As we left her 9 month well-check on her 9 month birthday earlier this week, we made an appointment for her next well-check.  For when she will turn 12 months.  That’s one year, people.  We are three months away from having a 1 year old and I don’t even know how to comprehend or register that.  I know that time flies, I’ve known this for a while now.  But when you see it in your baby growing before you, it feels like you’re on a merry-go-round that just keeps getting faster!  It’s absolutely crazy.

But we are loving every minute of this sweet girl!  I say it every month, but she is SUCH a joy and she makes us laugh SO much!  We also laugh at her a good bit too.  We’re just trying to teach her early that there’s no use in taking herself or life too seriously.  It took me years to understand that (and I’m still learning), so if we can teach her that before she knows anything different, I feel like her teen years will be more like a freshly paved highway versus my cobblestone street of teenage craziness.  But, I may also be trying to console myself before we even get there, so check back with me in 14 years and I’ll let you know how it’s going ;-)

Anyway, back to the present… Catherine now has two bottom teeth and I actually found teeth marks on one of her little books (since she still loves putting things in her mouth!).  She’s still not crawling, but so desperately wants to be moving that she’s just gone directly to standing.  She will pull up on our hands with a little help and it’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen!  She’s super wobbly though so she still has some time before she’s standing on her own.  She loves her johnny jumper thing that hangs in the doorway of the kitchen (and let’s face it, I do too) and if I sit her down and turn my back for any length of time, there’s a 90% chance she’ll be on her stomach reaching for something the next time I turn around.  But she still hates being on her tummy (unless she’s sleeping) so she usually ends up yelling for help (in her baby language of course).

She’s clapping away and waving and smiling like it’s her job.  And if she was actually getting paid for those things, she would have her college fully funded already.  She’s eating all kinds of fruits and veggies and a little bit of chicken.  She likes drinking water out of our cups but most of it ends up on the floor so we just purchased her first sippy cup this week.  She loves going to the grocery store and just being out and about.  And I’m sure all of the admiring hellos and smiles don’t hurt either!

Another thing she does is when I carry her around on my hip, instead of holding onto my shoulder (like she used to do), she grabs onto my hair… and her arm usually stiffens, which puts her arm straight across my throat.  It’s hilarious and painful all at the same time.  So clearly we’re working on changing that habit.

Bottom line?  We love this little baby to pieces.  Some days it actually hurts with how much I love her!

Her monthly photos are definitely becoming more challenging, but they’re still completely worth it!
And this series of photos CRACKS us up!  This first one I call “Wonder”.

This one I call “Curiosity”.

This one? “Anger”.

And finally, “Indifference” :-)

Obviously my first attempt didn’t work so we tried again a couple nights later and came up with this :-)
I knew that sweet smile was in there somewhere!

And these just crack me up… her daddy was making her laugh but she was SO sleepy!

Happy Friday!