9 months old!

These are getting harder and harder to write. I plan on only doing a monthly write up of all the new things Lauren is doing until she is a year old, since so much happens in the first year, so only 3 more to go! My baby will soon be a toddler and I am just not ready.

She, however, seems to be running towards it full force. In one week she learned so much, and she hasn't slowed down at all. She is crawling on her hands and knees all the time and uses anything and everything to stand up. Her vocabulary, which is so strange to type, increases every day. Her newest, and most favorite is not "mama," it's "bubba," which Brenden took a little while to warm up to. Finally we convinced him that she was trying to say Brenden, but that it would take awhile for it to actually sound right. I think that since he has trouble saying certain things he can relate.

I'm so thankful that we know what she is allergic to so that she can try new things without having to worry about her breaking out or something worse. Just the other day she was able to enjoy pancakes with Brenden and she's even been given a few french fries to munch on. She still only has the two bottom teeth, which work just fine, but her two top teeth are really close to popping through. In no time she'll be feeding herself more than just puffs and little pieces of food, and my life will get even more messy.

Pancakes!

Today we had to take her to the doctor because she just was not doing well with her cold. It turns out she has yet another ear infection in her right ear, but the doctor agreed with me that she should grow out of them without any problems. We did find out that she weighs right around 20 lbs, so she hasn't grown weight-wise in a few months but she's definitely taller, we just don't know by how much. She's good and healthy, minus the not-so-happy ear, and that's all that really matters.

Here she is, showing off how she learned to use her walker. It's only the second time she's ever used it and I think this is what will probably lead to her walking. ("Well, duh," you're saying. I just didn't think it would help. I thought it would allow her to get from one point to another, not actually teach her to walk. My bad!)

Lauren, we are so lucky to have you in our family. Your silly coughing laugh and the serious way you watch and learn is just amazing. But really, slow down a bit. You're going to give your mommy a heart attack!

9 months old!