I'm 9 months old!

Raychel is 9 months old...can you believe that? She has been with us as long as we were waiting for her to come now...seems like the waiting part was MUCH longer! This cutie-pa-tootie is so fun and so challenging at the same time!!! LOL

She sure knows how to share her feelings with us! Lately, she is not interested in doing much but crying if Mommy leaves the room. She follows me (and PREFERS to be carried) everywhere I go. Although, she cries more then she is carried...can't have a spoiled Raychel (well not TOO spoiled!).

She learned to say "Bye-Bye!" and wave, but she has no idea what it means! She sure smiles when someone says bye bye to her now though...thinking, "They can do that too???...WOW!"

Monkey was her first word and she LOVES her Monkey...she sleeps on top of him, plays with him while she waits to be picked up, hugs him tight when she is scared, and expects him to go EVERYWHERE with her! She recognizes the sign for monkey, but has only tried it one time! I think she must think it is easier to just say mon-Key! You can barely hear the "mon" and the "KEY" is much louder!

She is a BIG girl! She fits into 12 month clothes perfectly...we'll find out next Tuesday how big she really is! UPDATE: She weighed in at 20.9lbs (81%) and 29 inches tall (90%)! She loves to crawl everywhere and the speed changes depending on who is chasing her or WHAT she did! When she did something wrong and has been caught, she crawls REALLY fast toward Mommy! Silly girl! She LOVES to stand...all the time! She stands and walks along and ON the couches and chairs, stands in her crib (instead of sleeping!), stands at her table and stands next to you! She will walk with you, holding her hands, and has tried to get that first step going a few times! She has no fear and loves to be thrown in the air, do somersaults off our laps, and tried to launch off the changing table! Thanks Alaina, she stopped to check out your drawer pulls...allowing Mom to catch her and flip her back over! I was standing right there, but reaching into the drawer! EEEEKkkk!!

SMILE, SMILE, GIGGLE, and LAUGH....the FUN part of Raychel! She LOVES to be scared....but you don't have to work too hard...just surprise her with a loud, "BOO!" She is definitely the highlight of our life!

Sign language...here she is telling me that she has a dirty diaper! She claps her hands together two times...which is a variation of the correct message. She can be hard to catch though, she just assumes you are watching her at all times and she doesn't need your attention before she tells you! Other signs she will do: stars, more, eat, diaper change, play, all done, and bye bye. Her actions show me that she understands other signs: Mommy, Daddy, Raychel, monkey, duck, drink, no, and kitty (I feel like I'm forgetting something, so I may add more later!) Words she says: Monkey, Duck (ducky), Da-Da, and bye-bye.

For those of you wondering...YES, this is her baby book! When I finally get time to scrap book all of this and fill out her actual baby book, I want to know and remember EVERYTHING! LOL

I know...it isn't the best picture...but I tried! She has 6 teeth now! 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom. Some more must be starting somewhere because she has sure been complaining!