Nine Months and on the Move

As I sat down to type I watched the cutest little romper clad crawling tush wiggle out the door of the office into the hall. And here she comes back in making gurlgling sounds and talking as she goes"dot dot dot", grinning whenever I make eye contact. I love this little one. Now she is under my chair trying to figure out how to stand up without banging her head. Johanna is in non-stop explore mode. She bee-lines for something, crawls, stands up, crawls again, moving from one thing to the next. She started crawling at the end of July and by mid August she was upright and cruising along the edges of furniture. The girls are all happy to hold her hands and walk around the house with her so I have a feeling Hanna will be the earliest walker. It is so fun to see her hitting these milestones and know she is progressing in her development. It also creates the need to be more vigilant in her care, be watchful, and do a much better job cleaning the house.

She crawls along and whatever she finds she puts in her mouth. From cat food, grass, old cheerios, paper bits, to plastic, they have all wound up in her mouth. Some she has gagged on and others she chews on until we play: "What is in your mouth?" and I sweep her mouth with my finger trying not to be bitten. This dangerous game is one I hope Hanna stops playing sooner than later. It is very scary. Needless to say we sweep and vacuum more frequently.

Hanna pulls herself to standing regularly now but when she first did it I had a dream that she stood up in her crib and pulled herself over the railing. That morning I moved her crib mattress to the lowest setting. So much of parenting at this age is just keeping them from hurting themselves.

There is also lots of fun. Hanna likes to play chase. One sister will hold her and "run" in a slow dramatic way while another "runs" after saying "I'm going to get you". Jim picks her up and she strokes his hairy chin. Then sometime he puts her belly on top of his head. Megan has been singing her the "A You're Adorable" song and she smiles at the sound knowing it is for her. She is delighted by all of this play. Johanna has learned to clap and does it when she is happy. She is now learning kisses and one bedtime she actually gave each family member "Hanna Kisses". When you offer her a cheek she puts her mouth on it for a moment, very deliberate and tender. We all ate that up.

Last weekend we took Hanna to the beach for the first time. It was a gorgeous day with warm temperatures but not too hot and there was a steady breeze. We drove down to Rehoboth Beach for a day trip and set up our sun shade in the sand. Hanna put one handful of sand up to her mouth and that was enough to convince her that sand was not for eating. She played the rest of the day happily in the sand with stacking rings and beach gear. It was a great first experience where the ocean meets the land.

Hanna's time being a 9 month old is drawing to an end and we are shifting from our summer routines to those of school and extra curricular activities. New things are always just around the corner as precious life with our little one continues.