Nothing shocks me more than when I stop and realize how quickly Alaire’s first 9 months have passed.  I am often asked at work, how I am enjoying motherhood and about Alaire’s personality.  I always give the same answer, “she is just so much fun.”  She brings me a thousand smiles and giggles everyday.  And, though life was pretty amazingly fun for Graham & I before Alaire, I love the changes she induces in my own personality: patience, efficiency, a readjustment of what constitutes as “crisis,” balance, joy, an over-powering desire to protect any and all children…

Anyway, here are a few of the everyday moments that I never want to forget:

-Every morning when I get Alaire out of bed, before we head for the diaper change, she snuggles her head into my shoulder and stays still as I cuddle her for a few minutes.  Alaire has always been a snuggler…

-Most mornings, she cries in her high-chair because I can’t make her breakfast fast enough!  She is all-business when it comes to her food (always has been).  In fact, when nursing at daycare, she would cry because I couldn’t get things unbuttoned fast enough for her liking – to the amusement of me and her teachers.

-Before turning on NPR for our morning commute, I always sing, “You are my sunshine.”  Every day, the moment the song begins, she rewards me with a big grin.

-When we arrive at the parking garage, it takes me a few moments to set up the stroller and grab our bags.  When I open Alaire’s door, she greets me with a wide open smile – seriously, every morning.  It always makes me giggle.

-In the evening, when I pick her up and we ride the parking garage elevator, I speak and sign, “Let’s go home and see Daddy & Kenzie!”  She gets so excited and gives a big wide open grin and kicks her legs and wiggles her arms!

-At night, after a quick song, I lay her down in bed and give her the “I Love You” sign, she always grabs my hand in sign and smiles.

Now, some of the highlights of the last month:

-On the morning of Friday Jan 18, I walked into her room to get her out of bed and squealed! For the first time, my little baby was standing up in her crib! And, quite proud of herself!  I ran for the camera…

-She is now eating “real food!”  Her first non jar-baby-food (other than homemade applesauce) was pureed pulled-pork, butternut squash and cauliflower!  She gagged her way through this first session, so we got creative and mixed in some of her baby food.  Now, she eats like a champ! She also snacked on her first “mum-mum” rice cracker…

She LOVES tickle torture!

She’s a mighty jungle bouncer!

Coming soon!  First swimming lessons start on February 11th!