Maddie 9 Months

Madeline has now been out of my tummy longer than she was in (although I could have said that at 8 months too, I suppose). She has matured into quite a little love bug. She draws attention no matter where we are. Her smile can light up a room. A week ago, we got her ears pierced. She looks adorable in earrings, just like her big sister. She's starting to "talk" and even added "da da" to her repertoire. So far we have: ba ba, ga ga, ha ha, wa wa, da da and ma (yes, just one ma. I'm trying desperately to get her to add that second "ma.") According to her pediatrician, she is EXACTLY where she should be at 9 months, developmentally and has even caught up on the growth chart. Her stats are as follows:

Height: 26 inches (8th percentile)
Weight: 16 lbs. 15 oz. (19th percentile)

Every day she seems to do something new that makes us so proud. She's crawling around everywhere. She's even discovered the joys of playing with Isabella's toys. Only one of the two of them is happy with that discovery :). Isabella is a good sport, but she's only human and tends to aggressively take toys away from Maddie. I lovingly remind her that if she doesn't share her toys with her little sister, I may not share my toys with her (i.e. my iphone or ipad). She immediately finds a toy she doesn't mind temporarily parting ways with and hands it over to Maddie to enjoy. That only appeases Madeline for so long until she realizes Isabella is playing with something else and then she decides that toy is her next target. It's funny to watch. I have a new appreciation for what my little sister went through. Being an older sibling myself, I can where Isabella is coming from. Now, however, I see Maddie's perspective and I try, with a 50% success rate, to make them both happy.

Recently Maddie started clapping her hands. If we say "Yea Maddie" she'll start clapping. If we start Pat-A-Cake she starts clapping. It's absolutely adorable. I'm trying to capture it on video, but she always stops when I start shooting. She also started pulling herself to a standing position and twice has even let go and stood by herself for a second. David and I are just bursting with pride.

Here are some photos of our 9-month old princess:



Up next: HALLOWEEN!!!!