Kaitlyn is now 9 months and 5 days old! She is growing more and more fun with each passing day. The last week or 2 have been very big ones in her communication skills. She is really starting to understand us--which is wonderful to see! My favorite thing she does now is give kisses. If you tell her "Kaitlyn give Mommy kisses and love" she wraps her arms around your neck and blows a big raspberry on your cheek. It is so so precious to see! I am so happy to have such a sweet and loving little girl!
Her mischevious side is coming out a bit now too-she knows when she shouldn't be doing something like pulling out tissues from a box or putting a book in her mouth. She just looks at you with a little devilish grin and laughs! It is adorable!
This month she has learned to say "quack quack" for her favorite little toy duck who quacks when you push his stomach. It is wonderful to see her anticipation when I have him in my hands and before I've pushed on his stomach to start the quacking.
Physically she is getting more active also. She can do a 360 on her stomach and also push herself backwards when she is up on her arms. She still doesn't quite get the idea of being on her knees, but she can push herself backwards so she is moving--just not very far yet! Last month her only form of movement was inching backwards while on her back. Up until recently she has really detested being placed on her stomach, but now she will play for awhile before rolling over to her back. She still doesn't love being on her stomach, but I can see that she is learning that she can go places in that position so she is taking more interest.
One big surprise I had the other morning was that when I woke up Kaitlyn was sitting up in her crib. I didn't know if she rolled to her stomach and then got into a sitting position, but when I layed her back down she did it again.....and so I saw how she did it! This little mighty girl went from a flat lying position to sitting by doing a crunching situp! Amazing! She has some very strong baby abdominal muscles!
This month Kaitlyn started to eat cereal and pasta and really loves it! I usually mix a bit of rice cereal with juice and she eats it willingly. She also adores yogurt, most fruits, carrots and green beans. She has been eating pieces lastely too--when we cook carrots or other veggies I break them into small pieces and she eats them. She adores eating bananas in their whole form and is very careful not to take too big of a bite. She LOVES cheerios the most! Unfortunately the 1 box of cheerios we do have is coming to an end. Grandma brought us a box in October since we cannot get them here.
Kaitlyn also loves MUSIC! She will dance and move around whenever the sterio is turned on! She is just like Erik in this respect. He just can't get enough and I always catch him with a drumstick or an empty papertowel roll in his hand for a microphone. Krista is more into the dance aspect...and has an excellent ear for music but is more inclined to dance than sing. I think Kaitlyn will also follow in her footsteps as I see her so taken in when the music goes on!
So that is a brief update on our little 9 month old girl! She has really become more of a "person" vs baby this month! It is exciting to watch her grow and develop and become part of the family.
The kids had their Carnival party at school last week and had a BLAST!! On Carnival (or Mardi-Gras), they dress up with costumes and always have a party at school in the afternoon, complete with music, dancing and plenty of food. A Carnival staple is the "beignet"--which is a french donut. Not exactly our idea of a donut in shape or form...just bascially fried sweet bread. The kids then have a parade through the village and throw confetti EVERYWHERE. For days after Carnival you will find ribbons, confetti and other colorful items strewn all over the roads and sidewalks. The kids have a lot of fun, but the city sure has a lot of clean-up to do after the Mardi-Gras fun!
