9 months

My little Roo,

What a magnificent cheerful little girl you're becoming. You giggle, smile, coo, talk (in your own way :) and sing (again, in your own way). Your giggle is the most fascinating sound, and you like it when we imitate it. When we all (your father, your big brother and me) engage in this giggle feast, I am sure we sound like complete morons, but we have so much fun.

You absolutely hate to lay on your back. Because of that, diaper changes are a battle. I try to distract you with games, toys and singing, but nothing really works. Accept sometimes letting you chew on (clean) diapers does the trick. Your brother thinks it's the funniest thing ever shouting "THEEEERE SHE GOES AGAIN!" ("Daar GAAT ze weer!")

As much as you hate laying on your back, you LOVE the swing at the playground. Your little blond hairs dance in the wind and you let everyone know you're having the time of your life by doing your giggle. A lot of time you sit in your stroller and watch Monkey goof around, and you're OK with that. It won't be long before you're running around too.

Speaking about running: I caught you walking alongside the couch. You also used our kitchen step too walk. Sitting however, is not your thing. As soon as I let you sit on the ground, you turn around and crawl or climb right back into my arms.

You crawl at the speed of light! And you always head for the hallway, trying to chew on a shoe or the cat food. On two occasions I could barely rescue the food from your mouth.

You're also fond of people food. Broccoli and courgette are your favorite veggies. You are not a baby rice, oatmeal kind of girl. Only when I mix it with banana or pear you'll eat it. I am real proud of you for eating mashed foods instead of purees. You don't seem to mind the inconsistent character of non puree foods at all. You prefer to hold your own spoon while you're eating. It's kind of messy. You really love little pieces of bread with your lunch soup. Bread crumbs everywhere, but you really love to eat the pieces by yourself, grabbing them and squeezing them in your little fists making them all buttery. You'll try anything and so far I haven't found a food you really don't like. Hooray!

Your milk intolerance seems to be less, which is great. Just this morning I discovered a new rash on you big brother. After two days of having dairy ice cream. I'm glad you'll be able to eat ice cream without having to worry about how your body will react.

Roo, Roo, Roo, having you and your brother in my life feels so perfect. I don't want to miss a second of your life. It goes by quickly as it is. Being gone from home to work for 3 days a week has the great benefit that we can financially give everything to you and your brother. That we can do all these fun things. Buy many toys and the cutest clothes. Go on spontaneous trips. Buy organic food. Go on wonderful vacations. And don't have to worry about our finances. But the fact that I can't be with you and Monkey is difficult on me. More difficult than I ever imagined it to be.

I hear you just woke up from your nap. So I'll run to you little girl.

I love you always,
Mom

(PS: I am sorry I didn't write you your 8 months letter. There's no excuse other than the fact that I rather spend time with you than writing about you.)