Cate - 9 Months

This sweet baby is a speed demon!  Nine-month-old Cate is a crawling machine.  She gets those chubby little hands and feet slapping at the ground at a pretty alarming rate.  By the way - the phrase "pitter patter of little feet" is a misnomer in my book.  I much prefer the slapping hands of crawling kiddos.  But I digress...

Nana taught Cate a new song - Pat A Cake. It is so sweet to watch her clapping along.  She claps anytime we celebrate.  All you have to do is say, "Yeah Cate!" and she gives herself a round of applause.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but clapping babies might be the cutest thing ever.

This sweet girl is really working hard to communicate with us.  She has learned to sign "more" and uses it regularly when we get out the puffs.  She would eat an entire container in one sitting if we would let her.  Occasionally she signs "all done" by raising her hands above her head and shaking them.  Looks very similar to waving bye-bye, but we know what she means.  She has started shaking her head "no".  This isn't just a funny thing she does (although it is pretty hilarious).  She actually shakes her head to answer questions.  "Cate, do you want more?"  Shakes head.  "Cate, do you like green beans?"  Shakes head.  "Cate, are your ready to go night-night?" You get the picture.

Miss Priss even said her first word - Bubba.  With the love between the two of them, I am not at all surprised.  He gets her biggest smiles, loudest laughs and sweetest kisses.  I pray they are always this close.  She also said her second word - Peppa (as in Pig).  Tanner bought her a little Peppa Pig plush toy a few months ago.  She plays with it quite a bit, but I never would have dreamed she would call that toy by name before me.  But I'm not bitter...

Cate enjoys cruising along the couch and gets just about anywhere she wants to go.  She is walking with assistance, but usually wants to cruise or crawl because it's faster.  She has started thinking about trying to stand unassisted.  A few times, I've been helping her stand and she will let go of my hands and sit down slowly.  I'm afraid my brave little bug is going to walk before I'm ready.  She's not nearly as cautious as her brother.

I had originally planned to take a picture of her lying next to her giraffe each month.  She may not be laying down, but she was kind enough to show me how she is bigger than her giraffe.  :)  And if you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of those adorable chunky legs.  LOVE!