Today marks nine months of Madelyn! Starting tomorrow, she will have been out and in our lives longer than in and part of our dreams. Those nine months of pregnancy were (mostly) magical, but these nine months of babyhood have been extremely eye opening and adventurous!

Good morning, America!

I was looking at old videos from the pregnancy before Maddie was born and I stumbled across a very nervous Alison at an ungodly early hour before taking off for the hospital. I listen to this Alison and this Bryan and I barely know them. Ah, how young and ignorant they are! They think they’re going to a hospital to entice a baby to slide out and then go back home 48 hours later and enjoy the pristine nursery in all its pre-Madelyn glory. I find myself laughing at those two people and yelling at the computer: Oh, you guys! You’re going to wait like ALL day for a baby to come and then she won’t and then there’s going to be a dramatic surgery and then you’re not coming home for FOUR days and then when you do, Alison will be worthless while she recovers from an infection and Bryan will have to do ALL the work and by the way, the nursery will never stay clean because when she’s nine months old, Madelyn will crawl everywhere and untidy up all the decor like the dolls and pillows and books by pulling them down so they’re strewn across the carpet and you’ll never have time to clean up after her because you’re too busy running after her. OH YOU GUYS!

That’s what I would say to those two strangers.

So, there we have it. Nine months have gone by and we have a kid who, according to her check up today, weighs 17 pounds and ten ounces, is 28 inches long, and has a head that’s 17.3 inches around. She got a shot (boo!) and was cleared to start drinking less expensive normal formula (yay!). The doc was super impressed with all of her tricks and she’s on target, if not early, with all of her developmental milestones! Proud parents! Swoon!

This month, Madelyn…

• Has made it her goal to stand up on anything. That means things that don’t allow for standing on. Like, you know, my face. She pulls herself up on everything she can see: walls, furniture, toys, human bodies. She’s a standing exhibitionist. She does it one-handed too and confidence is really kicking in because she’s starting to experiment with “look ma! No hands!” but is followed with a quick tumble that doesn’t even faze her. We are now greeted by a stander in her crib every morning. She’s just so funny! What can I say? My Madelyn is a “stand” up comedian. Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
• Took her first vacation that required a plane. More on that later, but her first plane trip was not that great. Let’s just say, she failed at earning her young wings, but I don’t really blame her and she made up for her on the return home. Still, she’s a lucky almost 9-month-old to have spent a week in Hawaii! A full recap will OF COURSE make it onto BornFriedman soon! Lots of pictures to sort through.
• Began babbling like crazy! She makes so many cute sounds. I just love her little voice and never get tired of listening to what she has to say! She can put together consonants and vowels and make up words in her own little language. She has said “da da” and “ma ma” but I’m betting that they are not associated with her Mama and Dada and are just easy sounds to make. But, this is the fun part — listening to her develop speech and communication skills and my inner geek is fascinated by the whole evolution!
• Learned to make fart sounds and speak Click. It’s silly, but the reason why this is cool is because it’s showing me we can exchange our own dialogue. If she makes the fart sound, which is really more like a raspberry, and then I do it, she’ll do it back and we take turns. The same goes for the click sound she makes with her tongue smacking her gums. If I do it, she’ll do it back and vice versa. And, let’s face it, yes, the monkey-see-monkey-do act is brilliant of her, but really, who doesn’t like it when a baby makes fart sounds? It’s hysterical.
• Started the beginnings of waving hello and goodbye. She reaches out to whoever is coming or going and is trying to figure out the whole hand part of the wave. I think her fine motor skills are developing in that area, but it’s cool that she gets the motion and the appropriate time to do it. Looks like she already had her eye on the Miss America crown and is practicing that wave!
• Recognizes Princeton! This may just be my new favorite trick in her book. Obviously, since Princeton is my first-born, he is very, very special to our family. The fact that Madelyn now knows who he is and enjoys his presence is my latest gush. We can say, “Madelyn! Where’s Princeton?” and she’ll either get really excited and flap her arms at the sound of his name or crawl toward him and attempt to touch him. It’s really cute and exactly what a proud parent would want! I think it’s the start of them becoming the best of friends! Princeton, like most dogs, likes his privacy and alone time and finds places to hide out and den all throughout the house. One of his favorite denning spots is under Madelyn’s crib; he can still see out, but he’s protected by the frame. Madelyn’s never cared about him being under there until just today! As she was crawling around her room, she caught Princeton’s eye that was at her level under the crib and she crawled toward him and touched his foot. They definitely had a special sibling moment and I melted.

As always, our greatest joy is watching Madelyn grow and explore. She’s working so hard and practicing all her new skills. She’s on her way to a perfect 10… months. Happy nine months, love bug!