Nine months of Clara.

Clara has officially been Earth-side for as long as she was in the womb! That's a little wild to think about.

She celebrated her 9-month milestone by growing her first tooth. Yes, tooth. In the singular form. I think the second one is on its way.

She also battled her fourth ear infection to date this month and we had to try three different antibiotics before the last one worked (nasty Augmentin, for the record). All the while, she had trouble sleeping and eating and was just generally in a foul mood. Not to mention the explosive diarrhea and yeast infections that accompany the use of antibiotics. I seriously hope this is the last ear infection ever, but if not, I see ear tubes in this child's future.

In other news, Clara is a proficient crawler and has also begun pulling up to stand next to furniture. Crazy! She seems too tiny to be doing that type of thing. I predict she will be walking before she turns 1. She likes to keep up with her siblings and wants to be doing whatever they are. And she gets into EVERYTHING. Her favorite thing to do is locate the nearest cord and start chewing on it. She's so pleased with herself whenever she finds one.

Despite having only 1.5 teeth, Clara has begun enjoying real people food. She really likes those squeezy pouches of baby food (there's this broccoli/spinach/kiwi/apple one that she favors but I think it smells like grass and looks like diarrhea), Cheerios, yogurt (yes, she outgrew her milk intolerance!), bananas, and whatever we're having, after I've made it toothless-friendly. She still struggles to drink out of a cup which means she still wants to nurse several times a day for liquid. It's getting old. I'd like to whittle her down to three or four feedings but she's gotta figure out how to drink water first, obviously. Any tips on that would be greatly appreciated.

Let's see, what else? She's started "talking" in this tiny, airy voice which is so cute. She still only says "Hi," "Dada," "Mama" and the occasional "all done." She loves Carson and Audrey and lights up whenever she sees them. When she's not dealing with a raging ear infection or incoming teeth, she is the happiest baby. Her joy is infectious and wherever we go, random people can't help but comment on how cute she is. She lights up every room she enters. What a precious bumpkin!