Cora 9 months

9 months!

My friend Joia took some pictures for us - Cora was a pro!

We spent half of Cora's 9th month in Colorado. And I feel like she changed so much while we were gone! Cora continues to be playful and silly and such a delight - this is such a fun age!  Here's her update:

Just the facts: Cora is wearing size 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. Just like I predicted, she got 4 new teeth this month, for a total of 6. She still takes at least three naps a day. And we're still having issues with her skin/scratching - boo. Cora naps like a champ in the car (even when we don't want her to!), and she loves people!

Our house only has one step, which Cora can navigate pretty well. My sister's house, however, has lots of stairs. While were visiting Katie in Denver, I left Cora in the family room to go do something, and when I returned she was stuck on the first step of the staircase! I'm not sure how she got herself up there, but she was patiently waiting to be rescued, her little feet kicking the air.

Crawling: ....Not quite there, but close. She still scoots around, mostly on her belly. She is quite fast and usually moves with a purpose. She does crawl occasionally, especially over short distances, but usually flops down onto her belly for longer stretches. She has figured out how to get herself into a sitting position. We thought this was pretty neat - until it started interfering with naps :( When I put her in her crib now, she immediately sits up. But it's hard to fall asleep sitting up, so eventually she tries to lay down by just leaning forward, laying her head between her legs.

She falls asleep in some awkward positions, and as you can imagine, she doesn't sleep too long like this. I suppose she'll figure it out eventually. Cora has also started pulling up on furniture. I can't wait until she tries that in her crib :/

Food: Cora is still not a fan of most baby food...but we did find something she does like: MEAT. She shovels it in by the handful. Turkey, ham, chicken, ground beef, bacon, pork, fish, steak - she loves it all! 

Seriously the most un-flattering picture ever! But hilarious.

These days, I mostly offer her little bits of whatever we are eating. Makes meal prep a little easier.  Another thing Cora cannot get enough of: food she finds on the floor. I think it might be more effective to hide food on the floor, rather than putting it on her tray.

Personality: 

- Diaper changes are becoming a bit more aerobic. When I lay her down to change her, she instantly flips onto her tummy and starts to crawl away. But she always stops to look back at me and grin, before she takes off again, giggling at her own cleverness. She hates to lay down and be changed; I often have to pin her down. I can hear my parents laughing all the way from Iowa because I've heard similar stories of my own orneriness at this age.

- Cora's favorite things to play with are shoes and clothes. We've had a few cooler days recently, and I've tried in vain to put socks on Cora. She loves to pull them off and crawl around with one in each hand. If I try to sort laundry while the kids are awake, this happens:

- Cora thinks it's hilarious to carry things around in her mouth: toys, socks, spoons, etc. If she spots a toy she wants, but already has a toy in each hand, she will often bend over and try to pick it up with her mouth rather than set down one of the toys she already has.
- Cora's favorite babbles are "ba-ba-ba," "mmma-mmma-mmma" (my favorite!), and "tuh-tuh". But she also loves to buzz her lips and play with her tongue. And she still shrieks and squeals. As has been the case since birth, she is all about NOISE!