Nine Months Old

I feel as if Everly's 9th month of life went by so quickly. More quickly than any of the others. It might be because her newest cousin Sam was born and we spent a good amount of energy and time focusing on that. And E just kept right on growing. Didn't she know she needed to give me a little break? But despite its quick passing this month has been absolute magic. Having little Sam around has reminded me deeply of when I gave birth to this little miracle of mine. And now I see her as this beautiful nine month old baby and I realize that she's been outside my body as long as she was inside it. There's something special about the ninth month and I believe that's it.

Everly is becoming independent and curious like never before. She wants to see everything, touch everything, taste everything, do everything.

• Everly has started walking. Last month I shared that she was taking steps here and there. Now she walks for real. She walks everywhere and always looks SO proud of herself afterwards. It probably helps that I cheer for her, but initially we did nothing to encourage her walking except watch in awe. She definitely decided to do it on her own. She's slow but steady and I'm sure the pace is going to pick up soon. She's already made improvements in just a few short weeks.
• She learned how to clap. She'll walk up to me and clap her hands. I always shout "Yay Everly!" when she claps for herself. She has the biggest smile when we do this.
• E's favorite song is "If You're Happy and You Know It"- obviously because she gets to clap the whole time. 
• We've found her ticklish spots this month and her giggle when being tickled is music to my soul. She also loves to blow raspberries, usually on my cheek to wake me up in the morning.
• Everly celebrated her first Halloween this month and was the cutest little lion there ever was. She also had her first taste of chocolate thanks to her daddy's love of it. She enjoyed the chocolate but thankfully still likes all the other flavors in the world and doesn't need the sweets.
• We finally found a food she didn't like: canned asparagus. I do wonder if she'd like baked asparagus because it tastes so different. Perhaps we'll test that theory at Thanksgiving!
• Ever picks a word of the day, usually mama or dada, and says almost nothing else for 24 hours. Then she picks again the next day. It's precious and I love when her word is mama. Then again, I love when it's dada too. This girl sure loves her daddy.
• E is still breastfeeding, bed sharing, and baby wearing every day. We've been doing those things since birth and I really feel the connection it's helped us develop. She adores me and I adore her. She's so much happier just being in a room with me and if she has my attention she shines. She loves her daddy and grandparents too, but right now she's definitely a mama's girl.

I cannot be grateful enough for this precious lady. She is everything that is good in the world and in me. I count her as my biggest blessing every single day. Mama loves you bugga.

xo Sue