9 months and so busy :)

Dear Jenbug,
You have been outside of my body for as long as you were inside of it! While I will always be amazed at how much of you was pieced together within, you have grown and learned so much in the time you've been out here with us, too!
You sometimes say "papa" for daddy, though once when he was gone you said "dada!" You say "baby" when you see pictures of babies, or your babydoll, or your reflection. You say "bye bye" when we tell it to you first, and you put all kinds of other sounds together when you have something to say. If only we could understand you now!

You can crawl everywhere and stand up when you get where you want to be (while holding on still.) You can dance a little and "sing" and love to play music with drums, shakers, rattles, and bells.
You like to "read" your books, and are very careful while turning the pages back and forth. You enjoy petting the dog and getting doggie kisses (or hitting her in the nose...or using her as a pull-up spot...)
You have recently been playing your own version of chase, or hide and seek...which involves you crawling out of the family room and waiting on someone to come after you, when we find you, you grin and begin crawling quickly away! You just got a swing in the backyard, and love to be pushed fast and high.
You are very snuggly just after a bath when you're wrapped up in your towel, and also when we are out around people you haven't warmed up to yet. I love how you shyly tilt your head in toward me, letting others know you want to stay with your mommy.
While you still haven't cut any teeth, you are a very good eater most of the time. You still eat lots of purred foods, but also love Cheerios, Kix, pieces of banana, black eyed peas and other legumes, chunks of sweet potato, pieces of crackers or bread, and really got into eating pieces of the apple cinnamon pancakes we had a few weeks ago! You're very good at holding your cup, but still trick us into holding it for you sometimes.
Your 9 month pediatrician appointment is going to be a few weeks late, so we don't know your growth chart marks yet. We do know that you are smaller than "average." You started wearing size 3 diapers about 2 weeks ago, and while we are starting to pack some of your small clothes away, most of your clothes are 3-6 month sizes. You have some 6-9 month sizes in rotation, mainly because the season change required them! You still have a pair of 0-3 month pants in your regular rotation! I think you weigh between 15 and 16 lbs...we'll find out on Valentines Day at Dr. Davids office (your first trip to see him as your pediatrician!)
Your father and I often find ourselves gazing at you while you sleep in your bed, bragging about what a sweet little baby we have. I look at pictures of you from when you were first born and can't believe how tiny you were compared to now. I know you're growing up, and even in these images of you, you will appear tiny by comparison as you grow into a young lady.