Our Gracie Girl, 8 & 9 Months Old

Oh my girl. What a splendid couple of months you've had! A lot of firsts round these parts and a few changes too. But the biggest so far, is your new moves. You full on crawl and pull up and cruise and you've even tried your hand at free standing a couple of times after a brother *so kindly* moves your hands from whatever he's stockpiling out of your reach. You love the coffee table, the kitchen bar stools, and the train table and you really love your little music table where you dance to the song that has played now for all four of you kiddos. 

These last months, we've lowered your crib and taken to the new set of fingerprints that don every shiny surface in our house. The stove front and entertainment center especially showcase your tiny smudges and there is usually some arrangement of our door blinds that lets me know you've been there too. Perhaps the most surprising (or not) fact is that you crawl all the way from our living room down the hall to the boys room. Like a baby turtle to the sea, you just know where the toys flow like milk and honey. And speaking of toys, it brings me to my next point. Legos. Oye. How to find the balance between your creative four year old brothers and their beloved creations and a breathing baby sister? This momma doesn't yet know, but we're working on it.

Months 8 and  9 have also found you waving and smiling and batting those lashes with the sassiest of bats. But your daddy's saving grace is that you growl and wrestle and fear none in this house, which is quite a feat, my sweets. You're laugh leaves us laughing too, your tooting makes you a favorite amongst the four and under crowd, and your demands for food are made slightly less diva-ish by your sweet requests for "nana." 

You're still nursing like a champ but your momma is tired. For real, Dolly. You're kinda particular (like no cover) and you're easily distracted (insert suck, suck, suck, POP OFF) and shhhhh, but you BITE. Oh the irony. You've earned a couple of tush swats for crawling onto the wood stove hearth and for grabbing at my face and pinching while I'm holding you or feeding you and I have to say your sad faced lower lip quiver is the cutest we've seen yet.

You're officially down to two naps a day and sometimes just one long one and an early bedtime. It's hard to nail down because so much of our life is now dictated by LIFE and not the perfectly worked out schedule like I had with your brothers. Whatever is needful for the day happens though. And all praise to the Lord, we manage very single day just what he intends for us to. It's just embracing it sometimes that is the hard part.

Have I mentioned you have EIGHT teeth? You look like a toddler with that mouth full but your grin is just.so.cute. I think it runs a close race for first in terms of my favorites about you. I just still love those pretty little eyes of yours and how your hair is coming in thicker and just a wee bit curly in the back. The other day your baby cousin had pig tails in her hair and when I saw her picture it took my breath away. It was almost as if I hadn't realized that, Lord willing, I'll get to do that with you someday.  I'm still on the fence about piercing your ears and wish with everything in me I would have done it sooner. Now that you're approaching a year, I'm afraid the shock will be just a little bit much...for the both of us. So we'll wait. And do it when your eight and you can decide the other ear isn't worth the pinch just like your Auntie Court.

You loved the holidays and all the extra hands to hold you and you really loved the bits of wrapping paper that were at your eating disposal. I didn't love your refusal to nap or the nearly all-nighters that you pulled in Chama. But the Christmas jammies, toothy smiles over your Auntie's sweet potatoes, and you snuggled in tight and asleep while your Grandpa four wheeled us all over that mountain made it worth it. Mostly anyway :)

You love my high heels and jewelry box in our walk in closet. In fact, it's kind of a joke that you're not even one and already trying to borrow my things. You use your mouth as an extra hand when you need to carry a toy and crawl somewhere. And you have a special knack for wanting to be held the moment I turn the blow dryer or the stove on. 

You keep our days full but our hearts fuller. You're our Gracie Girl and your 8 9 months old!