Harper at nine months

Last week it was time for Harper's nine month check-up.  Keeping in mind that we are inching ever closer to her first birthday (I can't believe how fast this year is going) I was really anxious to see how much she weighs.  She has only been gaining about 2lbs between each of her check-ups but since we had three months since her last one I was thinking that maybe she had gained more.  I was right, but not by much.  She weighed in at a whopping 16lbs 2oz (10th percentile) which was up about 3lbs...at least she's staying consistent at about 1lb per month.  And she is only 25 1/2 inches tall (4th percentile).  To say she's still a peanut would be more than accurate.  No concerns from her doctor though since she is staying right on the exact same curve on the growth chart and is super active.

For being such a little girl, Harper is an amazing eater.  She, like her big brother, decided about a month ago that she would no longer eat any of the mushy crap (meaning baby cereal and pureed foods) but that she wanted to eat whatever we were eating.  I have even gotten her to eat some veggies by giving them to her whole (cut-up obviously) and steamed so they are soft.  I have not found a single think that she has not wanted to eat and most nights, she will out-eat Cayden.

Now, I need to really brag about my baby girl.  She has been crawling, fast, and pulling herself up on anything that she can reach for months now.  We got her a walker (that looks like a pink convertible car) so that she could really move while being upright and she has gotten good enough to move it forward, not just backwards.  She has started to take a few steps holding on to the couch and now she is standing up completely on her own.  It took all of my self control not to scream with excitement the first night I saw her crawl out to the middle of the floor and carefully stand up all on her own.  I did, however, start crying because with every amazing milestone I know that she is becoming less and less of a baby and more of a toddler.  

Cayden has even started to like his sister even more.  He hugs and kisses her good-night and has even been letting her play in his room with him more and more.  If she starts to cry or fuss, he always looks right at her and says "Harper, I'm right here" because, obviously the only reason she would ever be upset is because she can't see him.  It really is amazing watching their relationship grow and develop.  This coming weekend we are going to take our first spring trip to the zoo and I am really excited to see her reactions now that she is old enough to really see the animals and to see what Cayden says to her while we are walking around.  he is truly my son, making sure he is teaching her and telling her everything he knows about any subject or experience (I guess I used to do this with Adam, but I am sure he needed me to tell him)!

I will leave you with our last weekend in review: