Emma's Ninth Month

This month, we started things out by taking Emma to see the White Sox sweep the Devil Rays. She clapped and cheered like the rest of the crowd! For the 4th of July, we put her in her baby pool for the first time. She didn't really like it at first, but found out it was kinda fun after a bit. That evening, Mommy, Daddy and Emma went to see the Fireworks at St. Pete Pier. We were sure we had made a huge mistake and they were going to scare her, but she LOVED them! She cuddled on Mommy's lap and looked up at the sky for the whole thing. She has taken a few steps while standing along the furniture, but if we try to hold her hands and walk with her she isn't ready yet. She learned to drink with a straw! She is getting better at eating solids, and has explored more table foods. She is starting to get sick of the mushy jar foods, so I have been thinkening it up a lot or steaming veggies and fruits to feed her. If I cut them in little chunks she will eat them. She went with Mommy to storytime at the library, and Mother Goose read to us and we sang songs. Actually, Emma mostly crawled around and explored everything! She is extremely energetic and keeps us on our toes. She has to check everything out, and her favorite toys are not toys at all (Mommy's sunglasses, spoons, measuring cups, and of course everything she isn't supposed to have!). Mommy and Emma joined Jenni (her Godmother) and her family in Orlando for a day and went to Arabian Nights and Disney World! Neither of us liked Arabian Nights, Emma thought it was too dark and noisy, but Disney World was lots of fun! It was really hot that day, so we had to stay indoors a lot, but we managed to watch a parade, ride the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and have lunch with the Winnie the Pooh Characters! Emma loved to look at the characters and dance with them. The next day she said "cat" for the first time! This is her 3rd word, we thought she said "bye" a few months ago but it was just a fluke. She saw the Pediatrician on the 26th and weighed 18 lb. 1 oz. and was 29 inches long. She is at the average weight for her age (50th percentile) but at the 95th percentile for her length! She is getting big so fast! Her hair has grown a lot lately, too. She is starting to look less like a baby and more like a little girl!