Your 9th Month of Life: Pokagon, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day

Lily Bean,

It's hard to believe you have been on this earth now as long as you were in my belly. As I watch you determinedly chase an ant across our living room I can't help but feel such pride in the how much you've accomplished and all the ways you've grown. Your first tooth finally came in. It's still a little stub that I barely saw for the first time today, but you sure did fight for it. You have mastered the art of pulling yourself up to stand and balancing precariously with one hand while trying to grasp something else just out of reach. In the past week you have even perfected the art of furniture surfing. You conquered the stairs, then took a tumble and haven't been back on since, which is really okay with me!

You had quite a few "firsts" this month, with most occurring on your first real trip with Mom and Dad to Pokagon State Park. We stayed at the Potawatami Inn your Mom frequented with Grammy, Grampy and Auntie Em when she was younger.

Above: You are looking like your Daddy more and more every day. As soon as we walked in you pulled yourself up to stand next to the crib.
Above Right: First time putting your feet in a lake (Lake James, I believe) and you really liked it. It was quite warm that day, so the cold water felt just right. You thought it was funny when the waves would come crashing on your perfect little toes.
Below: Working on getting those teeth out using Daddy's thumb; a favorite tool of yours.
Below Right: First time "in" a pool. We just let you splash a little to see what you thought and needless to say we took you in all the way later that day because that little splash was not nearly enough to satisfy you.

Loving the water in your tube.

Also loving the sound your voice makes when you shriek in
an indoor pool. 

Snuggling with Daddy.

All dressed up for our last day, playing the grass.

Your first time meeting a horse. Mom was definitely more
excited about this than you were, but you took an
interest to humor me.

Mother's Day and Dedication

We dedicated you to God on May 13th, 2012 at Grace Ann Arbor.
It was a lovely ceremony in which your father and I, along with other family
members and the congregation, dedicated ourselves to bringing you
up to know and love God. There is nothing more important and
I pray we can raise you to believe that.

All the Moms on Mother's Day. This one is cute because you
are looking so lovingly at your Great Grandmother. I hope you
know how much she means to us and you will be able
to know her and love her as strongly as we do.

Various other happenings

Swinging at the park down the road from our house. 

Cutest picture I've ever seen.
This is what happens when Daddy feeds you.

Checking our the new tooth with your tongue. 

Your own little pool. You were obviously not getting around
too much when I bought this because I think you have outgrown
it already! 

Hiking with Daddy at Nichol's Arboretum. 

Laid out a blanket by the water and read a book.
Probably Mom's favorite thing in the world. 

Happy baby

This is my favorite series of pictures. You like picking

the grass out of the ground and you got a really good leaf

and it naturally went straight into your mouth like

everything else. But as the next picture clearly depicts,

leaves are not your favorite. 

Showing off your waving skills. The first person you appropriately
waved to was Auntie Em and this is who you are waving for here.
She can somehow always get a wave out of you.


Memorial Day

Showing off your waving skills, again.

You also give kisses now, which is by far my favorite trick.
All we have to say is "kiss kiss" and you lean your head in
(sometimes mouth open wide) for a smooch. I don't think there
are too many things in this world that make my heart grow like
one of your kisses.

Hanging out with Grampy.


Anyone who knows me at all knows how long and how badly I had wanted a child. I wasn't sure I would even be able to have one, let-alone one so stunningly beautiful and incredibly intelligent. Only those who know how strongly I have wanted you will understand how truly excited I was when I realized you were ready for the letter fridge magnets! I was even more geeked when I found ones you could put into a base that said the letter and the sound it made. Watching you play with and manipulate those letters are creating the moments I had dreamed of for so long. So thank you, baby girl, for continuing to make your Mommy's dreams come true.  


9 Months Old

Nine months old... what a milestone. As you can see above, your faces are still ever-changing and quite numerous (along with your moods!). It keeps me on my toes, that's for sure. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. I mean, look at the top left picture... those bright blue eyes, perfectly pinchable cheeks and beautifully shaped lips. Every day when I rock you to sleep and you rest your head on my chest my heart grows ten times bigger. Especially when you lay your hand on my arm as you drift to sleep. I could go on, because everything about you is absolutely adorable but we will save the rest for later. So for now, good job on being so amazing. Your Daddy and I love you forever and always with every piece of our hearts.