How Does This Happen?

Somehow, today, I find myself the mother of a 9 month old.  Who is quickly morphing from a baby into a toddler.  She's not technically toddling yet, but she looks less and less like a baby with every passing day.

7 MONTHS

9 MONTHS

I don't know if the difference is as obvious to you as it is to me, but my baby is disappearing before my eyes.  She's a funny little duck, too.  She's got four teeth now, and they are so sharp it's unreasonable.  She loves to eat food, and is eating more and more of it every day.  She will take only a tiny bite of any new food that she doesn't recognize in order to check it out before she commits.  She never spits it out, but if she doesn't like it, she won't eat anymore.  The one food that she never, ever likes is cheese.  It's so bizarre to me, as a dedicated lover of cheese, that we have a child who does not like cheese.

And this child fights sleep as if her survival depends on staying awake.  The acrobatics that she engages in when I'm nursing her at night are impressive.  She has, on more than one occasion, nursed while maintaining an excellent Downward Facing Dog in order to avoid laying down and possibly falling asleep.

Her stranger danger is activated, as well as a new, more intense attachment to me.  Today, for the first time, she cried when I told her goodbye and left for work.  She has been much more attached to me and won't even go to Margo half the time.

She is intensely physically active, and has the lean physique to show for it.  She never stops moving when she is awake, and has been more and more frustrated by diaper changes because they require her to stay still for more than ten seconds.  She is now crawling primarily as a way to get from one place to stand and furniture surf to another.  She's standing on her own for a few seconds at a time when she isn't paying attention. 

We went on a road trip to Montana for a couple of weeks recently, and she was a total champ.  She continues to be a remarkably adaptable, good-natured child, and we are so appreciative of that.  She was, however, absolutely delighted to be home again and see my mom.  She giggled for the first hour and a half solid after we got home. 

She also experiences her emotions intensely.  Her delight and joy are irrepressible and uncontainable.  She sometimes becomes so overwhelmed with excitement that her entire body just vibrates and she is rendered momentarily speechless.  She frequently experiences and expresses frustration in a very similar way.  She is so curious and intensely determined.  Watching her unfold continues to be a privilege that brings us so much joy and wonder.