A few weeks ago our little lady turned 9 months old and every time I think about the fact that she will be double digits in just a few days and a toddler in just a few months I struggle to push back the hot tears that I can feel forming within me. I've said it before but I will say it again (and again and again...) I am so blessed and even though I would have been more than thrilled with my family of boys having this little girl in my life brings me incredible joy that I am endlessly grateful for.
So at 9 months old Hazel is getting big. With hair that extends well past her shoulders and 5 (at the time) sizable chiclets in her mouth she is looking less and less like a baby every day. At her 9 month wellness visit, she measured at 19 lbs (60%), 28.3" tall (66%) and 17.8" head (78.9%) placing her slightly above average (Avery at 9m: 20lbs 2 oz (56%), 29.75" (92%) tall and 18.75" head (85%)). Her newborn deep baby blues have transformed to a much lighter blue and I feel like they will likely become the same blue-green eyes (more green) that Avery has. Her hair is still brown but continues to get lighter and lighter. She now has some very light highlights, but also still has a tint of auburn as Avery did.
These days Hazel eats anything and everything...and I mean EVERYTHING!! She loves to eat her baby food and although she enjoys some things better than others, I really haven't found anything that she doesn't like yet. She is also starting to enjoy regular finger foods as well, but if you try to put something into her mouth she will clamp her mouth shut and give you a dirty look. She is okay with someone putting a spoon in her mouth but nothing else. At this point she has tried various fruits and breads on her own. She really enjoyed the Olive Garden breadstick I gave her a few of weeks ago as well as the rolls at Texas Roadhouse! She also gets really excited when I get out her rice crackers or puffs. In addition to those things, she also really loves pickles and french fries, but like I said will eat pretty much anything including but not limited to batteries, wood chips, plastic, legos, and more.
Hazel has now mastered the army crawl and can get around the house easily and quickly now. Just a couple of weeks before her 9 month birthday I could put her on the floor and she would stay close but now I can turn my back for a few seconds and find that she's made her way into another room (& is likely getting herself into trouble). She does know how to crawl on her hands and knees but seems to prefer army style. In the mornings I can't help but laugh as she crawls around our upstairs while I get ready. If I leave her in her diaper she will crawl on her belly all over the carpet but as soon as she reaches the tile of the bathroom she pops up on her hands and knees to keep the cold floor away from her belly. Smart girl! ;)
Little Miss Sunshine is a very curious little girl. I had hoped that she would be a snuggle bug like Avery was but she is Little Miss Nosy instead. She always wants to be in on the action and know exactly what is going on. Any time I nurse her these days I take her up to the nursery because it is impossible to do so with anyone else around.
While she isn't exactly a snuggly baby, Hazel is affectionate. She likes getting kisses and sometimes will pause for a kiss when I ask for one. She likes to hold onto my finger when I rock her before bed and she pretty much always NEEDS to know where I am, often even insisting that I hold her. She likes to be in the thick of things but also doesn't want to stray far from me, which for the fleeting time of that that is left, I cherish.
My favorite time with Hazel is at around 7:00. For many babies the period before bed is known as the witching hour where the babies start to lose it. For Hazel, we call it her Slap Happy Time. She gets incredibly silly and giggly and everyone in the family loves it. At this moment in our family I don't think that anything brings more joy and smiles to our family than making Hazel smile and laugh. I will say though that this period of time does come with an ending and if you push her too far past the point of exhaustion her happy-go-lucky demeanor will take a quick and sharp turn in the opposite direction at which point there is nothing left to do but head straight to bed.
As Hazel gets more and more mobile she is also exploring and investigating more of her surroundings. She likes to hit on the vents to see the sounds they make, check out anything that her brothers are looking at or doing, taste test anything and everything that she finds as I mentioned above and is FAR too interested in the Living Room outlet, made worse by the fact that Eric recently changed it out for one that includes a built-in LED night light. (To try and scare her from it we will firmly tell her NO when she tries to play with it and she promptly sticks out her adorable pouty lip and bigs to cry). She is also testing out her own mobility as she loves to pull herself up on us and climb all over us, but still doesn't seem interested in cruising around the furniture. I did show her that there were toys inside the toy box the other day though and the look of shear joy and surprise on her face was absolutely priceless!
Sleepwise, our little girl is no pro. At nine months old I have yet to get a full 8 hours of sleep. I know I could probably let her cry it out and that she basically just wants some company during the night but there are 2 problems with that. 1: If she cries it out, Eric and I still don't get to sleep. 2: Passing up any snuggles I can have with her is exactly that. Makes me sad.
Hazel is loud. I think she she thinks she needs to try and compete with her brothers and while they are likely the current winners, their reign may soon come to an end.
In closing, here are a few things I LOVE about our baby girl...
I love that she reaches for me when I pick her up at daycare, telling me (at least in my mind) that she missed me as much as I missed her.
I love that when I see her for the first time in the morning she gives me a huge smile and often claps.
I love that when I have to leave her she often cries, because honestly that is how my heart feels most of the time too.
I love that she says Da da da da. We are not 100% sure that she knows what she is saying, but I'm certain enough to say that Dada is her first word. Am I a little jealous, sure...but after both of the boys saying Mama first it does warm my heart that Dada is her first word, sending him a little love and making their Father-Daughter bond even tighter.
Finally (although there are MANY more things) I love that she LOVES her brothers. Seeing her light up when they are around brings me so much joy and the bond that she and Asher share is quite incredible. I will say that it can be a bit annoying at times, but seeing that Asher would do anything for his baby sister and truly treats her like a princess warms my heart. No matter what happens to Eric and I in the future I know her brothers will always watch out for her!
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