Nine & Ten Months Old






Amelia is ten months old, and we've had quite a couple of months in the milestone department!
Nine month highlights:

• The FIRST time that she's been healthy since she popped out of the womb --- no ear infections, no congestion, & her acid reflux symptoms are controlled! Praise the Lord! We are now seeing the sweet, silly Amelia that we knew was there all along underneath all those uncomfortable health issues. She's quite a silly goose with her raspberry blowing, babbling little self.



• Amelia's two bottom teeth poked through, and she loves to use them to crunch on her Mum Mums. My girl loves to eat...she's loving her Mum Mums and puffs. Her little pincers are getting better and better. She manages to shovel puffs into her mouth with very few hitting the floor and her lap even though her steadiness is not quite there. Amelia pretty much eats any and everything I feed to her. Amelia's hates peas and green beans in baby food form, but she loves everything else.
  



• She's super close to actual crawling. Right now, she is an amazing reacher-scooter-bum-bouncer to get to where she wants to go. Once she gets to her destination, she's trying like mad to pull up. Whew, she's a determined little gal. She knows what she wants and goes for it. It's making Madeline's little mama come out more and more. Madeline is very sweet to look out for what Amelia is getting herself into.



• Unfortunately, Amelia has had a difficult time adjusting to our school schedule. When we are leaving for school in the morning is normally her morning nap time, and she is just not allowing herself to doze in the car on our commute. (I drive Madeline to our church about 25 minutes across town for preschool, so it's a perfect little catnap.) She refuses to fall asleep, and I am paying for it by late morning. The kind ladies at the gym are working with me to help figure something out, so that she can remain in the nursery without screaming her head off. When it comes to sleep rituals, Amelia is NOT my easy going little baby. She wants her lovey, a bottle, and her bed when she's tired.



• Amelia's little personality is coming out more and more these days, and she's a very sweet little girl. She loves to giggle, babble, play, and be tickled. I might add that she's becoming quite the Mama's girl, and I'm loving it. :) She gets all kinds of angry when you take something away from her. It seems that there is going to be another hothead in the Stewart household.

At her 9 month well visit, she was almost 21 pounds which prompted her Grandma (my mom) to call her "Moose" in the most loving way, of course. It was funny, but I'm pretty sure that nickname will NOT stick as you can imagine the self esteem issues that could arise from being called "Moose". Bless her sweet, chubby self. She does wear most of Madeline's 12-18 month clothing now, so the clothing is working out rather well due to Amelia's weight. I'm loving pulling out all the adorable clothes from the attic and reusing them.

Ten Month Highlights:

• Amelia is a full-fledged crawler, and she's not far from walking. She pulls up on everything, and she's into everything! She's had to face the "Mama-Stern-No-Touch" lesson one day, and it paid off for the time being. Now I just have to say her name with a stern tone, and one of two things happens: 1. She stops doing it and goes about her merry way. or 2. She cries like I chopped her finger off with a butter knife. So dramatic.



• Amelia will be getting another tooth/teeth any day now. She's a drooly, gnawing, cranky mess.
  



• Amelia loves to self feed with finger foods. She really likes green beans, waffle, Ritz crackers, cooked carrots, Goldfish, yogurt, applesauce, finely chopped apples, and Cheerios. Depending on the day, she may eat ham and chicken in very small pieces. I randomly try things at different meals, so her meals consist of some self feeding and finishing up the baby food I have in our pantry.



• Amelia is starting to adjust to our school routine. The ladies at the gym can really tell a difference in her disposition! Thank goodness....I was really becoming quite stressed with her fussy mornings.



• Amelia continues to babble more and more. She waves hi, and she blows kisses. So stinkin' cute.

Amelia likes it best when she's on my hip or getting into Madeline's stuff. I vacuumed the entire second and third floor in our house with her on my hip last week. Mama's going to get her chores done someway! Talk about a fabulous workout!

Amelia's little personality continues to blossom. She's certainly a little spunky, stubborn thing, and we love her dearly. She delights us more and more each day.