Letter to Anna: Month Nine

Dear Anna,

I can't believe you're nine months old today! You're three-fourths of the way through your first year of life and I have a feeling these next three months will FLY by. Your nine-month "birthday" falls on Valentine's Day, and there couldn't be a more fitting coincidence since you're the sweetest girl I know.

This has been and will be a month of independence for all of us. We left you with your first non-family babysitter last weekend and you had a ball. We lucked out in finding a "teacher" at your school that lives in our neighbourhood who is in college for early childhood development. When word got around that Miss Brooke was coming over, the other teachers gave her a hard time for having such a "challenging" charge and jokingly told her not to work too hard. On the same token, I'm gearing up for my first two nights away from you and will be embarking on a girl's weekend this Saturday. We have a spa day, shopping, dinner out, and tons of catching-up and fun on the agenda.  I know that you and your Dad will have a big time hanging out and playing while I catch up on some R&R.

You're *this* close to crawling and know that you'll be shooting past us faster than a lightning bolt any day. You can get up on those knees in no time and are great at moving backwards or in a complete circle, you just haven't figured out the forward motion yet. Although your Dad has demonstrated the act of crawling to you several times, there's no rush on our part because goodness knows we have a ton of childproofing yet to be done around the house. Your teachers reported today that you spent the better part of your tummy time doing push-ups, so maybe you'll decide crawling is overrated and you want to go straight to walking. Or weightlifting. Just please stay away from the spray tans. 

You're becoming more social by the day and were cited, twice, this month for causing a disturbance in the crib room during nap time. Apparently you thought it was party-central and attempted to rouse the other babies by sitting up in your crib and laughing at and/or talking to your friends. You're a big chatterbox and at times it truly sounds like you're having a "real" conversation with us. You even go as far as leaving dramatic pauses, talking in whispers, and often hit your point home with kicks or bounces of excitement.

You continue to ham it up when we're out to dinners or in public in general. It takes you a few minutes to warm up, but once you find a captive audience, you really put on a show. You seem to hone in on the older women and younger girls that find you especially adorable and will make eyes at them, laugh like you've just heard the best joke ever, or smile with general delight. You think you are hot stuff in a high chair when we're out to eat and cannot wait for the day that you can eat what we're eating.

It won't be longer until you're ordering off the children's menu as you finally sprouted your first tooth this month. That's right, you have one lone pearly white that's working its way up and another one should be along shortly. You've seemed to do well with teething and I hope it keeps up. The first night we could feel your tooth through your gums we cheered as a family and it was all I could do not to stick my finger in your mouth when I checked on you before I went to bed later that evening. I'm telling you, we're obsessed with everything Anna, even your teeny tiny teeth!

Your physical beauty continues to amaze me and it will come as no surprise to me when you break many a heart later in life. You have the most beautiful big, dark, soulful eyes I've ever seen and eyelashes that most adults would envy. Your hair is jet black and filling in nicely; it's finally long enough that a few strands hang over your ears these days, I think this means barrettes are in your future and I have a feeling you're ready to accessorize. You're still petite for your age, but are plumping up nicely, although you continue to be longer than you are wide you are still perfectly proportioned.  You're wearing 9 month clothing and as soon as we run out of size 2 diapers you'll be sporting size 3s.  It seems like every time I do laundry I'm adding to the "too small" bin and I'm still not used to your ever changing wardrobe. 

There's a song I've been listening to a lot in the car lately, "Heart of the World" (by Lady Antebellum) and a line in the song seems even more appropriate today as I write to you … it says, "you'll never not be my girl … love is the heart of the world." I can't tell you how true that rings for me, especially on this Valentine's Day. You will always be my girl and your love is the heart of MY world. I wish for you that you always know how loved you are, and by so many; and especially that you'll never not be my girl.

Love,

Mom