Sophia is Nine Months Old!

Sophia is nine months old today (and today is also my mom's birthday)! Such a special day ...

I will add the stats on Sophia's weight and length after we go to the doctor on Wednesday this week. I will be taking both girls with me that day because Sophia has her appointment at 10 am for her nine-month check-up and Samantha has her appointment immediately following at 10:30 am for her three-year check-up.

Sophia hasn't started crawling yet, and I think that it will be a little while before she does that. Frankly, I'm not in any hurry. I like the fact that she pretty much stays in one spot when she plays, especially with Christmas right around the corner. We will be putting up our Christmas trees today, and as of right now, I don't have to worry about putting a gate around them.

When she's in the right mood (and someone is close by), she will entertain herself for a short period of time. She likes to dig in her little toy box and pull out all kinds of "goodies."

She's pretty happy when she finds what she was looking for:

Sophia's drooling has slowed down dramatically in the last couple of months. In fact, we only use bibs now when she is eating in her highchair. She still loves to put things in her mouth, though. For example, she loves these beads:

** Sophia sleeps from about 7:45 pm to about 8:30 am most days. She takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap, and often a little snooze for about 30 minutes right before/after dinner. She is very easy to put down for a rest, often falling asleep on her own with the help of Shelby, her musical seahorse and her blanket.

** She eats three meals a day with us (still fruits, veggies and grains until I get the "ok" from the doctor to start with white meats this month). She is a great eater -- she never spits her food out. And, she loves yogurt, which I introduced a couple of weeks ago.

** She sits up well on her own, rarely falling over. It's fun to watch Sam and her interact now; they seem to play very well together. She still likes to have people around her at all times and gets upset if you leave her unattended for just a couple of minutes. It can be a challenge, but I like that she is pretty social.

** Sophia loves to giggle and we can make her smile, almost on command. Steve simply touches her little "button nose," and she smiles immediately. He refers to that as her "smile button."


I am getting very excited about Christmas this year, just watching the excitment on the girls' faces. We have started some traditions already, and I love that Sam remembers some of them from last year. These girls are the loves of my life and make me the happiest mom ever: