Zoe's on the Move and Talking at 9 Months

Nine months is such a fun age. Zoe is talking and moving, her schedule is fairly predictable, she's eating more solid foods, and definitely knows her family.  Being more aware of her surroundings means she's got a little separation anxiety, but she loves her teachers at school, so the fussing is very short. We are finally getting more laughs and smiles on camera and while Skyping with family.

Smiley Zoe

So much hair on this blue-eyed, fair-skinned beauty

The major development this month relates to movement. Last month she would move from place to place on the floor, but it was not coordinated or directed in any way. Now she can get anywhere she wants to go very quickly. She uses one knee and one foot to "crawl," even after we've tried helping her use both knees. Sometimes, like on the concrete at the pool, she tries crawl-walking.

Zoe Walk-Crawling:

Zoe can pull herself up on anything, and she does often. She's not really cruising yet, just going from sitting to standing and back to sitting. I caught her debating the stairs one morning.

Thinking about Climbing Stairs:

The other big milestone is that she is starting to "talk" to us. So far, she seems to like to say "ah-da" to everything. We aren't sure what she's referring to - daddy, all done, etc, but it is so cute. She also loves making raspberries.

Crawling and Talking:

Zoe blowing raspberries:

As you can see in the first video, she can drink water from a straw. She's also fairly successful using a sippy or regular cup. We've started offering her more of the foods that we eat, though the girl still does not have any teeth! I'm starting to get a little worried because I don't see any emerging. It seems like she has experienced teething on and off for months, but it has not resulted in any teeth coming out. Because she doesn't have teeth (and our slight fear of food allergies) we've been slow to try lots of different foods and textures. She loves bananas, beef, chicken, oatmeal, and drinking water. Every now and then she will surprise us by eating something that we enjoy (like quinoa with sausage). We tried giving her some kefir milk as her first introduction to dairy and she was not a fan of the taste. Thankfully, she did not appear to have any reaction to the milk. There have been a few instances where her face has broken out in hives when she has eaten food, but it has been difficult to pinpoint the cause. One time, it happened at school when she ate hummus, but she had eaten hummus before that time and since that time without problems. Another time it happened with meatballs, which she has also eaten without problems. A third time was when we ate lunch out at the museum. That is more understandable since I don't know what might have been added to the food (oatmeal). My best guess is that she was reacting to something that may have contaminated her food, or utensil. Dairy seems okay, we still have to test eggs, nuts, and seafood. I'm not sure the best day to introduce these foods because I want to be able to call on a doctor if she does react.

On the topic of allergies, Zoe's skin has cleared up significantly. I'm so glad that stress is behind us and that we do not need to continue any topical medications! While she may break out in a small rash on her chin or cheek here and there (mainly when eating and touching her face with slobbery fingers), it occurs rarely now. Her skin loves the hot and humid weather, and even the chlorine in the pool does not bother her.

Sporting some slightly pink cheeks after eating at the museum

Pink chin and cheeks after eating at the park

If you didn't notice before now, we also got Zoe's ears pierced this month. The dermatologist we used for Rose will only pierce ears until a child reaches a year and then won't do it until they are 6. In our experience with Rose, we knew it was best to do it young, when I could nurse after getting it done and when it still just feels like a shot. Similar to our previous experience, Zoe gave an initial cry when the gun pierced the ear, but she was fine within a minute or two of completing both ears (even before I nursed her). Her ears continue to heal up nicely and all the teachers complement her on her new bling.

Zoe's eyes remain blue and unlike her sister, I do not see any hints of other colors. My expectation is that she will be our blue-eyed girl. As you can see in the pictures and videos, her hair is really coming in and is a light brown or even dirty blonde color. She's starting to outgrow a lot of her 9 month clothing. At her 9 month doctors appointment, she was a little over 18lbs and just shy of 27". She's at the 18th percentile for height and 32nd percentile for weight, which is starting to follow a pattern similar to Rose. Her noggin remains large at the 84th percentile.

My beautiful blue-eyed, dirty blonde girl

Over the past couple of months, we've also started seeing more of Zoe's personality. She is generally content, unless she's tired, hungry, or soiled with poop. Over the past month we've started seeing so many more smiles from our little girl. She loves watching Rose, singing songs, being tickled, standing up, and walking. She still doesn't completely trust Rose, with good reason since her sister loves squeezing her to death. At times their laughs echo, but more often Zoe is crying to be freed from Rose's arms. 

I'm so grateful that Zoe is such a good sleeper. She sleeps all night (8:30-6:30 or so), and prefers 3 naps per day (a short 1 hour or less morning nap, a longer 2 hour nap mid-day, and a short 1 hour or less pre-dinner nap). It has been so helpful to have both girls sleep on the same schedule at night. Sometimes we are fortunate to have both girls take their mid-day nap at the same time, but often Rose delays her nap at home so Zoe gets up when Rose finally goes down for her nap. It works out okay so we can spend some one-on-one time with Zoe. In addition to sleeping good stretches, she can also sleep anywhere. Within minutes of driving in the car, she is often asleep, and she has proven herself capable of sleeping in hotel rooms in the midst of noise and lights.

Our smiley girl on daddy's shoulders

We continue to cloth diaper another month, only using 1 disposable each night. And, I am so glad I can report another month where Zoe has received only breast milk. I stressed about having to travel to DC for a work conference, leaving the girls behind with daddy. Thankfully, I was able to pump at the conference, and transport breast milk back on the plane. Zoe continues to take about 1-2 extra bottles of milk than I pump, so I'm down to about 2-3 weeks of stored milk for her. I've started on fenugreek supplements, mother's milk tea, and power pumping to see if I can at least match her intake through the summer. Hopefully something works!

Rose at 21-22 Months

My little Rose is getting so big so fast. I think she's grown a lot in the past few months. I don't know if that has increased her size on the growth chart, but her 24 month clothing is getting too small and she is fitting better in the 2T clothes. Pants are still a big long, but her body is definitely looking more toddler-like than baby-like.

Rose at 21 Months

Beautiful smiles

Rose at 21 Months and Zoe at 2 Months

Though Rose does have her tantrums and we really struggle with getting in the car seat and putting on a diaper and pants at times, I love this age. She repeats everything you say. Her development is wonderful to see. She now strings sentences together to tell you what she wants, she knows pretty much all the words to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," she can count to 10 (but often omits 2, 5 and sometimes 9), she can sing most of her ABC's, she knows many of the words to other favorite songs like "Ba Ba Black Sheep," "Skinny Marinky Dinky Dink," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," and a few others.

Rose counting at 21.5 Months

Over the past month, I've also noticed her ability to play independently. It's been really helpful when I have things to do or need to attend to Zoe. As long as I'm in the room, or close by, she can often play by herself for up to 30 minutes. She loves taking care of her babies, putting them to bed or taking them for a walk around the house with her stroller. She also loves sitting with a pile of books around her, looking through and reading some. When we go to museums or play areas, she gravitates to the trucks and cars more than the dolls, but at home she loves her babies and books. She also loves to chase, or be chased, around the house. Playing tag is one of our favorite activities before bed. We have also gotten into the routine of reading "Goodnight Moon" each night before bed. We often read a second or third book. The other staples are "The Giving Tree," "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", and "Sam I Am" (Rose's title for Green Eggs and Ham). 

In addition to books, Rose also loves electronics. We skype often with family and Rose knows which button to press to get to the Skype app. If she finds one of our phones unattended, she brings it to us. We've given her one of our old smartphones connected to wi-fi to play with. It's her device to watch her "Aula de Portugues" (or "Portuguese Class"), which are kid's music videos in Portuguese. She loves "Avo Cantigas" and his songs, but frequently needs "help" getting the app back when she presses a button on the phone.

Rose loves electronics - here at the library

Rose will be out of school for half of November and all of December due to travel and family visiting. She has not forgotten any of her friends as she often asks me to sing "rock-a-bock-tick-tock" (or Rock a Bye Baby) replacing "baby" with the different kids at school. Rock-a-Bye-Baby is now our nighttime song after reading. Since she's been out of school, we've tried getting her some socialization by going to several museums and the park as much as we can. Unfortunately, she's still more strongly connected to her family than to other kids.

Enjoying one of our many fall farm visits

We continue to have success with Rose eating. She loves meals, and beef entrees still tend to be her favorites (meatballs, shepherd's pie, etc), though she also loves soup and fish. She often asks for cheerios, crackers, cheese, or raisins, which we limit to occasional snacks or after she's had most of her meal. This week she's been asking for hummus and actually ate a fair amount of it for snack today. We also continue to only offer water or kefir milk. We have given her regular milk, but she doesn't really like it now that she is so used to the kefir.

Rose also feeds herself just about every meal. She's coordinated enough to use both the spoon and the fork (it appears she is right-handed) and only resorts to using her fingers if she is very hungry and doesn't have the patience to use a fork, or if her attempts at using the fork have been unsuccessful. We still have to cut up some food for her, and she's good at telling us if something is too big, or if a spoon-ful is "too much."  Most foods are fine, except for watery soups, which end up all over the table, floor, and Rose. Her top canine teeth have finally come in, so now we are waiting on the bottom canines and the two-year molars. When her teeth bother her, she is a very cranky child.

Sometimes feeding yourself is messy

We continue to cloth diaper Rose and haven't made any progress in potty-training for the past few months. The novelty and excitement of using the potty has worn off, but Rose does go every morning and when we remind her (pee only). She now lets us know she needs a diaper change when she's very wet or when she has pooped. She likes to help put her diaper in the washing bin, and to help dispose of her poop in the toilet. I hope that school will assist with potty training when she goes back in January, or when she moves up to the 2 year old class in February-March.

I love Miss Rose's personality. She's such a joyful child and makes my life more fun. She has her occasional meltdowns, which primarily take place when she's tired or when her teeth hurt. But overall she is a great child. She's a great helper most of the time and sure does love her music (to sing and to dance). When we go somewhere new or where there are older children, she is very shy until she warms up. If she is participating in a group activity, she is very good at waiting her turn and following directions. She is also very good at sharing and I have a difficult time seeing her surprised and somewhat hurt when others don't share in return. I've also noticed her act bored with programs that she goes to often (like storytime), but she is paying attention in her own distracted way. 

Rose dancing at 22 Months - the girl has some moves!

Thankfully, Rose has remained healthy through these late fall months. She was a bit snotty early in November when she was in school, but since she's been out, she seems to be cleared up. I worry about her going back to school during prime sick season and hope she doesn't bring anything back to us (mainly Zoe), but I'm sure it is inevitable.

Stay tuned for updates on our winter activities and a 3 month update on Zoe. I'm catching up!!