Nine months.

9 months!

Sasha is quite the mover.  She does not like to sit still for long, so cuddles are almost non-existent.  She is constantly on the go.  We call her The Menace because she likes to get in the middle of - and chew, and likely destroy - anything Lela is playing with.  Luckily, Lela takes this all in stride.  In fact, she deliberately builds things for Sasha to destroy.  Sometimes, she wants to play by herself and I tell her that it's OK to not want to play with Sasha all the time, but that she can't be mean about it. She just takes her toys over the kitchen table, which is out of Sasha's reach (for now).

Lela still loves her sister dearly.  They like to hold hands in the car, their little hands reaching across the two car seats.  Sash is such a little monkey that I have to contain her in the pack and play in order to get anything done, like get dressed.  Lela, ever the good big sister, hops right into the pack and play to join Sasha and the two will play happily while I manage to sneak in a shower or put on some make up.

Sash is such a happy baby these days. She's full of smiles and giggles.  She's still a little sensitive and quick to shriek or wail if something doesn't go her way, but she doesn't stay angry for long. 

Sash is standing up and cruising around furniture pretty well now. She even lets go of one piece of furniture to cruise over to another piece, and she'll stand un-assisted for a few seconds before lowering herself gently to the ground. I swear, this kid will be walking before we know it.  After teething ferociously for months, four teeth popped in on the top row.  She now uses those little chompers to chew on anything and everything she can get into her mouth.  I was worried about her eating skills, but she's discovered that food is delicious and she now eats just about everything we have on the table.  Chicken, green beans, rice, fruit, what ever.  Tomatoes are a huge favorite, so I constantly find little tomato seeds stuck in her neck folds at bath time.

We're working on sign language or even regular language, but she hasn't picked up any language skills yet. I think she's been too fixated on moving as fast as possible to slow down and learn some words.

I gave up breast feeding about 2 weeks ago, and Sasha was not bothered at all.  In fact, she barely even noticed.  I was both relieved at the smooth transition and quietly devastated that Sasha didn't need me as much as I thought she did.  Sniff.  Truthfully, I probably would have kept it up but it wasn't a peaceful, bonding experience anymore. Sash was too busy moving to settle down for a gentle nursing session. It was like trying to nurse a wildebeest.  She twisted and turned and thrashed about, nursing on all fours, rocking side to side.  It was ridiculous.  She drinks her bottles like a little wildebeest, too, but it's easier to feed her in public now.

Love this kid.