9 Month Beauty

I'm a little late on this one but my baby, my sweet little girl, is now nine months.  So here's the scoop on this girlie:

-She now has 6 teeth! The front two came in a while ago then the top two decided to make an appearance.  Except the left front came in first, then that was it.  The other one seemed a little shy so she looked like the most adorable pumpkin ever.
Then about two weeks later the right front and the two lateral incisors decided to come in all at once!  She is so cute it is ridiculous.  Her smiled completely changed with those teeth though but it was worth it.  The cuteness is extreme.

-She loves to growl.  And this is how she loves to communicate.  Not necessarily anything in particular but just for fun.  She can even get complete strangers, grown ups!, to growl back at her.  She's such a charmer.
She's also a screamer.  She loves to scream for fun.  I think she likes to hear her own voice so it makes it even more fun.  And it's ear piercing.

-She's so incredibly close to crawling.  She can get to her belly from sitting and back up again.  She can also get up on her hands and knees and she's figured out how to scootch by using all of that together.

-I had to put her in 9-12 month clothing just a wee bit early because that's the only size I had with cooler weather clothing but it fits her.  She's a little bit of a chubbs but healthy!

-She's still nursing like a champ!  So much in fact that she isn't always terribly interested in the baby food we're offering her.  She'll chomp on puffs here and there but when we go to feed her baby food she only wants a handful of small bites.  We need to work on this.

-I love her little toes.  They are such a combo between mine and Bryan's and the only time I see them stay still is when she's asleep.  Otherwise they are always on the move.

-She's more and more fun every day.  I love this girl.  And she's feisty.  I didn't realize just how feisty she is until I compared her to how A was at her age.  A was not feisty at all.  She was calm, easy going, slept whenever/wherever.  Not V.  She has an opinion and she's gonna let you know.  But I love and appreciate it all.

My feisty teeny tiny.

To My Girl on her Fourth Birthday

My sweet, sweet girl,

Today you are four.  And my how time does fly.  It feels like it was only a few months ago that I gave birth to you, last week you were learning to walk, and yesterday you were two.  But here you are-  a big girl.

You started preschool this fall.  You love it.  You love your teacher, your friends, Shelly the Turtle.  You ask to go to school on the off days.  Sometimes you even ask to go a few hours after I've just picked you up from there!  But I'm so happy you love it and that you're learning so much.

You are as sweet as pie and as sassy as molassess.  I have no idea what that means other than that I think you're great.  Just as you are.  

I think you are beautiful.  Not only on the outside, which, I swear, becomes more beautiful everyday, but also on the inside.  You're sweet and kind, gracious, funny, happy, joyful, loving.  Everything I could want in a kiddo.  Of course you act your age too.  Sometimes more than I'd like, but I know the good outweighs the naughty.  

You love to sing.  Since you go with Daddy to worship practice, you get to learn all the songs and then you come home and sing them for me.  I'll catch you in front of the mirror singing, or in the car when you think I'm not paying any attention.  You're joyful heart makes my own swell with joy.  

You're a girly girl through and through.  You love jewelry and dresses, nail polish and "tap" shoes, make-up (which I don't let you put anything on other than chapstick and the lightest pink eyeshadow possible) and nail polish.  

You love anything Disney Princess.  And you even act out the movies as you watch them.  Speaking of,  you're a little bit of a couch potato (which is partly my fault) but you love movies.  I've even gotten you to watch (and enjoy!) The Princess Bride, although there is a couple parts we have to avoid for now.  

And lastly, today you got your ears pierced.  You have been asking Daddy and Me for a little over a week.  We said we had to talk about it but that was mostly to see if you'd forget about it.  You didn't.  We had always said that whenever you wanted to get it done that it would be your choice.  Well here it was and you were not letting up.  

Every day you would ask. We finally said "yes" but had to let you know that it would hurt, even if only for a moment.  You were on the fence after that but quickly went back to wanting it done one your BFF Chloe wanted to get hers done with you.  It was final.  

So us mommas took you two girls out to get it done.  You went first and picked Hello Kitty earrings.  I didn't want to remind you that it would hurt because I was afraid you would chicken out.  You sat there so calmly, not knowing what was coming.  I felt so bad because I did.  But you did it.  You only cried for a few moments.  I held you and we hugged until the pain subsided.  Then you loved your newly pierced ears.  

My sweet girl.  You're getting so big.  And I'm loving every moment of every day.  No matter how you're acting that day, if you're being good or naughty, helpful or crazy (said: cArAzy!).  And even though it's going oh so very fast.  I love you.  Even more than the day you were born, if that's even possible.

Keep growing.  Keep learning.  Keep becoming who God has made you to be.  Keep being your amazing self.

I love you so, so much.

Momma.

17/30 Things: I wish I was great

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}


17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

The first thing that came to my mind was to be a great mom.  Sure, I still hope and pray that I am/will be a great mom as I go along.  I hope that one day my kids will look at me like I look at my own mom and find themselves blessed to have me as their momma.  I hope and pray.  But I think the thing that I want to be the greatest at is to be an excellent example of God's love and grace.
I want to love like he loves, forgive like he forgives, give grace, show compassion, give like he does.  When people see my, I want them to see past me and to see Christ.  I want them to know Christ through me in the way I live.  
A couple of things I need to really work on so that I am more Christ-like is in the area of grace and forgiveness.  Sometimes it's easier than others, like when others ask for forgiveness but it's when they don't, that's where I have the trouble.  To give forgiveness when they don't ask, when they continue on as they are, doing what they're doing, acting as they shouldn't. Continuing on with life as though they haven't hurt me when they clearly did and I'm still hurting and holding onto it even though they've clearly moved on!  
sigh
That's when I need to forgive just as Christ has forgiven me. Forgive the unforgivable.  Love the unlovable.  Be kind to those who are unkind.  
I feel that when I can do these things, be like Christ, show Christ through my life and actions, then I will be a great mom.  But being more like Christ must come first.