My baby shower was around this time last year and the little “Piglet” in my belly was busy bopping around, kicking organs. Now, our 9 month old (!!) has been just as active the last few weeks.

She watches everything: One night Pete and I were in the kitchen chatting while Hannah was hanging out in her high chair. She watched us talk, moving her head back and forth to look at whoever was speaking. She notices any movement around her, watches shadows, and loves to look around at the grocery store.

She babbles: The babbling started at the end of the week and hit a high this weekend. It’s a mix of baba, mama, dada, and rara. It’s so damn cute! Hannah thinks it’s funny when we repeat it back to her but is significantly less amused when I show her the video of her talking.

She claps: This is a work in progress but she did it a handful of times last week so it counts. We’ve been teaching Hannah to clap since she was a wee one knowing it would catch on at some point. Just like with the babbling, my heart explodes every time she does it.

She fake cries: My sweet little love has learned to be manipulative! Most mornings Hannah stays awake after her 5am bottle and we play in her room until I need to get ready for work. I’ll pop my head in often to check on her but she rarely even notices me. When she does see me and I turn to leave, it’s instant face scrunching, whining, and fake crying until she sees me return. The other day at Grandma & Grandpa’s house, Hannah woke up from a nap and was content to roll around in her crib and look at her toys. As soon as she saw Grandma watching in the doorway, Hannah turned on the (fake) waterworks.

A few extras…

She’s very close to sitting all by herself

She’s either (finally) signing “mommy” or having a really hard time getting her thumb in her mouth. My vote is for the former.

She wants to touch everything, except her own bottle. God forbid I try to get her to hold that.

She’s enjoying baby food more each day. We tried yogurt yesterday but Hannah seemed suspicious of the texture and temperature.