KACEY 8, 9, 10, 11 MONTHS

Whoops! Somehow 4 months has passed without mention of Kacey. That is a long time in baby-time! Now I get to rack my brain and try to remember all of the changes she has made in the time.

Photo credit to Aunt Brittany

At about 8 1/2 - 9 months Kacey started saying "uh-oh!". Her first word. She began picking up on the drop it-uh oh game babies like to play. By now at 11 months she is proficient in this game. It's especially funny when she says "uh-oh" before even dropping her toy. It's fun to see her brain working.

At about 8-9 months Kacey started rolling all over. That became her main method for getting around to where she wanted to go. She eventually became strategic at her rolling and could roll and rotate her body to position herself in the right direction where she wanted to go. At 10 months she finally started to crawl. Kyle and I tried to encourage her to crawl for a couple of months but it only frustrated her. One day it clicked and she took off. No army crawl, no scooting. Just real hands and knees crawling. Now she is starting to get into everything. She has discovered the fun that can be had in the recycle bin, where the snacks are kept in the pantry (I think we need to move those up a shelf), where the pots and pans are, and she's found how fun it can be to open and close the cabinet door under the sink where the garbage is kept.

At 10 months Kacey also started pulling herself up to everything; the couch, the door, her crib, our legs. She is all about standing. She even will stand on her own for a few seconds at a time. She loves this game. She crawls over to the bottom stair, pulls herself up, lets go and stands on her own, sits down and does it again. Over and over. She also loves to walk behind the ride-on jeep. Kyle and I watched her maneuver that thing last night. She pushed the jeep until she came to the stairs. We watched as she thought and thought about how she was going to move it away from the stairs so she could push it again. She walked all around it, looking at it, trying to push it here and there. Eventually she figured it out and moved it back a few feet before pushing it forward again. She was so determined and so concentrated on moving that jeep. 

Kacey has clapping skills. She actually makes an audible noise. She claps for herself when she does something good, she claps when she's happy, and she claps when something is funny to her. Yesterday I was attempting to get her dressed for bedtime. She kept wiggling her way away from me. I said to her, "Kacey. Come here please." She looked at me, waved bye and started walking along the edge of the couch. She looked back, laughed and sat down on the ground and clapped. Kyle said, "Is that her first joke?" Possibly. It sure seemed like it.

She started waving at about 8 months. She waves hi and bye. She also waves for goodnight and nap time. If I can get her to wave before putting her in bed I feel pretty confident that she understands it is time to sleep. She still wakes up a couple of times at night. (Seriously! When will it stop!?) I have finally taken to picking her up, giving her back her pacifier, and saying goodnight again. Once she waves to me I lay her down again and don't hear a peep for a few more hours. In addition to waving, at 10 months she began to pick up on some sign language. She knows "more" and "all done". If I ask her if she wants something to eat she will sign "more". Or if she wants more to eat and starts to scream (her normal instinctual reaction for more), just ask her "what do you say?" and she will nicely sign more. She hasn't totally picked up on signing "all done" on her own, but if I say it she will sign it. She understands the meaning, because she will begin to push on the tray on her high chair anxious to get down.

Kacey dances with her head. She wiggles it back and forth along with clapping when she hears music. She also waves her head back and forth just in interaction with people. Kyle and I laugh at the funny things babies can get adults to do. It's kind of hilarious to see adults playing along waving their heads back and forth just like her.

We're pretty done with baby foods. Kacey eats what we eat, as long as it is small enough and soft enough. Kacey loves yogurt, all fruit, avocado, cheese, crackers, and apple sauce. If she doesn't want to eat something there is no amount of offering it to get her to eat it. When she is done she'll swat it away or take it and drop it on the floor. This month I've started to introduce her to whole milk. We have started offering it at meal times. I still nurse her throughout the day- the longest I've nurse of all three girls. The end is in sight! 

At 9 months, Kacey is our earliest teether. She has her bottom two front teeth. Hill babies get their chompers late. There isn't much to indicate any others are coming soon. Maybe a small bump up top, but those teeth still don't look like they'll be bursting through any time soon.

She is pretty much adorable and a lot of fun. Her sisters love her and she loves them. It's fun to see them play together. It will be fun (and a bit crazy) once she is running around the house with them. That will be here before we know it!

Her birthday is just two weeks away, and I can't believe it. Time really flies. Though admittedly, I like this stage so much better than the newborn stage. It's so fun!