Dear Edie,

Today you are 9 months old. I say this every month, but each month the impossibility of how gigantic you have become is mind boggling. MIND BOGGLING.

You are quite possibly the proudest baby ever. I will say in your defense that this month you have much to be proud of.

You now crawl so fast and with such precision it's terrifying.


You are pulling up on anything and everything and have begun cruising along the couch and chairs, even letting go for a few seconds at a time without any support at all. You love to hold on to my fingers while I stand behind you and walk. You take a giant, military type, high-step with your right leg and then mince forward with your left. It's hilarious but also surprisingly effective - the other night we walked around the hostess island at Tutta Bella like 3 times in this manner while waiting for our table; I think I tired before you did.

You still haven't hit your stride with solid foods, but we're taking small steps in that department. It's not that you're picky about what foods you'll eat, it seems more the whole idea of eating in general that's not appealing. You'll take a few bites of just about anything, but when it comes time to really chow down, you lose interest pretty much every time. That said, we have had a few foods that struck your fancy of late - yogurt and baked beans to name two.
The other day we were at Trader Joe's and they were sampling their organic baked beans and cornbread and you went a little crazy. I bought them immediately and we all three essentially ate beanie-weenie with cornbread that night for dinner. Despite your waifish ways with solid foods, we think you've managed to hit the 20 pound mark and are gaining on me every day in height. Your Dad asked me the other day, "How old do you think Edie will be when she's taller than you?" And while I considered my response, he suggested, "5? 6?" Rude.

You recently started clapping and went through a brief phase of clapping every time I walked into the room. It was maybe the best thing ever and I'm sad it passed. You're starting to try waving and doing the sign for "milk" but they look remarkably similar so I'm never sure if you're waving to me, asking for a bottle, or just raising your hand and making a fist for no reason.

You have become incredibly verbal this month. The "cat scratch incident" did nothing to dampen your enthusiasm for the cat. In fact you are making every attempt to make Cat your first word. You've begun to yell "Da!" every time the cat shows up and in more focused moments, you listen to me say "cat" and then try out a very intentional, "dat" of your own. It's Adorable with a capital A. You also (finally) added mama to your frequently used consonants which of course I adore. Sometimes I'll say "I'm giving you a kiss!" and you'll say "diss!". It would appear that in your world, everything starts with D. On a less impressive (but very entertaining) note, you also frequently do this new face-scrunching thing and then huff and puff in a very angry looking manner. It's weird but very funny.



Since recovering from your first cold last month, you've returned to sleeping well, including taking two regular naps each day. Your bed time is 8pm and you wake up pretty close to 7am sharp each day, singing and standing in your crib. It's amazing to me when I remember what a terrible sleeper (and napper!) you used to be and how far you've come. Not just in the sleep department either. The other day while we were driving around town running errands, with you happily playing in the backseat, I remembered the way you used to howl in the car seat for the first 4 months of life. When I would take you out to eat with other new moms, I would inevitably end up standing the entire time, bopping up and down to mimic the yoga ball in order to keep you happy. In contrast, you are just SO HAPPY nowadays. You do EVERYTHING with such purpose and passion; people are always commenting on how full of personality you are.

You love a good adventure, and are incredibly snuggly. When I say "up?" to you, you frequently will hold both arms up for me to pick you up, as if to answer, "Yes! Up!" and it makes me feel all marshmallowy inside.

You've really turned your Dad and I into softies. We put you to bed the other night and were sitting in the living room reading when I turned to him and just said, "Why is she SO CUTE?" and he replied very earnestly, "I don't know, I guess we just got lucky."

love you Shorts,
Mom