Sasha - 9 Months

Here is the gorgeous Sasha at 8 Months:

And at 9 Months. 

Those pants are getting too small, so I think I'm finally going to retire this outfit.  Funny, since she could still wear it pretty easily.  It's been 6 months in that same outfit without a significant amount of outgrowing anything.  Silly cute baby!! 

At her 9-month appointment she was 28 inches (75th percentile) and 17 lbs, 15 oz. (25-50th).  She continues to be learning and growing at a brisk pace.  She is finally stable enough to sit up in her little bath tub.  This month she started standing on her own.   

And climbing onto anything she can.  She hasn't quite gotten onto the couches, but I'm not looking forward to that day!!

She also finally got her first teeth.  They came in together.  This means I have to be a lot more careful of putting things in her mouth... like my hand and my face.  She is eating more solid food, and has taken a definite liking to bread and oatmeal. 

With all her tumbling and adventures, headbands just aren't cutting it anymore. 

So I made my first attempt at pig-tails... a little crooked, I will admit. 

 The whale spout look is much easier on me, so I tend to do that one more often then anything else.  I promise we did not make the same face in this picture on purpose. 

It shocks me how bright Sasha is at times.  I have taught her drop her binky (on command) into her crib when I pick her up from her naps.  Then, the other day, Kaleb taught her to help clean up the Legos.  He showed her how to drop them in the bucket, and she followed along.  It was AWESOME!

Sasha's favorite thing is to be tickled.  We found out her most ticklish spot is her hands.  It's so cute!!!  She also likes to play peekaboo... through anything.

And around anything. 

 We got to take Sasha to the public pool for the first time.  All she did was splash. And Splash and SPLASH and SPLASH and SPLASH.  Our faces got soaked, but she didn't seem to mind at all.  She just squealed and splashed some more. 

I've noticed Sasha taking a greater interest in her hands.  She will point and even sometimes watch them like she doesn't have control over them.  Now when she gives hugs, she likes to pat people on the back like she really understands. 

She went through a phase where she would put the back of her hand in her mouth and open and close her hand.  Silly cute little quirk.  Plus, she started blowing raspberries.  Add that to the teething and you can imagine the trails of drool!

 Sasha has started exploring more of Kaleb's toys, and it's fun to see her try to understand them.  She can just wander amongst the pile of toys for hours without complaint.  Here she is trying to make a Cat's Cradle (for those who even know what those are).

 This is a toy that's more for her age group.  You hit it and it spins with the little balls rattling around inside.  She liked it for about ten seconds... and moved on. 

 There was a love/hate relationship with this large exercise ball for awhile.  She would get close to it and smack it around, but if it came near her she would get really scared.  Silly, sasha!

What I have loved the most this month is seeing Sasha traveling with toys while she is crawling.  This toy was one of her favorites, cuz it made noise.  Another top contender was one of those echo microphones.  It made an impressive racket every time she smacked it against the floor... almost like the Jaws theme song... you could hear her coming for you. 

Her absolute favorite toy this month is this ball bouncing contraption.  It's been hiding in Kaleb's closet with a lego shoved in it that we never really tried to get out.  It's a noisy little sucker, but she and Kaleb just LOVE it!!

 Well then again, perhaps Sasha's favorite thing to play with is really Kaleb. 

 I guess anything is better than the TV, but she does have her favorites.  Anything with music (which she will readily dance to) and close-ups of dogs and cats appear to be the most attention-getting.  However, I think we have another Sesame Street fan blooming.   

My sweet little girl is still such a cuddler.  She loves to be held and played with by just about anyone, anytime. 

And blankets are always big winners in her book!!

This is her little reminder of what our little world revolves around.  I guess she's not quite ready to have a placemat on the table. 

AAB (or "How I Didn't Kill Anyone This Semester")

Well, I finished another semester of school, and I can admit I didn't think I or my family was going to make it... but here we are.  I took Business Calculations (from simple math to formulas for finding loan payments and what not), World Mythology (that's right, the entire world is covered in myths, and it is not pretty) and Tax Accounting (Ew, get it off me!!!!).  The first two classes weren't terribly challenging.  The Business Math class had one week that seemed to trick me a little, but mythology was fun times.  However, I can't even begin to describe to you the stress that was caused from my tax class. Often, I would have to read 60 pages of tax law... finish it off with bout 10 very confusing online homework questions which could have as many as 10 steps within them, take 1 or 2 20-questions quizes and then do a tax return... oh, and I had my other two classes and the rest of my life to worry about as well.  My tax homework was due on Monday's which cued the emergence of the she-devil within me. There were times I literally didn't understand a bit of the reading, and then I would get to the homework and attempt to apply it and do okay.  Other times I would get the jist of the reading, then go to do the homework/tests, and I would get 60%.  It was NUTS!! 

All that being said, I learned a lot in all my classes.  What I learned most of all this semester is how much I need to REALLY keep myself busy with projects this summer.  Then I will have EVERYTHING done I could possibly have done when I start again in October.  Anyway, I got an A in mythology, an A (by 2 points) in Business Calc, and a B (barely) in Tax Accounting.  I think my GPA is hovering around a 3.5 since I have just as many A's as B's, which is just dandy to me.  I've never looked forward to summer so much!!!