile on her face there!

Some of her more mild splashing.  When she really gets into it, it's not a good idea to have ANY electronic equipment in the immediate vicinity!  lol

Under the coffee table - the drawer fell off and we haven't glued it back on yet - makes a great port hole.

Puts EVERYTHING in her mouth and tries to put her mouth on everything and anything!!!  My little knob licker!

"Seriously mom, are you done yet?"  Still makes funny faces.  (if you look close you can see one of her bruises on the middle of her forehead from the highchair incident - sadness!)

This beautiful little doll is Dahnia, Mia's cousin who's three, yes THREE months YOUNGER than Mia.  Look at that gorgeous head of hair she's got!  This photo inspired me to try and do something with the three longish hairs Mia has on the crown of her head.  lol

Look how sadly Mia's little pigtails compare!!!  :(

So we tried to put them together into one thicker pigtail.  Yeah, not so thick.  lol  Oh well, we tried!  :)

We head into the doctor tomorrow for her nine month check up.  I'm a little scared to see what her weight is and hope she's gained enough in the past three months!  Thankfully, no shots for Mia tomorrow!!!  Who-rah!!!