Time Marches On

Maggie turned 9 months old today. . . which means only 3 months 'til she's one! Like the lyrics of one of my favorite country songs say, "Time marches on".

Maggie has been pushing and pulling herself around now with her arms for about a week and a half. Today she got up on her hands and knees and started rocking back and forth! It won't be long until she's crawling. She's very motivated to get to Biscuit's bed and his toys!

Maggie is also learning to "use her words". Her babbles definitely have meaning now. She uses "Mama" and "Dada" appropriately most of the time. She says "mmm" or "mum mum" to request more food. She loves to say Biscuit's name when she's watching him, which she says as "Di di". When we look at the Christmas tree, I say, "pretty tree". She always imitates "pretty" by saying "p".

It seems like Maggie likes her books better than her toys. When she's crying, reading (or just reciting one of her books we've memorized!) a book to her usually calms her down. She attends to books much longer than toys and is satisfied to listen to at least 5 or 6 books at a time. Her favorites are books with flaps that open. She has recently started pulling herself over to her bookshelf and pulling down two of her favorite books.

Maggie is a very good eater. She loves any fruit or vegetable we feed her (except for mashed potatoes, but I'm sure that will change when we add butter and milk to it)! She is feeding herself finger food now, such as Gerber Puffs.

Maggie has personality plus! She's a very happy and social baby. She enjoys waving and babbling to people when we're shopping. When I laugh, it makes her laugh, which is the sweetest sight. Maggie enjoys going to church and can make it through about half of the service before going to the nursery (usually because she's talking so much!). She especially likes the music and chandeliers.

To top it off, Maggie's been sleeping through the night for about 2 months now. I'm sure that will change when she starts teething.

This long summary of Maggie's abilities makes me feel like I'm back at work writing a "present level of performance" on a student's individualized education plan (speech-language pathologist's jargon!). I'm so glad to be home with Maggie instead.

Here are two videos from Maggie's 9-month birthday. She is ringing her bells, like I used to do in bell choir.