Moving and Shaking at Nine Months

Anika is getting older all the time.  She is constantly moving now--wanting to stand up, grab things, see things, eat things, smile at things, yell at things, and crawl all over the place.  I use the word "crawl" liberally.  From a functional perspective, I think the word crawl is accurate.  But a more accurate description of what Anika does is probably "worm."  She has not yet figured out that using her knees will increase her mph about 100% (and we are not in a hurry to provide her with any extra horsepower).  Instead, Anika uses her arms to pull herself across the floor.  It's like she hits warp speed when she transitions from the carpet to the hardwood floor.  Alicia and I think her worming bodes well for her back and shoulder muscles, and thus her swimming, weight lifting, or rowing career.  This video is not quite Anika's inaugural voyage--but close.  Apologies for the poor video quality.

In other news, Anika continues to push the limits of the growth charts--the downward limits.  She saw the doctor for her nine-month appointment and weighed a whopping fifteen-point-something pounds, which put her in the third--yes third--percentile for weight.  But even that's beat by her height percentile, which is even lower--the second.  Nevertheless, we are assured that she is perfectly proportionate and there is nothing to worry about for now.

True to her development in the womb, Anika's belly size continues to run ahead of all of her other measurements.  The upside is that this helps out in the modesty department and makes for easy bath-time photography.

This is Anika in her big-girl jacket (fit for a nine-month-old), though Anika may be able to wear it next fall at this rate.

Anika learning to eat bread crumbs with her hands.  This is her new favorite activity.  And it encourages finger dexterity to boot!  She'll be playing Operation before we know it.