Nine months have flown by, Kennedy is so big and independent, not a little baby anymore.  She continues to be very mobile- crawling, pulling to stand with the slightest support and yesterday, Kennedy stood all by herself for probably 5 or more seconds! She had her 9 month check on Monday, the best part of which was that she didn’t have to get any shots!  Yay!  She is doing well, is 75th percentile for height for her age and 43rd for weight.  Crawling has definitely thinned her out, plus I think she just went through a growth spurt.

The biggest change for me (and for her, although she doesn’t know it yet) is that Kennedy will be starting day care next week. She’ll be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 6 or 7 hours. We went by the place again this morning for playtime and she had a blast. She is fascinated by the other kids and loved playing with the new toys. There was a 5 year old girl there who took to her right away, and brought her toys, showed her how to work them and was explaining the ways of daycare to her (there are no toys by the fireplace because we don’t play over there). So, even though I might be a nervous wreck, I think that Kennedy will have fun and learn a lot being around all those other kids a couple days a week.

Next up…mom and dad get ready to leave her (in good hands) for a weekend.

Just breathe. 

Kennedy started crawling about a week ago. It is still a process of starting and stopping. She sometimes gets her right leg caught under her a bit and drags it behind. It also often seems like as she is getting going, she accidentally finds herself in sitting. Overall, each day is getting a bit more fluid. Her primary goal seems to be getting to someplace where she can pull to stand, apparently she still prefers the upright position!

This weekend while Chris was helping his friends celebrate the end of bachelorhood in New Orleans, Kennedy and I went to Ladera Ranch to hang out with the Freemans. Despite terrible flight ordeals in both directions, we had a great visit. Kennedy went in a pool for the first time and LOVED it! She could have stayed in there all day I think. She loved the splashing and spinning through the water and did not seem to mind at all that it was a cool, foggy day! She also loved playing with her cousins, Samantha and Campbell, who loved showing her toys, cuddling and helping her get what she needed.

Kennedy’s four legged cousin Gatsby, the Freemans (quite big) golden retriever, was also a hit. Gatsby is huge and gentle and loves babies. He would give her kisses on her bald head and she would laugh a big belly laugh from her toes. They spent quite a lot of time cuddling this weekend too! It was a great trip, but I will recommend flying Southwest out of Oakland for anyone who might be considering flying SFO to Orange County.

Fortunately for all, we survived the crazy hot weekend and the weather here in Concord has returned to the pleasant mid-80s. We only found out yesterday at 7, when Kennedy was having a tough time going to sleep and we figured it may be due to the fact that it was still 87 degrees in our house, that our air conditioner does not work. Hopefully it’s a small part or issue that is relatively inexpensive to fix! Also this weekend, Kennedy started pulling up to stand. She pulls up on people, using their clothes, and on the upside down laundry basket. Fortunately, the corners on the laundry basket are softer and rounder than the coffee table, which makes this mommy happy!She is  still working on the crawling, but it is sometimes a hard sell to convince Kennedy to play on her tummy when all she really wants is to stand and cruise!

…almost. It seems like Kennedy is getting mighty close to crawling. She scoots forward and backward on her tummy, has resumed rolling and often gets up on her hands and feet (bear crawl position) before pushing forward onto her tummy. She will “flop” from sitting onto her tummy, but not yet the more graceful transition from sitting to hands and knees. All this moving around makes it seem like crawling might be coming, but I’ve been saying that all the drool and chewing on everything means her teeth are coming for 3 months, and so far she hasn’t gotten any!! We have also embarked on a finger food journey…tiny pieces of rice cake, banana and boiled zucchini. It is very amusing to watch because in the event that a tiny food nugget actually makes it to her mouth, she makes a terrible face of disgust, then starts a chewing motion. Ms. Kennedy continues to be very fascinated and calm in the outdoors, and loves swinging in her tree swing in the back yard. It is so fun listening to her babble (ma-ma-ma is still her favorite), watching her “read” a book and observing her problem solve as she plays. I’m looking forward to the return of warm weather though so that I don’t have to keep putting her socks back on after she pulls them off. There are an awful lot of socks without mates floating around our house! We will be sure to update the blog when she is officially crawling, whether it’s tomorrow or in 3 months!

We have had a busy and fun couple of weeks around here. Visiting with family and friends, time with grandparents and hanging out at home. Here are a few pictures from Kennedy’s first Easter egg hunt and one from when she started sitting! Kennedy is now sitting well on her own, and scoots around on her tummy (backwards), just a few feet at a time; she loves standing and jumping, especially on our front bench where she can watch the neighbors cat, the trees and the cars going by. Her giggle is infectious and she is so curious…she wants to grab plates, phones, noses and just about anything she can reach!