samantha grace has gotten very good at scooting around the house. while i wouldn't say she's got a full-on crawl going, she will no longer stay where we put her, and uses a combination of rolling, scooting across the floor and other means to pursue whatever has her interest at the time. recently, she's actually perfected an army-type crawl to claw her way across the floor. it doesn't look like the best way to get around, but it seems to work for her!
and i think before too long we will have to lower her crib. she's been sitting up in her bed lately, something she hadn't really been doing, and is starting to pull up on the side rails. eek! when did my baby girl grow up so much? with her new-found ability to pull up, she's also been standing for brief periods next to furniture or toys. i think she enjoys the new perspective, but her legs get tired quickly and any delight she has quickly turns to frustration. we'll keep working on it.
samantha has also gotten much more verbal lately. she squeals and babbles during the day, telling us when she's happy or interested in something. it's so great to see her personality and interests developing!
she also *loves* her big brother, now that she's able to move more she tries desperately to keep up with him or at least get over to where he's playing. noah's not really used to this, so it doesn't last long, but i'm sure by the time she can move around it will get better.
i took sammy for her 9 month pediatrician appointment and she weighed in at 16 lbs, 10 oz and measured 27 1/2 inches tall. developmentally she was on level with a 13 month old, and everything else looked wonderful according to the pediatrician.
i also took sammy to get her 9 month pictures taken this month. as always, the weather was not cooperating since we had scheduled a morning photo shoot, outdoors. it was so foggy on the way there that i nearly turned around and cancelled. fortunately, by the time we got to frisco, the skies had cleared and the weather was much better. the only problem? for her first set of pictures we had sammy sitting on a step. she was *so* adorable and was *so* excited she was getting all the attention that she started clapping, lost her balance and face-planted directly onto the gravel! she had a pretty nice abrasion with some bleeding when i picked her up. and, being the ER nurse mom that i am, i asked if we had to stop or if ariana felt like she could airbrush samantha's cheek when editing the photos. the verdict? airbrush! the rest of the shoot went really, really well and sam was quite the little trooper.
the steps (before the fall)
a "fixed" picture, from after the fall
what she actually looked like (this was the next morning)
poor girl :(
thank goodness for modern technology...
and as for noah,
he enjoys narrating his day, or whatever we are doing, for us all day long. he'll explain what's going on play-by-play-style from the minute he wakes up (telling us that he needs his diaper changed, it's time to eat breakfast, what's for breakfast, that we're cooking breakfast, etc.) until the minute we put him in bed and close the door. it's absolutely incredible to hear him chatter on about the way he sees the world. 
other things noah enjoys doing: playing in the sandbox, as often as possible, and (while inside) pretending to go to sleep. he will frequently grab a teddy bear, a couch pillow, and a blanket from the living room and announce, "noah go to sleep, noah's sleeping!" and lay down, half-close his eyes and make fake snoring sounds. this lasts for a few seconds before he springs up and states, "i just woke up, mommy!"
and, because we have a water hazard in our backyard (yes, the pool), matt and i both felt it was/is important for the kids to know water safety and learn to swim earlier than we did (neither of us ever had a pool growing up). after researching some swimming classes i found out that a co-worker and friend of mine used to be a competitive swimmer and instructor. she offered to train noah this summer at our house and i couldn't turn it down! so, we've started swim lessons and noah is gradually learning how to swim. kelley is wonderful and patient and i love that noah has a one-on-one instructor. the convenience of not having to load the kids up to go somewhere -- around naptime and eating schedules -- is especially nice. noah is still fairly uncertain about the water, and he tends to get fussy during his lessons, but i'm hoping that as his skills and confidence improve, so does his attitude.
"God'sa great,
God'sa good,
Lessa thank him, fora food.
By'sa hand we all are fed,
Thankyou God, daily bread.
AAAA-MEN!"
even more pictures are at this link:
