I feel like a broken record, but it’s true, time has passed so very quickly. Unbeknownst to us (seemingly), 40 weeks have passed. Allie has now been ex utero as long as she was in utero. She was 9 months old last Wednesday, April 22nd! So it makes her now, 9 months and 1 week old today. 40 weeks altogether. Woo! Her personality shines through strongly, and she most definitely is her own person with definite thoughts in her head about what she likes/dislikes, what she wants and when she wants it. It really is a balancing act to love her and give her everything, without becoming over-indulgent. Plus when she bats those eyelids of hers and smiles, how can we resist? 😉
[[image:allie236a.jpg:9-month-old Allie cons the ‘rents:center:0]]
Before Allie was born, I thought that she would be the most important thing to us, and that we would love her more than we ever could imagine. While all of that is true, what I didn’t realize is that there’s so much more to being Allie’s parents. She’s so much fun, and I know it’s weird that I should be surprised about this, but I like her, as well as love her. Anyway, this is the best adventure ever. Just come over (or Skype) and you’ll see how much fun she is. She is sitting, reaching, rolling around, and clapping her hands. We play peekaboo and tag. She has even been initiating “Simon Says” games, making us clap our hands, thump our chests or pound the table along with her, and she does her best to try to fake us out when we play. She can throw a ball (or any small projectile) forward using her left hand, but when using her right hand a lot of the time the missile goes backwards. She giggles to the Bingo song (B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name-o!) and is learning a lot of animal names and sounds through Old Macdonald (and his farm). The animals include the real, the mythical, the fictional, as well as non-animals and nonsensical metaphors (e.g., enigma, eyesore, tractor, etc.). We have also been singing this song trilingually (English, Malay, Spanish) and she doesn’t seem to mind as long as we keep singing. She seems to have developed a habit of making new people pick her up and carry her around when she first meets them (waitstaff at restaurants).
Her gastronomical experiments have become quite varied. At the 8 month mark, she had just tried Honeydew melon puree. She has been eating proteins now and to date the following are the new foods she has been introduced to and her rating of them:
1. Peach puree (thumbs up)
2. Yogurt (thumbs down – even when mixed with her favorite fruits)
3. Chicken and rice puree (thumbs up)
4. Broccoli (thumbs up)
5. Tofu (thumbs middle? She liked it when pureed with cauliflower or sweet potato)
6. Papaya (thumbs up)
7. Beef and potato puree (thumbs up)
8. Onion + chicken & rice puree (thumbs up)
All the foods were given to Allie on a 4-day trial basis, and so far no allergic reactions (knock wood!). Her appetite is growing and she has really been loving her fruit sorbet/slushy desserts. Her all-time favorite so far is plums (she cries for more after eating 2 ounces of it at the end of her meal!). Now that she is older, we are also starting to introduce different herbs and spices (beginning with onion), as so far all of the food she consumes is home made and contains no added sugar or salt. At any rate, it is all very exciting and I can’t believe she is now 3/4 of a year old!
So here come the pictures, that show how the girl spent her 9-month birthday (which sadly fell on a Wednesday so it was a work day). Mouse over the pictures for captions!
In the morning, Allie and Papa hung out together. Allie had a bit of an eye infection, which you can see on her right eye.
[[image:allie225a.jpg:Poor infected right eye:center:0]]
[[image:allie226a.jpg:Huh? What?:center:0]]
[[image:allie224a.jpg:Let me take a closer look with my monocle:center:0]]
[[image:allie251a.jpg:Shocking! Utterly shocking!:center:0]]
After Mama came down and started working, Allie played in her activity center.
[[image:allie227a.jpg:Standing strong:center:0]]
[[image:allie229a.jpg:Papa, don’t make me shy:center:0]]
[[image:allie230a.jpg:I’ll use my lightsabre:center:0]]
[[image:allie231a.jpg:Attacking the star on a stick:center:0]]
[[image:allie232a.jpg:Munching on a torus:center:0]]
[[image:allie233a.jpg:Geram (excessive attack? I can’t really translate “geram”) the remote:center:0]]
[[image:allie228a.jpg:Smiles for Papa:center:0]]
She had a lunch break (I believe it was chicken/rice, sweet potatoes, and mango?)
[[image:allie235a.jpg:Waiting patiently in her high chair:center:0]]
[[image:allie237a.jpg:Makan!!!:center:0]]
[[image:allie238a.jpg:Applauding the lunch as well as herself for eating it all:center:0]]
Then she stayed in the high chair and amused us:
[[image:allie239a.jpg:Irresistible eyes:center:0]]
[[image:allie240a.jpg:Propping a leg up, gangster-like:center:0]]
[[image:allie241a.jpg:Geram again!:center:0]]
She also had plenty of floor play-time:
[[image:allie234a.jpg:Busy playing:center:0]]
[[image:allie242a.jpg:Rolling around is fun!:center:0]]
[[image:allie243a.jpg:How do I turn Mama off?:center:0]]
[[image:allie248a.jpg:I challenge you, Mama, to a lightsabre duel! Come closer so I can smack you with a glove!:center:0]]
And then a spot of dinner:
[[image:allie244a.jpg:Nyam nyam nyam:center:0]]
[[image:allie245a.jpg:Plummy mouth:center:0]]
[[image:allie246a.jpg:Give me back the dirty washcloth!:center:0]]
And her eye did get better as the day progressed:
[[image:allie247a.jpg:More communing with the sea creatures:center:0]]
[[image:allie249a.jpg:Waiting for Jeopardy! commercial break to be over:center:0]]
After Jeopardy! it was time for bed. Another action-packed day! (We have noticed that Allie seems to be fascinated by Jeopardy! and always turns her head to watch Alex Trebek.) At her 9-month appointment, Allie was measured and weighed (average for both height and weight), and her teeth still have not quite broken through her gums. She howled when the doctor did not hold her longer, and also got eyedrops for the infected bottom of the right eye (all cleared up now, pretty much). It’s been another fun month, and we look forward to the future where Allie will no doubt develop more quirks and whatnot.
Happy 9-month birthday, baby! And to close this entry, a picture I love that was taken a few days before the actual 9-month birthday
[[image:allie250a.jpg:Outdoors and pensive:center:0]]
P.S. – If anyone can suggest an animal that starts with “F” in Malay, that would be awesome. I seem to have come up empty…
