Nine Months Old

A few things about Shelby at nine months:

• She is using her hands a lot more now. She will push you away if you're doing something she doesn't want you to do, like wiping her nose.
• She will repeat sounds, usually "daaaaa" but I don't think she knows "da da" yet. We are trying to teach her to associate the "daaaa" sound with her bathtub duck and I think she is starting to get it.
• She is pushing up on all fours and rocking back and forth. She will crawl backwards, but not forwards.
• She consistently takes two naps a day, one around 10 and the other around 2. Each one usually lasts at least an hour but usually no longer than two hours. She goes to bed at 7 p.m. and wakes up around 7 a.m. On the weekends we just get her out of her crib and then lay down in our bed with her for an hour or so while we wake up. She's very sweet and cute in the mornings.
• She does not have a "lovey" yet but she loves to suck her thumb. Sometimes, when she is tired or overstimulated, she will switch back and forth between each thumb every few seconds like she can't decide which one is best. It's very funny. However, her hands are totally chapped and gross right now because of the dry winter air. We have to be vigilant about coating them in Aquaphor.
• I think I am going to work on teaching her some baby sign language, starting with just a few words like milk, more, done, mama and daddy.
• She is very interested on self feeding and loves to eat a few cereal puffs after dinner each night. I can tell she is getting impatient with being spoon fed.
• She can hold toys in each hand and clap them together. She does not clap her hands yet.
• We think she is starting to express boredom at simple baby toys like rattles and is more interested in more interactive baby toys like stacking toys or nesting blocks. She loves board books.
• She is getting really good at playing peek a boo when you put her towel or a burp cloth on her face. It's really cute. She is really CUTE! Of course we think so!