Clara at 9 months

Dear Clara,

Today you are 9 months old.  We woke up early and came down to have breakfast in the quiet morning - cereal and fruit for you, coffee for me.  

This month, you embraced your new mobility.  You crawl all over the house now, opening cabinets as you go.  We've moved most of the plants up off the floor.  You seem to prefer the things that we pay attention to - so Playstation controllers, laptops, glasses of water, all these things get no rest anymore.  You grab hold of the couch and pull yourself to a standing position, then dance and sing. 

Food is becoming increasingly fun.  This month, you refined your pincer grasp and that has opened up a whole new world of fun foodie things.  You've also developed a taste for foods that are full of flavor.  You are getting pretty good at feeding yourself, and many times prefer that to being fed.

This month, we rearranged your room so that it was more on your level.  Your grandfather says it looks like an ashram, which I suppose is true with all the Indian hangings that we got from friends.  You like sleeping on your bed on the floor much more than you ever liked the crib.  We lie down together and snuggle or read books and sing songs and then you drift off to sleep.  This month, Sascha and I are going to move you into your own room for the whole night.  I am expecting that you will be a bit resistant to this new routine but am hopeful that you will get used to it quickly.  You seem to like the new room, anyway.

You are mesmerized by Sascha's guitar and enjoy music in general.  You really like this song:

You seem to prefer music with bass and drums, and music that you can dance to with Sascha. Your favorite books are "Are You My Mother?" and "Caps for Sale".  I try to read you longer books but you lose interest after a few pages.

This month was really the first month that you have seemed more like a toddler than a baby.  You demonstrate preferences for things and sometimes have attitude.  You know your own name and are developing a sense of humor.  You initiate games with us - Sascha has been teaching you how to high-five and you love playing peek-a-boo.  You clap your hands when something pleases you and frown when you're concentrating really hard.  You light up when one of us walks into a room and sometimes you just look at me and laugh uproariously and I can't tell why.

Love,

yr mom