THE KUPPERSMITH FAMILY: Marlo 9 months

Our little girl is 9 months old. At her doctor's appointment she was 28.75 in long and 22 pounds 4 ounces. This puts her around the 90th percentile for height and just under 95th percentile for weight. She is one healthy girl. Marlo is wearing 6-12 month/12 month clothes.

Marlo's favorite activities right now are peek-a-boo, watching anything Liam does, playing in the dog's water bowl, singing "Old McDonald," baths, swimming, and crawling around and exploring. She can now sign "all done" and "more." I love seeing her starting to learn. She also has learned the word "no," but doesn't quite stop what she is doing just yet. Marlo continues to say "dadada" and "mamama." There are a few other sounds she makes that are unique to her but not really identifiable. She sure is trying to tell us something though. Her voice is loud like her daddy and brother. Marlo pulls up to her knees to explore but rarely gets to her feet without help. She is a quick crawler but has not discovered stairs yet (no rush on this).

Marlo is eating almost anything right now that is soft enough as far as finger foods go. She does not have any teeth yet. I really can't think of anything she hasn't liked yet. I still give her some purees since I have them, but when they run out, it will be only finger foods from then on. She continues to have milk 4 times a day as well.

Marlo is sleeping well still. She has pretty much switched to 2 naps, each 1-2 hours long on average. Sometimes she gets a little catnap in there if she needs it. I love how flexible she is with her sleep. As long as she gets it, she isn't too set on an exact time. I guess that is all part of being the second child.

Marlo has begun to have seperation anxiety. She usually fusses a little when I drop her off at the gym or leave the room but is distracted easily and stops crying within probably a minute. I try to make as quick of an exit as possible. The only time it gets bad is at night when she is exhausted and only wants her Mommy. Liam was not like this at all so while it is very normal, we aren't used to it in our house. I am thankful it isn't too bad.

Overall, Marlo continues to be a happy girl who smiles at almost anyone who talks and smiles back at her. The most common comment I get is "wow! she has beautiful big brown eyes." Of course we agree she is beautiful too:)

Happy Girl!

I had to take this picture of Marlo since I remember taking it of Liam when he was crawling all over the place and I needed him to stay still for a minute. Compare the two...they don't look related do they?