Memoirs of a Martin: Brynn Tracker: Nine Months

The Story
On August 18th, in the midst of my getting caught up on this here corner of the interwebs, toots hit 9 months young. I say this each month but it's mind-boggling to me how fast time is flying. This particular time a year ago is so fresh in my memory. Last year there were so many pregnant women, or husbands with pregnant wives, at my office. I believe there were 6 when I found out I was pregnant with Brynn. At this time last year I was about to be the last one standing and suddenly the fact that my toddler was going to be a big sister got really really real. I wondered who the little bean in my belly was and what she would be like. Now here I am, what feels like the next day, simultaneously vividly remembering that feeling but not being able to recall how our family functioned without her. Just one of a million crazy juxtapositions that go along with being a parent, I suppose.

Why hello there! Are you impressed my Mom is getting this done before my next monthly birthday? I am.

So- speaking of that bean... how was this month? Say it with me now- awesome. Duh. She crawls so, so fast. That girl is on a mission. Maybe I've forgotten about this stage with Emery but I'm much more aware of Brynn following me around. I am looking forward to her walking, of course, but I will definitely miss hearing the sound of my little steam engine grunting and smacking the ground behind me as I pad around in the kitchen.

You know who else she follows? Her sister. Those two loooooove to chase each other around. They do a lap around the living room to the foyer through the dining room and back into the kitchen. Whenever they catch each other they both cackle like little hyenas. The most adorable, heart warmingly sweet hyenas on Earth.

Whoa whoa whoa- no yum yums until AFTER we finish this?

This month we started bathing Emery and Brynn together which meant that Brynn graduated from her little tub to the legit bath tub. This rite of passage was probably premature because her favorite pasttime is trying to see how much she can raise her mother's blood pressure while in it. She tries to climb the sides. She belly flops on her sister. She makes it her personal mission to find the area of the tub that the non-slip mat does not cover. Basically it's the most stressful 2 minutes of Ryan and I's evening. They both have so much fun though that we can't stop now. On the bright side, we are probably the fastest infant bathers in the US.

I know this face well. It's the same look of unadulterated joy she exhibits before lunging for my phone and knocking it off of something.

Another exciting progression with the Boo Boo this month was that we learned she, in fact, does have a hot button issue. What is it, you might be wondering? Food. Shocking, right? If she is in her chair and you aren't feeding her- that's a problem. If you aren't feeding her fast enough- that's a problem. If you stop feeding her- that's a problem. If you try to sneak in a bite of your food with one hand which slows your other hand down even a fraction of a second- that's a problem. She has the patience of a saint until it comes to mealtime. Then you better step on the gas. I can't even be mad- that's 1000% genetic. Hanger is in our blood.

She's become very proficient at pulling up and cruising. I've seen her stand a few times on a few different occasions but she's generally not that interested in it. When I try to get her to walk holding my hands she's not into it. She's way more interested in jumping. In fact one of her favorite activities is having Daddy hold her and jumping with her in his arms. She just laaaaaaughs and laaaaughs. The only thing she seems to love more than jumping is being upside down. Seriously. This kid adores throwing her head back to see what things look like upside down. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

It's so hilarious they keep laying me down on this like I'll stay. They never learn, do they?

Personality wise she continues to be a sweet, good-natured, loving little nugget. Unless you're withholding food. Then you're public enemy #1. We all love you so much more than I can put into words punky doodle!

The School Stuff
The week after we returned from Florida Brynn got moved up at school. I believe August 4th was her first official day in there. Whomp whomp. I handled her getting moved up much better than I would have guessed I would. Probably because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was ready for it. That and I was legit worried one day I would show up and have an incident report that she crawled over a classmate's head or something.

Uh uh uh sis. You stay over there. This is MY spotlight.

In her new class she has one of Ryan and I's other favorite teachers from when Em was little. She loves on her just as much as we knew she would. Case in point as to why we love her so- on day 2 in there she did an impression of Brynn's "uh uh uh" (the one I detailed in her 8 month post) face and told us how much it made her laugh.

Also, in her new class she has snack time. As you might have guessed from the above, that alone was enough to win her over. It helped that her 2 friends from class that are closest to her in age also moved with her.

This is still going on, huh?

The Stats

Height: 28" (71st percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 8 oz (59th percentile)
Head: 17.5" (71st percentile)
Firsts:

7/26 - First road trip
8/4 - First day in Infant B Class

Diaper Size: 3
Clothes: 6-9 months but honestly only because I need to wash and procure some new 12 month clothes because they're REAL snug
Feeding: She usually has 3 meals a day and is still taking a 6 oz bottle every 3 hours while awake. Lately she's decided that to really drive Ryan & I nuts she will leave about 0.5-1 oz in each bottle. No matter how much or little you put in there. Just so you know who's really in charge.
Foods Tried: Eggs, Tiny pieces of tortilla chip (#Momwinning), Cheerios, Blueberry
Sleeping: She most definitely has her own night time schedule. Between 7 & 7:30 pm she wants you to put her down and get out. She will wake up any time between 6:30 & 7 am. Nap-wise she typically takes a short-ish nap in the morning around 10 and then a longer one around 1.
Favorite Songs/Games: Jumping with Daddy. Hands down.
Other Notables: I think that Brynn is an early to bed/morning person type. Her better nap is always in the afternoon and she is DONE with the day around 7. Em always slept better in the morning and getting her to go to bed is still a struggle.