tatem: 9 months

tatem is 9 months old today! i cannot believe she is an "older baby" now... lately she has been looking so big - i can see little glimpses of what she will look like as a toddler these days.

tatem's 9 month stats:
height: 27 3/4" - 65th %
weight: 18 lbs 10.5 oz - 65th %
head: 17 3/4" - 85th %

tatem continues to be a total mommy's girl - she has been a little fussy these days due to the incoming of teeth #7 and 8 :( she will fuss and crawl over to me, but once she's in my lap, she's still fussy, always trying to get closer to me.... like she just wants to be in my skin! oh sweet tatem, it's sad to think there will be a day that you don't think i'm all that :)

she loves to eat but definitely has her favorites - this girl loves meat and potatoes, roasted veggies (so thanksgiving should be a real treat for her :) etc. she loves cheese and have i mentioned yet that i am no longer off dairy?! the clouds have parted and i am enjoying cheese, butter and the like again!  tatem gets no dairy except a little cheese and some greek yogurt - but so far she has had no reaction.  she absolutely inhales the apple cinnamon oatmeal pancakes i make (tweaked the recipe for her to have no sugar/dairy/wheat in them).  she likes most foods but if you puree them, forget about it.  she eats bananas in 2-3" pieces... takes bites off and looks at you like "what. you didn't think i knew how to take a bite like an actual person?"




she is pulling herself up as of this past week! i remember wesley doing this, but it was weeks before he could really stand on his own w/o collapsing every 2 seconds.  not so with tatem, she pulls up and then can hold on with one hand while she plays w/ a toy with the other.  it seems she is always studying how to do something and is not afraid to try anything. seeing her stand so strong and so proud brings a smile to my face - she loves to be vertical :)





tatem has a dimple! i didn't even notice it until this month! i don't have a great pic of it, but it's on her left cheek - adorable.  she is smiley, but is still kind of a tough crowd.  the checkout lady at target was cooing at her and trying so hard to get her to smile and tatem just looked at her w/ a nonplussed expression.  she cracks me up.

the one person who can ALWAYS get her to smile w/o even trying is this boy:




tatem babbles a lot and has said her first word(s). she has said "dada" for months now, but now she is saying it every time she sees andy. i feel pretty sure she's saying "dada" on purpose. she calls me "neh-neh"... again, this has become the syllable she says every time she sees me or whenever i pick her up (even the middle of the night). when i say "can you say 'mama'?" she says "mama" right back, but still calls me "neh-neh". but the definite first word that i know she is saying for sure is "uh-oh". she has always thought it was so funny when she would drop something and i would say "uh-oh". any time i say that, she always repeats back "uh-uh" and then laughs. the other day, she dropped her sippy cup and looked at me and said "UH-UH!!!" so cute.




she is still sucking on everything. she is partial to any type of paper or fabric... or the bottoms of anyone's shoes.  yuck. if she's quiet for more than a few minutes, i almost always find her sucking on a sticker, a magazine, or someone's shoe - gotta keep an eye on this one!

we love you tatem june! you brighten our days with your smiles and your spunky personality! can't wait to see what this next month holds! xoxo, neh-neh, dada and wes



also - wes would like to wish everyone a happy halloween! "it's the beautifullest holladay in the whole wide world!!!!!"