Team Barron: Adeline is 9 months old!

Oh my sweet baby Adeline! You are 9 months old and I just cannot believe it! 9 months! wow. That just sounds like a such a big girl number, yet you are still such a little baby. I like this moment of loving on you in the baby phase. You fit like a snug puzzle piece in the nook of my arm and you are my constant "hip rider" companion. And I. LOVE. EVERY. SECOND.

Miss Adeline, you are 22 lbs and wear a size 5 diaper. Your clothing ranges from 12-18m, and I have bumped your footie pjs to size 18m because I don't like 'em too tight around your legs. You have 8 teeth and your hair keeps growing thicker and thicker. It's light brown and tends to stick straight up in the back. I think it's adorable and adds to your personality.

This month has been a HUGE milestone month of "firsts."

You are a CRAWLER! There is simply no stopping your little legs from taking off across the room to explore the world around you. There's a sparkle in your eyes when you crawl - like you have a new found independence. You crawl to different areas in rooms and you will spend a long time studying objects that were out of your reach just a few weeks ago. The first new adventure spot you found was the cord to the TV. I only had to say, "Adeline, no mam" one time before your head spun around and you gave me a big ol' belly laugh. You understand "no" and obey the command more often than not.

You LOVE William's toys and will make a mad dash to his airport play area whenever we are not looking. So, I have placed William's toy baskets all around the perimeter of his play space so you cannot get inside.....but that doesn't stop you. Because....

You now like to STAND UP and cruise furniture and the toy baskets! Yep. You prefer to stand up as often as possible. You enjoy holding onto chairs and tables and banging toys that I place in front of you at the new heights. One day you even stood by yourself for 15 seconds without holding on to anything. Oh I was so proud that I clapped and clapped.....

And you CLAPPED TOO! You are a clapping fool. Clapping, clapping, clapping! You just beam and clap about a gazillion times a day. It's a new trick that you find completely entertaining. You LOVE to crawl a bit, sit up, and then stop for a second to applaud yourself and your new talents. You'll look around the room for me and then say, "mamamamamamamamama" until I look at you. Then we clap together and you just howl with a belly laugh that rivals Santa.

I have tried and tried to capture these precious moments on the video camera, but you freeze up every single time I turn it on and you speed over to me in record crawl time just so you can climb up into my lap and watch the screen. Oh well, maybe I can get you laughing and doing your tricks when you least expect it.

You figured out how to run your fingers up and down your lips to make a babbling musical tune. It's a little activity you enjoy performing at random times and I must say it's pretty cute! Peek-a-boo is still high on your list and you wave to everyone that passes you. Such a friendly little lady!

The most fantastic 9m trick is your ability to mimic William's airplane noises and flight motions. It's incredible to me that at your young age, you have totally picked up on airplanes. I don't find it shocking considering we own 800 airplanes and fly them 24-7, but you "get it." One day I heard you making the same exact noise that William makes when he flies his airplanes around the house.

It's hard to describe, but kinda like "crrrrrrrrrrrrrussssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" or like airplanes sound when they lift off a runway. I couldn't believe it. You were in the middle of the living room, holding one of William's airplanes over your head and waving it back and forth while making the noise. It was PRICELESS. You "get it!" and William was busting with joy! His face was beaming and I will never forget it. He said, "Mom! (gasp) Sissy can fly! She can play airplanes with me now!" Yet another MOMENT that is engraved on my heart forever.

Adeline, you LOVE to cuddle now! Dada and I are so thrilled! You are still very busy trying to soak up the senses around you, but you've developed a stillness at times when you'll just sit in my lap or lay your head on my shoulder. You LOVE for me to hold you at night and there are many times I am reluctant to put you down. You give me hugs all the time by leaning into my body when I hold you. You give us kisses by opening up your mouth and laying it on our cheeks. Oh how I love those kisses so much!

Your routine has not changed that much. You still like to go to bed at 6pm. I usually hear from you around 4am. I know I shouldn't give you any milk, but I do anyway. I like that quiet time with you and you LOVE to see me. You usually give me a big hug and take your bottle quick. Then you fall right back asleep for another hour. More often that not, we are up for the day between 5:15am and 6am.

Adeline, you are a dream. Not a day goes by that I don't stop and look at you and your brother in complete awe. How did I get so lucky? You are such a happy baby and constantly smile. You babble and hold 2 pacifiers at a time. You tolerate hair bows and love your blankie.