dear princess,

you are nine months old now. it's hard to believe it has been nine months since the day we brought you home from the hospital. nine months of watching you grow, watching your little personality emerge. every day i marvel at your tiny fingers and toes, your wide blue eyes and the way your grin melts my heart.

when your big brother was nine months old, i wrote him a letter, sharing a few things with him. i want to do the same for you.

you are such a determined little girl! you are so proud of your crawling abilities that you will go over or under anything in your way--including people, the rungs under chairs and the coffee table, toys, and i think you tried going over the cat once. i just love this determination. but when you're determined to get to something you shouldn't be playing with, mommy wishes you knew how to stay put.

we are all aware when you are unhappy. the high pitched screeching, while adorable when you're excited about something, is not so adorable when i'm trying to take something inedible out of your mouth.

speaking of inedible things in your mouth....here are a list of things you should not eat, although you have tried. stickers, plastic wrappers, covers for daddy's razors, your brother's underwear, the toilet seat (GROSS!), three-day-old dried up macaroni off the kitchen floor, shoes, poker chips, pieces of paper, electrical cords, bars of soap, crayons, cat food, and the CO detectors. just to name a few. some of these things about give mommy a heart attack.

mommy loves that you can feed yourself, but mommy doesn't love having to scrape half-chewed (or rather gummed) crackers out of your mouth because you put too many in there. i promise they won't run away from you if you only eat one at a time.

i know that chewing on things helps those poor little aching gums when you're teething. mommy's toes, daddy's ears, and the nose belonging to anyone within reach of your little mouth aren't teethers, though. it is acceptable to chew on the pink plastic duck, though, although i'm sure it's not as fun.

how lucky are you to have a big brother that adores you! even when you pull his hair, take his toys, chew up his books and kick him in the face he loves you and begs mommy to put you on the floor. you love him, too. daddy and mommy were talking just last night about how much we hope the two of you get along with each other the way you do now for the rest of your lives. nothing would make us happier.

even though you get frustrated when you pull yourself up on the table and can't walk anywhere, it's okay. mommy is in no rush to be chasing after you as you run from room to room training toilet paper behind you or taking off because you've got something in your hands you're not supposed to have....oh wait. you already do that....just on your hands and knees. and i'm pretty sure that you can go as fast on your knees as you could on your feet, my little speed racer!

kitties don't like hair being pulled. mommy doesn't either. and daddy sure doesn't...but feel free to pull the hair on your teddy bear whenever you'd like! maybe you could take a break from chewing on its face.

your third and fourth teeth finally came in, hooray! instead of getting your two front teeth, you got the side ones instead. you are just mommy's adorable little vampire baby.

you know how to make my heart melt. one moment you're screaming in my face because you're unhappy about something (you're such a diva!), and the next moment you've got your little head resting on my shoulder, your tiny hand patting my back. you know how to work it, don't you!

i am really looking forward to not only the next nine months...or the next nine years...but maybe even the next nine decades with you. (that would make me pretty old, but hey, it could happen!) you are my precious baby girl and i love you so much. the journey we have taken together has only just begun. your daddy, your brother and i are so grateful to have you as a part of our lives. we look forward to watching you grow and learn even more.

never forget what a perfect and beautiful girl you are, no matter what life throws at you. we will always be here to love you, to support you, to help you and teach you.

love,

mommy