9 Months

Today we woke up to a few inches of snow covering the ground. You didn't seem to notice and as we drove over to our music class this morning you managed to pull off your socks and I think you ate them. You were singing and shaking your tambourine in your bare feet, shaking it like you had been rehearsing for this moment for a long time and you couldn't be bothered by having to actually put on socks. You always manage to get those socks off so I just let you have your way. Grandma tries to sneak them on you when you aren't paying attention and then you pull them off when she's not paying attention. You give Grandma a run for her money and yet she simply can't get enough of you. She has socks that she keeps at her house just in case you get yours all wet while you are visiting her and she gives you clean dry ones to wear home.

Over the weekend you turned 9 months old. You have officially been on the outside living in our house as long as you spent living on the inside, in mommy's belly. You had your very first Christmas and it was very special and you got some very lovely gifts from the family, like this little pink ballet slipper tree ornament with your birth info on it that you got from Aunt Joan and Uncle Bob. You got your first nativity set from Tia and Uncle Pete and you got a Baby's First Christmas Pooh ornament from Auntie Traci and Uncle Paul. You got so many things from Grandma and Grandpa, like a bunch of fun outdoor activity things to keep at Grandma's house, a sandbox and water table, a slide (oh boy!) and a mini picnic table because after all that playing you are going to need to sit down and rest have a fruit roll up and some animal crackers. Nana and Papa came down and stayed with us and gave you all sorts puzzles and games and a giant singing Moose. You were mostly interested in eating all the wrapping paper and playing with the dogs. You thought there were so hysterical. These huge balls of fur that move and roll around and sniff me?! It's brilliant!

Today we put our house on the market and it is a very adventurous time in our lives. We don't know where we are going yet. We have lived in this house for 5 years, your dad and I and we are going to move closer to nyc so your dad can be closer to his work. I doubt you will even remember this house but it's pretty great. We have had a lot of great memories in this house, mostly with you. We have spent a ton of time out on the Connecticut river which is very close to us, and lots of great summer nights we have spent on the back deck after a day of sky skiing and foilboarding. We will miss it. We remodeled most of this house ourselves, the kitchen and the bathrooms, finished the basement, planted lots and lots of bushes and plants. I had a pretty awesome garden every summer we have been here, with tons of organic vegetables and herbs. Auntie Jules and Uncle Adam have helped me plant it every Memorial Day weekend, it's tradition. I hope there is a sunny spot for a garden at the new house!

You can cruise around on the furniture now and you can climb up one step onto the fireplace hearth. I call your name and you turn back and I say, "no, no" and you just smile and go right on doing what you are doing. You are very independent. I asked for a kiss yesterday and I can't be sure but I think you shook your head "no" at me. You may have even rolled your eyes. On Thursday we went to a playdate at the Library with your friend Charley and there was a little playhouse set up in the Children's Room. Everything was kid sized, the little door, the little windows, the tiny fireplace. It was kind of dark inside because the fireplace was just painted on the wall and apparently there were no kid electricians around that day. There were a few toddlers gathered around on the outside of it, peeking in and hiding behind their mother's legs but not you, you just crawled right up to the door and without a second thought you pushed right through without even looking back to see if anyone was following you. You are the bravest little girl I know and I hope you never lose that.

Love,
Mommy

8 Months

Ouch. Ouch! Ouuuuch! That might be your first word since you hear it so much. You are still pulling hair and now you have TWO teeth on the bottom and you like to bite! You are also a master scratcher, you love to grab ears or noses or neck skin and just dig in with your little nails. When you wake up in the morning either your dad or i go in to get you and bring you to our bed to play for a bit and we basically just say "OW!" the whole time while you wiggle and crawl over our faces and huck your toys everywhere and dad even said you shoved your pinky finger up under his eyelid and scratched his lid from the INSIDE. Who does that? You, that's who!

This week you turned 8 months old and have added a bunch of tricks to your repertoire. You can crawl everywhere and you are getting very fast. We had to put up baby gates and put safety latches on the bottoms drawers in the kitchen and bathrooms. Yesterday you crawled under our big wood coffee table and turned back to look at me as you were asserting your independence, like, look at me mom, I am just out of your reach and I like it that way, and I said, 'Elle, please come back', and you just smiled and kept on going your own way, like, 'um, no thanks, mom'. I am very nervous for when you grow up. :)

Last week we had a play date with a little girl named Lily who lives across town and she is very busy and active and pulls up on stuff and when we got home, I put you in your bed for a nap and when I came back a few minutes later you were standing up in your crib, holding onto the side and smiling! You learned it from your friend!
We had to lower the crib mattress so you don't fall out and in the last few days you have started to pull up on anything you get your hands on, your toy basket, my leg, the kitchen stools. I bet you will be walking by the time you are 10 months!

You are eating all types of grown up foods, grapes, bananas, peas, prunes, turnips, apples, oats and today i bought you some gluten free waffles that we are going to try. You have been eating puffs for about a month and you are funny when you eat them because they always end up on the end of your nose and you look at us all serious like and we can't help to crack up. Today you had two on your nose and one on your cheek!

This weekend is Christmas, your very first one. We have a giant tree up, our biggest ever, in honor of you, (your Dad picked it out, don't ask) and I spend a lot of time trying to keep you away from the bottom of it. It's so sparkly and there are such good ornaments dangling from it, I know you can't help but want to play with it. You already got a few ornaments for your own personal collection that you will have for your own tree when you get married and move out of our house.

Nana and Papa are coming to see you and stay with us on Christmas eve which is a big deal since they have never stayed with us on Christmas eve in all the 11 years that your dad and I have been together. You haven't met Max and Izzy yet and you are going to love those big furry goldens! But, no, we can't have a dog just yet. You have to be old enough to help take care of it, and dogs don't appreciated being scratched and bitten. They bite back!

You are the sweetest most beautiful thing in our lives and we are so thankful for you everyday. We have great days together, me and you. I can make you laugh so hard, sometimes you just laugh and laugh and then I laugh and give you a big hug and a big kiss, and you usually bite my nose and pull my hair, but i don't care. As long as I get to be close to you.

Merry First Christmas,
Love,
Mommy