9 months

Oh, Marlee is growing and growing and growing. Well, length wise that is. Doctor says Miss M is at the 85th percentile for length. She is long and lean, only at the 15th percentile for weight. We are going to watch her weight over the next few months to make sure she doesn't crash off the growth chart, but the doc and me sorta attribute the drop in growth channel to her mobilitiy. She is burning her calories as fast as she eats them. Thats pretty fast. And let me tell you, this is a girl on the go! At the start of the month she would move along slowly and sometimes backwards, often getting stuck under chairs and beds and corners. One day I could hear her calling me, but couldn't see her. She had backed under her crib and was hiding behind the dust ruffle. But now, its full speed ahead, onward and upward as she crawls and pulls up on anything she can get those busy little hands on. She is quite proud of herself to have learned this. Yes, that means she is helping with unloading the dishwasher, clearing off low book shelves, and generally finding all sorts of stuff that she shouldn't have. She is very curious. She is entertained with most anything these days, toys, toothbrushes, a shoe, the twangy thing on the back of doors (had to take the tips off though, she likes to put them in her mouth), and especially her brother and sister. She can sorta chase them now, and knows that she is part of their fun. Hayden is soooo good to his sister, she adores him and always smiles when he is near. Sage and Marlee are starting to be friends too. She has never taken a binkie, but found one when I was cleaning out the diaper bag and decided it was too funny. She likes to plug it in and spit it out. I laugh because she knows its funny. She has a good sense of humor. Bath time has always been Marlee's favorite, but it is especially now with her fountain duck. Marlee cracks up at this funny quacking duck that always squirts her in the face. She even quacks back! Between the duck and the baby, the bathroom is always flooded. This past month brought lots of snow, which still seems to delight this baby (and her mom). Her little nose gets cold as can be when we go out in it, but she doesn't care. She liked riding the sled with Sage around the yard. Daddy is most proud because she loves to chase balls. At Hayden's last dentist appt. Marlee got a little basketball that is her favorite ball of all. She knows its hers. Hayden can't wait for her to get a little bigger, he would love someone new to play catch with! 2 Teeth! The first was a breeze, the second one hurt us all. She has really swollen gums, so we are wondering if more are on the way. She does not really like anybody peeking at them and will clamp her lips shut and turn her head if you look like your going to do an inspection of her mouth. Marlee has always been a chatterbox, but now she seems to have realized that words are a must. She tries to mimic any noises she hears. My favorite thing she does is snuggle in to my shoulder with a blankie and sing her own little song when she is getting tired. It melts my heart every time! She is the best eater. We have finally found the one food she refuses: baby spinach...well, can you blame her? Everything else she opens her mouth wide for. This month she got to try lots of new table foods which she is really good at eating. She has mastered cheerio flicking. Marlee also tried her first french fry-now that is something to brag about! She wasn't into eating it as much as she was into waving it around like a wand...learned that from Hayden and his Harry Potter obsession. It was a really fun month, we are trying to slow down time so we can enjoy every ounce of this amazing little baby, but are failing miserably, she is growing so fast and time is flying.