+ Flu shot +
Well, we get to be part of the small minority of folks who witness a reaction to the flu shot. Thankfully, it was mild, but it provides us something to watch for in the future. You had your flu shot on Tuesday morning, and yesterday midday you spiked a 103 fever and got booted from daycare. After some daddy cuddling, then mommy cuddling and some tylenol, it went down and you were fine through the night.

We're still trying to get back our sleeping-through-the-night thing though last night was pretty darned good. You woke me up at 1, but when I came in you were just fussing. I left you alone and you drifted back off to sleep. At 4 you woke up for real and cried for milk. Then back to sleep until 7 again. Not bad at all!

+ Compare and decide +
Yeah, Ceili looks mostly like her daddy. See here to compare!

+ Well, I'll be! +
Look around you. Does the world look different today? Hell froze over! Yes, I know, it's hard to believe and I admit the world looks an awful lot like it did yesterday. That's something to ruminate on another day. But I digress.

CEILI SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!

I know, it's happened a couple of times before, but this time felt... different. I think we're on to something. It was textbook, I swear to you. You went down at 7:30 - awake. No tears, no whining, just a few minutes of playing with your stuffed elephant and then sleep. That's it. I woke up at 3:30 and tiptoed in to spy on you, but you were snoozing away soundly. There was no sign you'd ever awakened. All of your toys by your crib were still there, watching over you as you slept, and your elephant and doggie were in roughly the same places they were when you fell asleep.

Next thing I know, it's 5:43 (two minutes before my alarm clock was due to go off) and I heard you whimpering very quietly. I got to you before you fully woke, fed you and you went BACK TO SLEEP! I had to wake you up at 7:15 to feed you before I left and you were all smiles and giggles.

Incidentally, you did your psycho giggling thing again last night. It was shorter, maybe only 5 or 10 minutes, but at least Auntie Chelle got to hear/see you do it this time. WAY too cute.

Daddy took you for your flu shot this morning, so I'm not overly optimistic that you will sleep happily tonight since that's kind of a big thing. On the other hand, maybe you'll sleep even better! Who knows?!

We also tried a new thing with your bottles at daycare yesterday. I'm sending 3 6-7 oz. bottles instead of the 4 4 oz. bottles you were getting. Dear reader: I know, I know. If you have a baby her age or older, you're thinking, "What?! A 9-month old drinking only 4 oz. at a time?!" But (a) she's small and (b) she's a snacker. I nurse her that often much of the time too. But that's why I'm sending less, smaller bottles now. I would like to break this pattern. And she seemed to like it too. She got her third one at 4:00, which tells me a lot. We did it again today and I think we're on to something!

+ Jobbing +
Daddy and I always joke about how you need to get a job, especially since you'll be walking soon. All you do is sit around, eat, throw things at the doggie, etc. I think you could earn a tidy sum for us doing something productive, right? ;-)

Well, I just read that Baby Olivia is modeling. Now that's what I'm talking about. Get on out there and start earning. I want to retire when I'm 40. As my mother - your grandmother - would say (and HAS said), "A good daughter would try to make me happy."

I've thought about submitting you for baby modeling. Your crazy blonde hair is both an asset and a detraction, I think. And you've got pretty blue eyes - but every baby has that. I dunno.

+ Blogger and stuff +
I would blog more if the stupid right-click thingie would work. I don't know what's up with that. Oh, and before I forget, there is a new album for 9-12 months linked in her family/friends page. If you need access, just say so!

Anyway... Sleep. This is our issue du jour. You see, you're sleeping better. Kind of. Last evening, you had some tummy issue but you were just exhausted and wanted to sleep but couldn't. After some Mylicon drops, you pepped up and turned into Energizer Baby. Seriously, I have NEVER seen you with that much energy. I think you giggled for 1/2 hour straight. It was surreal. And I couldn't get you to calm down to actually go to bed, so I just plopped you in there with your stuffed animals around 8 and you played yourself to sleep. Wonderful. Then you woke up at 3, and went right back to sleep after some boob time. I actually had to physically wake you up at 7:15 to get ready for school!

Now, I have mixed feelings on this. You see, we discontinued monitor use a while back because I was being hyper-sensitive to it, waking up every time you rolled over. That made me a nervous wreck because I couldn't hear you, well, every time you rolled over! If I can't hear you roll over, how will I hear if you choke or suffocate or succumb to some evil monster living under your bed? (joke) I leave your door open and leave mine cracked and have faith that when you cry I will hear you. Nearly every time I wake up to your crying in the middle of the night, you are standing on the closest edge of the crib, chewing on the crib edge. That means you've been awake for a while. In other words, I am not waking up until you scream loud enough to get through my slumbering deafness.

Last night I know you woke up at least one time after our 3 a.m. waking because you pulled down every.single.toy lining the back of your crib (they're all safe, I just keep 'em there for storage during the day). But I never heard it. You either weren't upset enough, or you weren't loud enough to wake me.

My mother thinks this is just fabulous. She actually used the word "fantastic." I don't think this is fantastic OR fabulous. Again. If I can't hear you wake up enough to get peeved and pull down every toy in your room, how will I hear that evil monster coming after you?

I know this is a necessary step, and I know the folks from the Cry-It-Out camp will be applauding our progress. I just hope I can come to feel the same way. Being rested regularly might help that.

+ December +
Oh my goodness. Well. We made it through a nasty nasty bug which you felt it was necessary to bring home. Everyone got it, and your ear infection was matched by my own. Daddy and I both missed a ton of work, and you missed almost the whole week of daycare. Fortunately, everyone was feeling better in time for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day you had an upset stomach, though, so you weren't really very cheerful. Oh well. Not much we can do about that I suppose.

You are 9.5 months old now. That boggles my mind.

It's astounding what you can do and what you know now. I am amazed by your cleverness, like waiting patiently and sneaking a peek to see if we're watching after we've told you "No" to grabbing things you're not supposed to grab. You are drawn to the videos/DVD's like a freakish magnet. And doggie toys. You crawl like a speed demon, and pull up constantly. You easily cruise around furniture and reach from one thing to another with alarming ease. I understand better every day all the descriptions I've heard about babies and their stages. You're more of a handful all the time, but watching you grow is so rewarding all at once. It makes me choke up with emotion when you reach for me, or watch me while someone else is holding you. I know you don't have a choice about your attachment to me, but it blows me away that this incredible human being thinks I am truly the bee's knees.

At your Dr's appointment at the beginning of your last illness, you weighed 17 lbs. 4 oz. Four days later, you were down to 16 lbs. 10 oz. (yikes!), but the doctor said it was okay. At any rate, you should be weighing somewhere in the 17+ lb. range. My arms can feel it too, I tell ya!

You babble constantly, and you still have just the four teeth. The two middle ones have been threatening to break through for days, but nothing yet. I don't envy you your teething fun.