9 months

This photo captures YOU perfectly!

My little Kayla Layla girl, you are 9 months old!  You seriously melt my heart.  You are so sassy, smart, and sweet.  You love to laugh and have fun, but you are also serious and contemplative. Here are some highlights of you at 9 months:

• I have decided to stop buying you dresses because they just don't fit your personality. You have no time for frills and fancy stuff; you want to be in on the action and you love climbing and throwing.  
• Your vocabulary consists of ba-ba-ba, da-da, Di-ey (Dixie), yea-yea, and ack (Jack); you babble (and continue to grunt) all day long. 
• You love to smack you lips.
• You love to imitate sounds.  
• You give open mouth kisses when we ask for one.
• You love to sing with us and dance.  
• You have 2 teeth on the bottom and 1 and a half on top (your second tooth on top is currently breaking through).
• When you are in serious thought, trying to figure out how something works, you look EXACTLY like your daddy.
• You are a Mama's girl.
• You continue to LOVE everything your brother does.  He is definitely warming up to you at this point, but to be fair, you do love to beat up on him a bit.
• Just like your brother, Dixie is your faithful companion.  I can't believe her name is in your vocab box before Mommy!
• You love being out and about; the more people and action around you, the better!
• Eating continues to be a great sport for you.  You eat anything and everything (including none-food items), which thrills your Daddy and me.
• Your stats average 90th+ percentile.  You are 29 inches tall, weigh 21.5 pounds, and your head circumference is 18.5 inches.  Your pediatrician was sure to note that you are one standard deviation above the norm!
• Did I mention you are smart?  Sometimes it scares us. ;)
• You are now standing by yourself.  You also continue to crawl with a vengeance.  You smack your hands on the floor and grunt as your little hips are thrown from side to side.  So stinkin' adorable.
• You can climb the stairs.
• You continue to be a great napper and a great sleeper; however, it makes us sad that you are not really a snuggler.  When you are done, you are done!  You throw the bottle and sometimes you lay your head down on the arm of the rocker and let me tickle and draw circles on your back.  I love the sounds of your little giggles.  Other times you point to the crib and cry to tell me you are tired and don't want any sort of snuggles, just bed.
• You LOVE your purple bear!

I could go on and on about you, my baby girl.  You are such a fun baby and watching you grow is such a blessing.  We love you so much!!

Our monthly picture on your chair.

You love putting EVERYTHING in your mouth!

This is a typical day for you: eating, climbing, and trying to get your brother, who barricades himself on the couch.  I don't know what he is going to do once you really start climbing!

Look at that little face!  I told Daddy you are going to want a fast red convertible for your 16th birthday!

Mikayla is your name and eating (and making messes everywhere) is your game!

You are learning to love the beach.  Yay!

You are just too cute.

I snapped this photo of you at Target and sent it to Daddy.  You are trying to get out of the cart even though you are strapped in.  I thought you were safe until...

you figured out how to do this.  You sneaky baby!  Shopping with you can be a challenge!

 We can't wait to see what you have in store for us next month little missy!