Presley is 9 months old! She is growing up so fast!
She had her 9 month checkup and she passed with flying colors! She weighs 17lbs 1.5oz (25%) and she is 27 inches long (50%). Dr. Nale said her weight percentile is lower because she is so active. Active is an understatement, but I will get to that in a minute.
Presley is still full of smiles. Everytime I pull out the camera, she gives me a big smile!
The longer we waited for Dr. Nale, the more she "played" with the paper on the table. She loved it! I don't think I have mentioned this before, but she always has sweaty/sticky hands and feet. They kept sticking to the paper. She laughed so hard when I would pound on the paper with my hands. The paper serves dual purposes, of protecting the table, but also entertaining the child.
Dr. Nale finally came in. As soon as he walked in, she gave him her little scrunch face. It was too funny and he got the biggest kick out of it. She was so good while he checked everything.
He was very impressed with where she was in her motor skills. He said she may be walking before the age of 1. Kiley is still not walking, so I have no idea what that will be like! I asked about her feet turning in when she stands and he said that she has normal flexibility in her feet and ankles and they should straighten out as she starts walking.
I had a couple more questions. She got the all clear to eat anything and everything...except honey of course. She got two shots and her toe pricked to test her iron. Her iron was right on the edge, so he recommended we give her vitamins with extra iron. This is pretty normal with babies that are still nursing. She had her first dose today and made a funny face. I even gave her the kind that is supposed to taste better.
As for her development and changes over the past month, they have been pretty significant. In just a month, she went from learning to crawl, to all over the place. She is almost as fast as her sister. She is also pulling to a stand. She hasn't started cruising yet, but she is getting brave and letting go and learning to balance on her own. She has also mastered her transitions from sitting to standing and vice versa. She has taken quite a few falls over the last few weeks, but she has learned from them. She crawls up to us and stands up for us to pick her up. It is the sweetest thing!
Now that Presley is completely mobile, she is into EVERYTHING. I thought our house was child proofed and she has managed to discover everything Kiley hadn't already. The two of them are almost always into something they shouldn't be. Not only is Presley into EVERYTHING, but she also eats EVERYTHING. When I say this, I am not referring to food. She finds anything and everything she can and it goes straight to her mouth. In the last few weeks, I have taken a tag from her seatbelt in her wagon, part of a board book, a variety of specs from the floors, plastic wrapper from who knows what, and an unknown black substance that we still haven't figured out, all from her mouth. I am learning very quickly, that the floor has to be spotless at all times. She is even mobile while nursing. Most of the time, she is actually standing and eating at the same time.
I really thought that Presley was going to be my sweet, perfect little angel and we are learning more and more every day, that she has quite a bit of Daddie in her. I joke that she is growing horns. If you look closely at her hair, it is growing straight out and up on the top corners of her head.
She is learning and developing a little bit of an attitude. If something does not go her way, she is very vocal about it. She knows that crying gets her somewhere and she uses it to her advantage. She doesn't just wimper, she comes with a full force cry for the smallest of reasons. Mommy is learning not to react until I know it is a real cry...like when Sister bites her or pulls her har =(. For the most part, her cries come when something is taken away from her that she wants, or if I set her down and walk out of the room, or just when she is tired and ready for bed. She is a bit dramatic at times =).
As for eating, she still has a very healthy appetite. She is nursing 4 times per day and eating 3 meals per day. She pretty much eats anything and everything we put in front of her. I have given her tortillas, cheese, mac n cheese, peas, peaches, nectarines, carrots, apples, blueberries, cheerios, and plenty more. Besides her oatmeal, she is feeding herself all of the rest of her foods. I steam and cut up anything I can. I have found one thing she doesn't like very much...watermelon. I never would have guessed. This week, she ate her first big girl meal...king ranch chicken. She loved it! She has also mastered drinking water out of a cup. She loves drinking from my straw too! One of her favorite snacks are still the gerber puffs.
I was so surprised to hear that she is in the 50th% in height. I feel like she is so short and stout, but apparently pretty average. She can still fit into most of her 3-6 months clothes. I need to get out the next size up, but she is wearing most of Kiley's hand-me-downs and most of the summer clothes are 3-6 months. She is in size 3 diapers. She seems to be growing up so fast. Sometimes when I get her out of bed in the morning she seems bigger than the day before. Speaking of bed, she is such a good sleeper. She is sleeping 12-13 hours each night and is taking two naps during the day. Now that she is so active, she seems to be tiring herself out more and sleeping a little longer. She also have a "lovey". It is a little bunny rabit attached to a blanket. She cuddles with it and sucks her thumb to go to sleep. It is so sweet!
As she gets older, she is getting more vocal. She is definitely getting louder and having more of a variety of sounds. She gets especially loud at mealtime. If she is in her booster chair without food in front of her, she lets us know it. She yells and grunts and squeals. Her squeals are so loud, they make us jump. Nine months in and she is still our squeaker!
We absolutely love this little girl so much. Her personality and smile are absolutely adorable. I can't get enough of her scrunched up face and her huffing and puffing when she gets excited. She still smiles from the second she wakes up until she goes to bed at night. Her two bottom teeth are getting bigger by the day and they are so adorable! Kiley looks so much like Mikey and Presley is looking more like me. I am starting to notice that they shape of her eyes are just like mine. They are so much prettier on her. She also has my lips, but I am still hoping for Mikey's nose. We think she has my ears, but she has to have Mikey's big head (75th%) =). Kiley loves her sister more everyday. Kiley has started giving kisses, which Daddie taught her. When I tell her to give Presley a kiss, she crawls over to her and kisses her. It is so adorable. Depending on their moods, the girls play together pretty well. When they are rested and playful, they crawl around and play together so well. If Kiley gets tired, she is a little rough with Presley. We are working on that. But for the most part, the laugh and play together and we are loving every minute of it!
I can't believe Presley will be 1 in 3 months. It has gone so fast. I can't wait to see what she does in the next month!
