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Lillian Pace- 9 Months

Dear Lily,

Well Mommy is a little late in posting your monthly post this month, so please forgive me!  It isn't nearly as easy to get everything put into words when you are crawling around like a speed racer most of the day :)

You are 9 months old and it is hard to believe how much you continue to change and grow.  You amaze us every day.  Your dad and I say at least one time a day how big you are...this past month it seems like you, yet again, have changed into a completely different baby.  There were so many big changes this month- you started holding your bottle, crawling, pulling up, said your first real word, and have continued to show different sides to your personality...I have to say, I think you're going to look like daddy, but act like mommy :)

Movement: That's right baby girl, you are on the move!  While I was anxious for you to make this big developmental jump, now I'm wishing time would slow down.  It took you about a week to perfect your one knee, one foot crawling form, but now that you've got it, you are non-stop!  Along with the crawling, you are also pulling up on anything and everything along the way.  Dishwasher- check, sofa- check, refrigerator- check...you get the picture.  Thankfully you are super careful in your up and down movement, so we haven't had too many crash and burns (yet!).

Say What?!?!: Your first word was said this month....I told you, you are such a big girl!  While it wasn't what mommy had envisioned (clearly I was looking for "mama"), it was perfect.  However the timing wasn't.  You see, your daddy went on a boys weekend to Chicago and left us girls at home, well that weekend is when you decided to pick up the remote and start babbling "dada dada dada" over and over.  I told you, perfect!  You know your daddy too well :)  Luckily, I was able to capture the preciousness on video and send it to our guy so he could be part of the BIG moment!  

Since then, you've continued to say "dada" a million times and have added "tyty" (Tyde), "ge ge" (get get), "hey" and "do-gy" (dog) to your vocab.  It is so neat to watch you take it all in, process and repeat words we say...it is only a matter of time before you're talking non-stop.

Nom Nom: You are a girl with a healthy appetite and I have to say I wouldn't have it any other way!  You love all foods and will eat anything that comes your way.  We've started offering you much more table foods this month, and while you will eat them, you aren't the biggest fan of picking up soft textured foods.  You'll pick up and eat puffs and wafers all day long, but put an egg or black beans in front of you and forget it.  I know this is a learning process and probably in the next month or so you won't care about texture or feel, but for the time being, it has been a Lily idiosyncrasy that we've laughed about often.  You're still eating purees (with table foods offered before) with every meal and taking three 6 ounce bottles a day.  The introduction of sippy cups and straws occurred this month too.  While you aren't a pro yet, I'm hopeful you'll be completely off the bottle in the next couple of months.

Night, Night: Nothing new here...you love your sleep!  Several mornings this month we saw into the future---daddy and I went in to wake you for school, you looked up at us, gave us a look of "get out of here" and quickly went back to snuggling your blanket and sleeping.  We are in for some trouble when you're a teenager.  All kidding aside, we are extremely grateful that you are a wonderful sleeper.  You go down around 8:30 pm and wake around 8 am, with two naps during the day....hope you teach your brother or sister these good sleeping habits :)



So So Sassy & Sweet: Your personality continues to be sweet, laid back, funny, sassy, prissy, shy (at times), and curious.  You are constantly laughing and rarely cry.  You also love to snuggle (melt our hearts!).  When your daddy arrives home from work, you jump into his arms and lay your head on his shoulder...sweet Lily love...it is his favorite time of the day.  You've also begun randomly laying your head on pillows, blankets, Tyde and mommy...you give the best hugs :)

Lily, we have been so blessed by you.  You are our sunshine!  Daddy and I can't even remember what life was like without you...one thing is for sure, it wasn't nearly as much fun!
We love you sweet Lily P!

Lily's 9 Month Stats:

Feed:
Three meals per day (including table foods), three 6 ounce bottles per day

Weight:
18 pounds, 12 ounces- 55th percentile

Length:
28 inches- 75th percentile

Diaper Size:
Size 3

Clothing Size:
9 months

Hair:
It is getting thicker & still blonde

Eyes:
Big, blue/gray

Nicknames:
Lily-bug
Lil P
Lil
Bright eyes

Favorite time of the day:
First thing in the morning- you wake up such a happy girl & are so happy to see us!

Favorite moment this month:
Taking you to your first football games!  You are a cheerleader in the making :)

The Return of FOOTBALL!!!

I've said it before, I'll say it again, football is a religion in the South...just ask Mr. S!  It is his favorite time of the year & my second favorite (behind Christmas, of course)! :)  It is the signal that Fall is around the corner...the start of cooler weather, pumpkin spiced anything is at your fingertips & the holiday season is upon us.  A wonderful time of the year indeed!  

We kicked this football season off with a bang.  Our Alabama Crimson Tide played Virginia Tech in our backyard, and while we had originally decided to watch it from home, gameday came & we just couldn't stay away!  We loaded up (including Lily---yes, we are training her early---aka, we are insane!) & headed to the Dome to cheer on Nick Saban and team :)

We had a great time & great seats!  So thankful we were in the club level.  The random loud noises scared our little priss pot, so I spent a good bit of time lounging on the couches, instead of in my seat.  Sweet girl was very popular in her cheerleading outfit and her constant clapping drew lots of attention.  We even got to spend some time with Nene, Chef, Bryant & Bebe!

  While Lily will never remember this, Slade & I kept saying how glad we were that we decided to take her along.... it was a fun day:)  It didn't hurt that our boys left with a WIN either!

Week 2 of college football season came, and although Alabama had a bye week, that didn't stop us from getting our football fix.  We loaded up and headed west to see our other football team---the ULM Warhawks!  While Unc's days of quarterback playing are over, he is embarking on his coaching career and we had to go see him in action.

It was a HOT day in Monroe, but we survived & ULM won!  Loved getting to see my little brother do what he loves most.  It was also great to spend some time with Sugar, Nene, Chef, Bryant & Allie.  Since Cody is "paying his dues" at this stage of his career, we didn't get to spend a ton of time with him.  Thankful he was able to get some work done before we arrived, so we could enjoy some late night Cane's fried chicken and some good convo! :)  

Week 3 involved lot of house work for us, but we took time out from that torture fun to watch both our teams add to their winning records!  ULM pulled an upset on Wake Forest and Alabama showed Johnny "Cash" who was boss ;)  It made Lily super happy!

Well as you can see, we've enjoyed the start to another fun & hopefully winning season of college football!  

Roll Tide & Go Warhawks! 

Wordless Wednesday :)