9 Months!

It's hard to believe that a year ago I was feeling my sweet little girl kick and play in my belly and enjoying the amazing feelings and experiences that pregnancy brings. Now, my little girl is here and playing and climbing on EVERYTHING. She has grown so much from that little pea in my belly to my chunky monkey little princess. Addelynn turned 9 months on Monday and I just can't grasp the idea that in a few short months she will be a year old!

She is such an amazing little girl. I love walking into her room each morning to see her either playing sweetly in her crib or standing with outstreched arms waiting for me to scoop her up and start the day.

She is still a sensitive girl, always wanting to be by "ma ma" and be held. She doesn't like to feel for one second that she is alone (like if we walk into the kitchen to grab something and are out of her sight for just a split second) and absolutely loves to sit on your lap and play, play, play. I still rock her to sleep at night because she doesn't like being left alone to fall asleep on her own. I don't mind too much because she will sleep 12-13 hours once she's in her crib.

Motherhood is definately the most challenging, but also incredibly rewarding thing that I have ever done in my life. I love that I am able to stay home with her and watch her learn and grow every day. Yes, there are times I am completely stir crazy and yes I do miss having money in my checking account, but at the end of the day when I am kissing my sweet baby goodnight I am so thankful that I chose this path. I am also thankful for a husband that does everything he can to make sure that he's providing for our family.

I guess I have come to realize that you don't need material things or the persona that you have a lot of material things to be truly happy. Josh and I used to eat our atleast 2 to 3 times a week when we were both working and could go out and splurge on big and nice things, but it's funny how having children brought us back down to reality. I don't have the luxury of going out and spending money just to spend it, but I do have the luxury of seeing that Addelynn is happy, healthy, and loved. I have the reassurance that she is safe and being taught and exposed to the things that I would want for her and not a daycare facility. Kind of got off on a tangent, I guess my point is that so many of us are going through really hard times financially, but it is so reassuring to look at our sweet babies and know we are doing the right things for our families.

Addelynn's stats at her checkup on Monday were:
Weight- 19lbs 13oz (70th percentile)
Height- 28.5 inches (5oth percentile)
Head- 18 inches (90th percentile)

Addelynn at 9 months:
- crawling and climbing on anything and everything
- scaling walls, couches, cabinets, and anything else that helps her walk the room
- says "da da", "ma ma", "ne ne", "na na", and lots of random phonemes
- loves music and will wiggle her legs and arms when she hears it
- has 2 teeth still but we think she is going to get the top pretty soon...teething alot lately
- loves to play peek a boo
- squirmy, wormy when we try to change her = not fun, lol
-has just mastered her "pincher" fingers and can now feed herself food
- still very needy and loves to be held, loved, and played with
- still LOVES food and will eat pretty much anything and everything that we feed her
-happy and healthy :)

Josh and I really are so grateful that Heavenly Father send us such a wonderful little girl to our family. I have to admit now that she is getting bigger and so mobile, I am getting baby hungry again! I sure do miss being pregnant and then having the little, tiny baby to hug and cuddle. We shall see what this next year brings us :)