8 & 9 months

I've been a terrible blogger, and I admit it. Life sometimes gets in the way, you know.

To catch you up, I've been immersed in work since CHA and trying to squeeze every ounce of Claire-time in between her naps and my crazy schedule.

So, here she is at 8 months....








Love those gums!

At 8 months, I did take notes so I wouldn't forget, Claire is:

• crawling EVERYWHERE! She's fast and scaring her mommy. It doesn't phase her daddy though....3 steps, no problem. He says "she's got it." uhhhh....sometimes you do, but sometimes you don't.
• Pulling up on anything you can get your hands on. Knobs are your favorite.
  
• completely toothless
• gags on baby-food with a thick consistency, we've been working on this.
• clicking her tongue. She's pretty much a one-trick-pony, but it's a cute trick and everyone loves it.
• loving the rocking-horse her Grammy and Papa got her for Christmas. It gallops, which sounds like a clicking noise and that makes her happy (and bouncy).
• wiggling her bottom when she hears music.
• loving water. She went swimming at Christine's and I've never heard so much squealing or seen so much kicking. She'll be a natural, I'm sure of it.

Onto 9 month photos.



My favorite photo right now. And, my favorite outfit of hers despite the cleavage when crawling.

Crawling is no longer fun anymore, she's all about climbing. She probably goes up and over the shelf under the kitchen table about 25 times each day. We climb the stairs about 15 times. Then, she has foam blocks that are constantly being climbed on. Claire's life is about climbing (and dangerous situations) now.

Oh, and all about soft stuffed animals. We now have 5 favorites:

• a tiny lamb that "baaaa's", which originally was white, but after Claire has mopped the floor with it, it's more of a gray, dingy shade.
• a monkey, which she's holding here. Some friends of ours got this for her last week and she loves his long tail and big eyes. I specified they not get her anything white and they complied.
• a black bear. From the same friends, after visiting the Smoky Mountains.
• Minnie Mouse -the pookalooz version, which she's liked since she was born.
• ugly doll - not sure the brand, but it's got long arms and legs with different fabrics on it.
  

Still climbing.

And still toothless.

Reading lots and lots.
She's loves looking at this book about Daniel. It's foam and has some puzzle pieces in it. One is a lion and sometimes mommy makes it jump out and get her, which causes her to fall into a fit of giggles.

Some more facts about 9 months:

• Definitely knows what "no" means, but doesn't always comply. Working on that one.
• Still gags with foods, but loves the Gerber puffy things.
• Has her pincer grasp almost mastered.
• Waves bye-bye most of the time.
• Has pooped in the tub twice in the last week. It's a good thing daddy has been here to help with that.
• Almost always sits quietly through worship service, either sleeping (Sunday morning) or looking at books (Sunday night & Wednesday night. I take 5 each time and rotate about once every other week).
  
• Loves Bible class. LOVES it! She's learning about Daniel now, and next week will start Baby Jesus.
• Going to restaurants is still a toss-up of whether mommy will get to enjoy her meal or not. But, now that mommy has learned about these Gerber puff thingies, I have an idea, we'll be on the upswing there.
• Pushes anything and everything around to "walk" where she wants to go. Sometimes it's her basket of toys, a laundry basket, her drum, or her highchair.
• Is getting brave at releasing while standing. Not often, but she'll stand for 3-5 seconds, but she definitely lets go and lunges.
• Loves riding in the side-by-side with her Papa. It's her favorite end-of-day activity.

I promise to be a better blogger, now that I've caught up :)