Happy 9 Months Isla!

Isla's 9 Month birthday is extra sentimental for me. Our lovely little girl has now been out of my tummy for 9 months...she seems like such a big girl now! Everyday takes her further from being the tiny newborn in my arms and closer to being the independent, spunky, bright and beautiful little girl that Andrew and I love getting to know. She is a blessing that just doesn't stop!

A perfect example of her budding independence...the 9 Month photos I tried to take today.

Isla has been looking very serious in her photos lately, but in reality she is as smiley as ever. She just waits to smile until she is launching herself towards me, and off the chair (well not actually, but almost!).

We are working on baby signs now. The primary signs I'm teaching are "more" and "all done." I was really trying to avoid "more," since it is a huge pet peeve of mine in the clinical setting (it gets completely overgeneralized and inhibits further vocabulary expansion). That being said, it is also a simple motor response and we have lots of response opportunities during the day. Isla can't do the signs independently, but she is very attentive to me when I'm signing looking and brings her arms together with some prompting. (Tonight when we were practicing during dinner she didn't do the sign, but she did start making an "Mmmm" sound before every bite, even when I didn't say "More"!)

We had our 9 month appointment today (Tuesday) and Isla is in perfect shape. We were worried that she may be getting a little chunky, but our Pedi reassured us that she is just fine. Despite getting two shots, Isla charmed everyone in the office, including the medical student who had a hard time being serious while examining Isla because she was being so wiggly, grabby and humorous.

Here are the stats:

- Weight: 18 lb, 14 oz (50th percentile)

- Height: 27.5 inches (50th percentile)
- Head: 42 cm (5-10th percentile - it has always been little, so this is not a concern)

In the words of her Dr., "She's absolutely perfect."

We couldn't agree more.