three quarters

My dearest little Lila Bean,
You are nine months old. Or three quarters of a year old. Or so big it scares me. So much has changed in the last 3 months. On your 6 month birthday, you sat up for the first time. And only 3 months later, you are a crawling machine. You started crawling full speed on Sunday, December 5. For weeks you have been going 2 or 3 little steps and then stopping and laughing at all the cheering. And then one day, you scooted yourself over to the power cord on my laptop. And you did not like it when I moved you across the room to make you stop. All of a sudden, you were up and crawling across the room towards the computer, just to show us who's boss. And now you are in to everything...Zaxby's food and water bowls, the gifts under the Christmas tree, your dad's recliner and of course, the ever tempting fireplace.

You love to eat food! You can feed yourself with your little hands, making it into your mouth almost every time. Your favorite little bites are cheese, pineapple, papayas, Puffs, bread, bananas, broccoli, carrots, green beans and olives. You are still working on holding your cup up to your mouth by yourself but you love drinking water. I know you are going to be an adventurous eater as there are hardly any foods you will not try.

You love to play games and laugh. Peek-a-boo and singing songs are your favorite. The way you examine everything around you is so exciting to see. You love exploring life and pounce forward with no fear. You still love to meet strangers, always smiling, tilting your head and holding your hands in the air like, "Look at me! Aren't I cute??"

You love your baby friends, always wanting to find new people to play with. You do so well at day care, following the big kids around and trying to keep up. Everyone cannot believe what a social baby you are, clapping and laughing with every new person you meet.

Your dad and I love you so much and cannot believe at how amazing it is to celebrate Christmas with you. Last Christmas, we held on to such hope that you would be okay and we would hold you in our arms safe and sound. And now you are here, amazing us every day and reminding us of God's everylasting love and grace. 

Merry Christmas our beanie bean,

Love Mom and Dad