Nine Months

Hello Peanuts!
We're back from our tour of American airports and countrysides and in the thick of unpacking...again. I do have some stories and pictures to share, but first things first. Today is Little One's 9 month birthday! NINE! That means that She has now officially been out here in the Big Wide World for longer than She was in my belly. This time last year, She was tap-dancing on my bladder, and now She's dancing Her way across the country. What a lot has happened. Here are the high points from the big Eighth month:

Sound the Trumpets. Little One finally has.....a TOOTH! Yes, it's true. There is a little ridge of calcified enamel erupting from the bottom-right pinkness of Little One's grin. So far She has been stoic about this disturbance, except at night, when She pierces our hearts with little squeals of pain until we give Her some grape-flavored Tylenol and extra-snuggly cuddles. Look for upcoming Photos of Her new and improved smile soon!

Little One has decided She needs to sharpen this fledgling fang. So She's off to find interesting things to chew on, and She's hunting. She must be stealthy. Which is why She now gets around commando-style, creeping on Her belly until She spies Her target from the corner of Her eye. And then- INCOMING!- super-quick army roll to the side and BAM! The block/teddy bear/dog's tail/speck-of-who-knows-what is locked-on and in the mouth before it knows what hit it. Over. Out.

This ability to move in every direction Has opened up worlds of possibilities. She can now get toys from the toybox Herself. She can play one-person fetch by throwing objects and then scootching after them, over and over. And over. No longer helpless when trapped between, say, the table-leg and the exersaucer, She can now explore the far crevices of Her world, and get Herself into and out of ridiculous places at a moment's notice. Where's the baby?! She was just right there?! Oh. There She is, of course, wedged under the ottoman, apparently checking for oil leaks.

It also means that She does not have to take abandonment laying down. Now, if I dare, through utter impudence, to put Her down and walk away, She can chase after me while She protests. If I get the insolent idea that I can cross the room without Her, She can be literally at my heels before I can say "Little One you better stay on that blanke- oh."

This means I now have a tiny, creeping shadow. Because Little One is a bit nostalgic for the Other Nine Months, when She was hooked up to me through an umbilical cord. Search as She may (and trust me she has looked) that tether is gone. There's some funky dimple there instead. While She tries to get, actually, to the bottom of that, She has had to improvise by attaching Herself to me with Her arms and monkey-legs. AT ALL TIMES. Do you know how to pee with another person glued onto your body? AND zip your jeans? Ha. Well I do.

Because- as stories of our Two Week Adventure will reveal- we are smack in the middle of a little developmental phase called "separation anxiety". The basic gist of which is that if Little One can't be glommed on to one of Her parents, She at least needs to be touching them. And if, for some reason, She can't do that, then She sure as heck better be at least able to see them. And if She cannot, or if said parent is walking in the direction of a doorway indicating impending inability to see them, OR if some Other Person approaches and appears to have the intent of removing Her from Parental presence, OR if Other Person comes up and obstructs Her line of vision thereby causing inability to see them- well. Then out go the searching monkey-arms and legs, out goes the pouty-baby lip, and out goes the dreaded Wail of Abandonment. (Which would be *really annoying* IF it weren't for the fact that I know that in about two blinks-of-an-eye She will want nothing to do with me whatsoever, and so I better enjoy the stalker-baby love while it lasts.)

Don't worry. The monkey-limbs have other uses also, more so every day. They can, for example, work in concert to dispense Her bottle autonomously. No small task with a heavy, 8oz glass bottle. This feat requires two hands to find the proper end and steer it into Her mouth, and keep it there, and also both feet to hold the other end up so that gravity can get every last drop into Her tummy. They can also do things like put blocks into and out of a box on cue. Which is cool because it requires a fair amount of dexterity, and also because it means She understands what "into" and "out of" mean.

She understands quite a lot, actually, which means we better start minding our P's and Q's around here. If I say, "thirsty?" She reaches for Her glass. If I say, "food?" She reaches for the spoon. (Or waves Her hand in front of Her face and turns up Her nose, in the case She is full or I am trying to give Her banana). If I refer to Her favorite toy on Her anchored walker, She races over to it, and if I hold up two choices and say, "which one", She sizes them both up, and picks the one She wants. In many ways She is letting us know that these word things are starting to make sense, which is opening up a whole new kind of relating to each other that is very exciting.

She can't yet respond in kind, though She is trying very, VERY hard. Who knows what She's saying. But She says it a LOT. The girl is a talker! I have no idea where She gets that from. But I blame Her father for the array of weird, adorable, and ridiculous faces which now accompany the weird, adorable, and ridiculous noises She's been gradually adding to. Don't tell him I said so. I also blame him for Her apparent crushes on every man in glasses She saw on our trip. You can tell him that, if you want.

Some things about Little One haven't changed since the Other Nine Months. She still gets hiccups a lot. She still likes being upside-down, and as close to me as possible. Some things have changed an awful lot. They are changing at this moment! As we speak! We're not really speaking because this is the internet but still! Every moment there is something new.

Happy Birthday Little One! I'm so glad to have you out here in the Big Wide World, moving and shaking and changing and growing where I can watch and delight in it all with you. I can't wait to see what the next nine bring!