9 months old already!!!

I really CANNOT believe that Alana is already 9 months old! At her 9 month check up, she was officially 18 lbs, 14 oz and 27.5 inches long. I could not believe she was under 20 pounds! She is still primarily a crawler, but getting closer & closer every day to walking. She has started to work her way between furniture while walking. I think we are still a few weeks from solo walking, but she is definitely making progress.

Here are some photos with her new little activity table. I was hoping that this table would give her something to play with while standing so she doesn't just suck on the ottoman! As you can tell, she LOVES it!

Outdoor action

After 3+ years of living right by a public pool, I finally went! It was Alana's first time in the pool and she loved it, of course. She was way more interested in all the people, but was pretty jazzed by the amount of water she could splash. Too bad I just now discovered the pool--it closes after Labor Day!

Grandma the Designer...

Grandma recently purchased a new sewing machine and Alana has been the recipient of her designs. Check out the bath robe Grandma created just for Alana from scratch! I keep telling her she should sell these at baby boutiques!

Alana and the Pooh Bear

Pooh Bear is by far Alana's new pal. She wrestles him on the floor (see below) and LOVES playing with him. Mostly, she sucks on his nose....that must be her way of showing affection!

Crawling up a Storm!

Here are a few more photos of Alana crawling all over. This morning we brought her into our bed when she woke up and she actually stood on her own without holding onto anything. It was hilarious because she was really concentrating and kind of looked like she was surfing. We were pretty impressed! Stay tuned, I bet the pics of her standing on her own will be coming soon!

She still loves the jumperoo, but now as more of an obstacle course!

Using the Jumperoo to get up!

Tiny Terror!

It is really amazing how a little person who cannot walk can move all over her toys all over the entire room! Here are some fun pics of Alana I took the other day and some of her playing.

She LOVES to play with her toys. She seems to pick a new favorite toy every day. Pooh Bear is her current BFF. It's crazy how things she has had since she was born all of a sudden seem like new finds to her. Maybe it is true--babies have memories like dogs?

Riding High

We try to talk Alana out for a walk almost every night. She gets a little annoyed being in her stroller for a long period of time, so she usually gets a ride up top our shoulders. Poor girl must have been tired here as she laid her head on Dad. (I missed the picture that just preceeded this where she was eating his hair!).

Baby's Got Bed Head

Anyone that's seen Alana recently knows the girl has a LOT of hair. I have never seen bed head quite like when she wakes up.

Mini Donald Trump?

Even the clip is falling out.

On the move

Alana is officially all over the place. It is really amazing how she can't walk yet, but she terrorizes the entire living room with toys. Not sure how she does that, but she seems to be having a great time doing it! She loves to pull herself up and usually crawls, sits, crawls, pulls herself up, sits and repeats. Very busy girl!

Back at Last!!!

Trial is over and I have returned to Chicago! Now, I am just taking it easy and enjoying time with Erik and Alana. We even trekked downtown and met up with Erik for lunch one day. Alana is a real pro at dining out. I didn't embarass Erik by pulling out the high chair cover, but that is only because I forgot it.