Nine Months

Nine Months

I am a pretty fast typer, yet on the 28th of every month I can't help but feel that I need to type faster.  She gets busier and busier and more mobile every month. I can never, ever seem to finish typing a post in time for Riley.  In time to feed her, in time to pick her up in the middle of a tantrum, in time before she rips another tuft of the cat's fur out, in time to help her get her finger unstuck, in time to scoop her up before she gets into the kitchen trash bin or chews on a shoe...

I truly can't seem to keep up with her.  She is on the go, and I have a feeling nothing will slow her down.

This past month can be defined by miles and milestones. We have done a great deal of traveling, and Riley has hit numerous developmental milestones.  

(One of Riley's more expensive teething toys)

Before the three of us headed out to the West Coast for weddings and a Fay family vacation, Riley was army crawling and had two teeth.  By the time we came home, she was crawling, pulling herself up to standing position, getting into a sitting position on her own, and had 6 teeth.  And all of this happened in a 16 day period!

The speed of all of these changes baffles me.  It seemed like it took ages for her to produce her first smile, months for her to grab a toy, half a year to sprout a tooth.  Yet these massive (and life-altering) developments literally happened overnight.  As proud as I am of her accomplishments, it terrifies me that she is growing up at an exponential rate. And as I write that out, I realize that I have basically written some variation of that same comment on each blog post (and have maybe said that too?)...  I guess that is just the bittersweet and paradoxical reality of parenthood... you feel extremely elated and deeply nostalgic at every moment, and pray that the sweet sadness of seeing your child growing inspires you to savor every ounce of your child's joy and innocence. 

(Our buddy Oliver visited Riley at Sun Lakes... they found a cozy spot)

Crawling has turned our baby into a different human being.  It is obvious that she is thoroughly enjoying her new independence, and seems more focused and confident.  She really seems to be proud of herself.  With this confidence comes some serious stubbornness though.  Now that she can move about the world, she thinks she owns it.  The remote is hers to mess with, the computer keys are buttons for her to slam down with her fist, soda cans and wine glasses are for her to drink out of, our hair is hers to pull out, our food is her food... Charley and I have become pretty creative when it comes to hiding things from her.  I typically change the channel from under a pillow, and when I'm on the computer I set up a barricade of cushions to keep her from seeing that tempting bright screen.  Once her eyes have locked onto the forbidden object that she wants, we are in trouble and gearing up for a tantrum.

(Citrus fruit - one of her favorite toys)

The living space in our apartment is one room - our living room, dining area and kitchen are all in one space.  Of course I've only baby-proofed one part of the room, and of course Riley is only interested in coming to the part that is not baby-proofed. I have set up every barricade and obstacle I can think of (imagine the stroller next to the high chair next to the table next to the island) to keep her from the open shelves of mixers and blenders and drawers of can openers and knives... but she perseveres.  I am trying to baby-proof on the fly, but she seems to find every unsafe object that I don't think of.  And right now she is very interested in teeny, tiny objects.  The big things don't entertain her anymore... the coins, paperclips and bottle tops do.  This is not good news for the messy chefs like myself.  She goes after the olive pits, garlic peels and pieces of diced onion on the kitchen floor.  This morning she found and ate an old piece of sweet potato from who knows when under her high chair... at least we know our baby likes leftovers!  

Maybe I need to work on my house-keeping skills...

We are loving this age.  It is so fun to walk into the room, see her face light up, and watch her crawl as fast as she can to us.  One of my favorite things right now is sitting on the couch and watching as her little fingers take hold of the side of it, then seeing her little forehead and massively wide eyes peek over the edge right before she pulls herself up with a grin... Her excitement is contagious and her mannerisms are just so cute!

(She has perfected her raspberry blowing)

(Nothing will get in the way of Riley and the remote)

Our trips on the West Coast went well.  Riley has become very adaptable and is a veteran traveler at this point.  My parents, brother, Charley and I attended two weddings over two back-to-back weekends, so Riley got to spend some time with a few of my cousins as they babysat (and Charley and I got to let loose on the dance floor!).  I got some quality time with my childhood friends, and my family got some quality time with Riley. After the weddings were over, our whole family headed out to our yearly vacation spot, Sun Lakes.

 (She is wearing poor Wes down)

One thing we quickly realized though was that vacationing with a baby is not vacationing the way we are used to!  No matter how beautiful the water, warm the sunshine and cold the beer, that baby is still waking up at 5:30 in the morning and in need of constant entertainment and supervision.  Don't get me wrong, I loved having our little lady there to snuggle and play with, but expectations needed to be reset.  Long gone are the days of sunbathing and reading trashy magazines for hours before a slow boat cruise and afternoon nap. 

 (Apparently she likes kale...)

 (First trip to the zoo!)

Now we are entering a pretty calm period.  The only things on our horizon are a few visits from my family and the holidays!  Summer travels have come to a close, jet lag is over, routines have been reset, and now we just need to spend time enjoying this little munchkin.