Love Letter, Month 9

It's crazy for me to think that Kameryn has now been in the world with us longer than I was pregnant with her. While I was pregnant the time seemed to drag on and on. Since Kameryn was born time seems to fly by, and there's never quite enough time. In the beginning there was never enough time for sleep, and then not enough maternity leave, and now it seems like there isn't enough time between getting home from work and when Kameryn goes to bed. I love playing with her and I love following her lead of keeping things simple and delighting in finding new things to look at and explore.

Kameryn had her 9 month check up yesterday, and she's at a healthy 19 lbs 6 oz and 29 inches long! The doctor looked her over and said that she looks perfect, which I agreed with completely. He asked if she's doing things like waving and playing patty-cake, and when he turned back to the computer to write in the chart she waved at him, and stopped abruptly when he looked at her again. She did it several times, and he never got to see.

The big news for the last month is that Kameryn is pulling herself up to a standing position, she's doing it in her crib and in her Pack n' Play. I think the best part is how proud she gets of herself after she does it.

We're trying to be better at feeding her consistantly. One thing that has me a little surprised is what a picky eater she seems to be! Jay and I will happilly eat about anything put in front of us, but it's taking a little bit longer with Kameryn since we're giving her such crazy foods as peas and green beans and applesauce. The doctor told us yestreday that we can actually start feeding Kameryn eggs and meats at this point, and "most all table food, except dairy." I don't think we're to that point yet. We'll try and master the Hawaiian Delight, and then we'll move onto hamburger.

I knew that the doctor was going to tell us that it's time to start weaning Kameryn from a bottle to a sippy cup, so I gave Kameryn one filled with juice to see how she did with it. She absolutely loved it. She loved the handles and loved sucking on the little spout, but everytime she got any of the juice out of it she looked at it like it had wronged her and immeadiatly spit all the juice onto her bib. Then, with that issue out of the way, she would start playing with it again.

I've been impressed with how tough Kameryn is. She'll bump her head or fall back onto her knees when she's trying to stand up, but she doesn't seem to let it bother or deter her. I even brought home the second dose of her flu shot and gave it to her myself, and she didn't make a peep. She's so strong and healthy, and that's something that I'm so grateful for.

This is Kameryn waving to herself in the mirror. She loves watching herself and she will stare if she sees another baby anywhere we go. She really loves Cousin Isaac. When Danae was over here the other day we were having her kiss him, and she would laugh when she got close to his head. She loves to kiss him and squeals when she gets to touch him. I'm excited for them to grow up together because I think they'll be best friends.

And, as strongly as ever, I love to watch Kameryn with her Dad. She loves him so much. We've seen her on the ground crawling around, and when she sees her dad she'll crawl to him as quickly as she can and climb up his legs until he'll hold her. Sometimes when she's just with me in the mornings she'll be fidgety and restless, and then once her dad comes home and holds her, she'll fall right to sleep, like that was exactly what she was waiting for. Don't tell anyone, but he's a total sucker for her, too.

I know the ends of these letters might get redundant because I always end with telling Kameryn how much I love her and how proud I am of her. The problem is, I simply can't help it. As she gets older I just love her more and more, which doesn't seem possible because I didn't know it was possible to love someone so completely and then have that love constantly growing.

It's been a year and a half since I found out I was pregnant and my life changed forever. Kameryn, I want you to know that I know every day how lucky I am to have you in my life. Already, at 9 months old, you're one of my very favorite people, and I'm inspired by you and everything that you've already taught me. I love you so much.

Love,

Your Mom