Another month = 9!

Maddie turned 9 months old yesterday. It was such a special occasion, she had to commemorate it with another first: Getting a stomach virus. This one's a doozy folks. Poop everywhere. All. The. Time. You know, it's bad enough to be an adult and get "the runs". Do you know what it's like for a baby? It's awful. Plain awful. For some reason, the stuff cannot be contained by a diaper. It goes up the back and through the sides and ends up in the hair, on the car seat, all over the stroller. Wherever we are, that place is covered in poop. I brought along a change of clothes while we were out this morning and literally, we weren't even out 10 minutes and she had her first blowout. Good thing mama was prepared! I cleaned her up at the Little Gym and not even an hour later, she had her next blowout at Panera Bread while we were having lunch. Mama was NOT prepared for TWO blowouts. I've washed the car seat and stroller covers, sheets, towels, blankets, clothing, etc. all covered in so much poop a million times already. On top of that, her little bottom is BEAT RED. And it won't get better because she keeps pooping. Enough already!

I went to the jewelry store today to get some watches repaired and when I walked in, a nice old gentleman that worked there said "oh honey, you look like you got your hands full. I don't know how you moms do it." I felt like saying "You don't know the half of it buddy. In the last 24 hours, I've done 10 loads of laundry, bathed my baby 5 times and cleaned poop around the clock. Do you smell that? Yep, that's poop. She did it again. Right there in that stroller. Even though she's crying right now, I'm not going to pick her up because then you will really see the poop. And that poop travels places. It is magic poop. If you don't watch out, it might become airborne and attach itself to your shirt, or you hair, or both. And I already used my back up outfit that I packed for her in the car because, you see, we did this very same thing an hour ago, but we were at The Little Gym. So, you're going to have to sit here and watch her cry while she sits in her poop. I suggest you change the battery in that watch mister, pronto."

But instead, I just smiled and told him that it was a big job, this motherhood thing. But I only have 2 kids -- imagine if I had 4 or 5! That is so unlike me, by the way. I was playing the "glass half full" game pretty well if I may say so myself.

Anyway, I digress. Maddie's appointment was relatively painless -- no shots this time! She had to have a quick prick in the finger to check for anemia but I'll take that any day over shots in the thighs. Her 9 month stats:

Height: 29.5" (97%!)
Weight: 21.1 lbs (86%)
Head: 17.5"

What she's up to these days other than pooping herself: She loves to clap her hands. If you happen to say "YAY!" about something, she'll automatically clap her hands together and smile. She really knows YAY = a round of applause. She is also getting more and more consistent with "SO BIG!" and waving. A couple of days ago, she started handing me things. We have this toy mailbox that you put mail in and she'll take the mail out, hand it to you so you can put it back in the slot. And every time she hands you the mail, she breaks out into this enormous grin. She and Jacob must have done this together 50 times. She's really starting to cruise. She only wants to be standing most of the time and if she's got something to hang on to, she's all good. She also just started going from her tummy to a sitting position. I walked into her room yesterday after her nap and found her sitting up in her crib! She loves that she can do this by the way. It makes her laugh every time. She's still eating solids 3 times a day and has between 4-5 bottles. She is not nearly interested in formula now that she's eating real food. I'm lucky if I can get 20 oz. in her in a day. Given her growth, there is no need to worry that she is getting enough though, that's for sure! She is still not a fan of the car. I would pay some serious money for someone to solve this mystery for me. It makes for extremely long car rides. When she's really tired and you're holding her, she'll lay her head right on your shoulder. This may be due to her recent illness, but I'm totally eating it up. I LOVE IT when she does that.

Miss Madeline, I really hope you start to feel better soon. I hate it when you are sick!

Her 9 month pictures: