9 Months and Counting

This is my first time really blogging. Ron is usually the one who is full of words. I’m more of a silent blogger. I think that is why our marriage has lasted so long, LOL!

So, this past Tuesday was Natasha’s (Cita, Nat, Munch, Chunkers, Fuzzworth) 9 month birthday. It is very hard to believe that she is as old as she was in my stomach (not technically, but close enough). I have to say that so far being a mom has been one of the most wonderful but humbling experiences. I can say with all of my heart and soul I love being her mom although she said “Dada” first. I am not upset about that  in the least but Ron begs to differ. I know, all in good time, I will hear that one little word from my sweet and chunky little baby’s mouth, “Momma”.

Yesterday, August 5th, was Nat’s 9 month check-up. It is interesting to hear from our pediatrician how she thinks Nat is progressing. We think that she is the smartest, most beautiful baby in the world. Natasha wore her adorable little white sleeveless dress with silver threaded flowers at the bottom. I tried to put on her cute little white espadrilles that GeeGee got her, but she had them off in 2.2 seconds. I’m sure one day she will come to realize how important shoes really are to a girl. Natasha looked beautiful in it plus it is easy to take on and off at the doctor. I think what both Ron and I look most forward to is the height, weight and head circumference measurements. Thus far she had been 90th percentile for weight, 75th percentile for height and well 80th percentile for head circumference. I said she is very smart! Her latest stats are 28 inches tall (70th percentile), almost 21 pounds (75th percentile) and last but not least, 90th percentile for head circumference (thank you again Dada). Dr. Campbell says Natasha is doing great. She is strong and has advanced motor skills. She has been standing on her own lately which means she will be an early walker; poor Boo Boo. There was some crying involved but mostly because it was nap and food time. She had 2 vaccines. We only allow 2 each time she goes to the doctor, otherwise it is just too much for her little body to handle. That is our opinion on the subject anyway. The nurse stuck one in each polkie. Nat’s mouth opened but no sound came out. Ah, yes the silent cry. The nurse put 2 cute little flower bandaids on her and she was fine. She really is quite a trooper when it comes to that stuff.

Milestones as of late: Nat now waves goodbye, she is standing on her own, crawling is coming really well, she is all over everything and rolls over in her crib like a thousand times, walks around her crib, walks along the whole back of the couch and she is one of the most fabulous dancers ever. She really gets into it, shaking that booty. She is talking up a storm, in another language, but talking nonetheless. One of things I have learned, and my lovely friend Christi said, is that babies are working on their own things at their own times. Granted, Christie’s little sweet pea Zea is probably breaking the world record for scaling the Sears Tower, at under 9 months. The girl is seriously impressive!

Food  - she loves it! I make 99% of everything she eats. The other 1% is still very healthy. Nat will eat a baba first thing in the morning and then usually one before she goes to bed. But it seems like she doesn’t really care about that one and the rest is all solid foods. Foods she has eaten are pork, chicken, lentils, white beans, brown rice, brown rice pastas, sweet potatoes, yams, red yams, squash of every variety including the summer ones, carrots, broccoli, beets, tomatoes, regular potatoes, yogurt, cottage cheese, avocado, bananas, kiwi, plouts, egg yolk (egg white is not allowed until after a year), asparagus, plums, peaches, papaya, mango and nectarine. I label all of her food and I have started a notebook full of labels and recipes. In my spare time I am going to write a cookbook. The subtitle will be: “loving mother, almost sleepless chef.”  It has been so fun to put together different combinations and see what she likes and doesn’t. Believe me, Natasha is not shy about letting you that she doesn’t like what has just gone in her mouth. She will keep her mouth open and make a gagging noise and look at me like, “mom, really how could you feed me this horrible crap.” Her favorite is lentil, roasted tomato, olive oil, basil and parmesan cheese. Second favorite is sweet potato with white bean puree, tarragon or thyme with olive oil. Yogurt smoothies are a breakfast time fave as well.

I think that is all I have for now. We will keep you updated, with pictures of course. We are very excited because one of our best and sweetest friends, Sarah, is going to take some family photos of us. Sarah is an absolutely amazing photographer. She seems to capture something every time that makes me get teary-eyed (as I’m doing now, just talking about it).

We love you all and thanks for reading my somewhat long winded post. xoxox

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