Happy 9 Month Birthday Sofia

Nine months.
17lbs, 28- 3/4" tall.
Sofia, I can barely eek out this sentence without tears filling my eyes. You are more amazing with each week that passes. How do you do that?

When you were a newborn I would spend hours staring at you, soaking in every last detail, from your tiny fingers to your even more tiny eyelashes. I tried to take in every moment. In our most recent days I realize that you have become so active I am unable to sit and stare at you for even a minute. You will take long pauses, where you seem to be contemplating who knows what in that little head of yours, but after a few moments you are back to climbing, reaching, pushing, pulling and grabbing whatever is in sight. Upon realizing this, at your very next nap I let you fall asleep in my arms, where you stayed for 45 minutes. This flash of time was akin to being really thirsty and taking a long drink of water. There is nothing more satisfying or calming to me in this world than watching you sleep.

Sofia, I have loved every day with you. The last nine months have been more wonderful than words can express and you have grown so much. Here are just a few of the things you can do: you are walking when I hold your hands, you play peek-a-boo by holding your blanket in front of your eyes, (then promptly lowering it), you eat three meals of solid foods each day, you are mimicking sounds, you can army crawl, you look for praise and seem proud, you yell "mah" after we yell, “Max” when we call him up for breakfast, you eat cheerios and pick other small food pieces up with your first finger and thumb, you have signed “milk” to me when you REALLY want your milk, you reach for molly and the kitty cat, you turn your book pages with ease, you can stand unassisted holding onto a table or your play-gym and on a few occasions you have actually let go.

You are a very happy baby Sofia; you smile almost all of the time. People stop me in the grocery store, or on the promenade, to tell me how beautiful you are and what a great smile you have. You like being held by anyone and everyone. I hear this is about to end, so I will brag about it now as we all know how quickly babies can change.

At nine months you are doing so much more than I thought a nine month old would do, and if that isn’t enough, my love for you is stronger than I ever thought possible. You simply amaze me.

Thank you for being my daughter.
I love you,
Mama