Ella James is 9 months old.

She has officially been outside of me for as long as she was inside of me. What a strange thought! When I think about the fact that she is less than one year old, I am sometimes surprised because it seems like she has always been a part of our lives. Other times, I can't believe it has already been 9 months.

Another parental paradox, I suppose.

Loving something that is so much work. Longing for something that is so life-altering. Wanting time to pass quickly and wanting time to slow down. Crying out of frustration and crying out of gratitude...in the same day. Wishing for alone time and rushing to get back to her. Hoping for poop and then having to clean it up. Coaxing to crawl and regretfully chasing ALL DAY. We are in the midst of it at our house and it's tough and it's sweet. Hey, that's another paradox.

Ella took off this month. Literally. She's crawling, pulling up, talking, sitting up from laying down, banging her head on things, sprouting new teeth. It's all happening in this one tiny girl. I have loved all the development this month. It's been so funny to watch her figure out her freedom. One random Monday she started pulling on her bouncy seat and then she was hanging from it. I put her hands on the bars, sat behind her and she just stood up. Frankly, I was a little shocked and couldn't wait to tell Dustin what she'd done, assuming this was a gradually developing new skill. Wrong. She sat back down and promptly pulled back up, smiled, and repeated to my video-recording delight. In the same week, she started sitting up from a laying down position and started crawling in a full-fledged crawling position all around the living room. She also started making so many new sounds. Dada, Mama, Baba, and all sort of other funny things that we're not totally sure what they mean.

I love the last picture in this post. It's a simple picture, but her little eyes are making such an Ella expression. She makes this little face often when she's feeling thoughtful, I think. She's not quite tired and she's not quite energized. Maybe she's day-dreaming. I would love to know what's on your mind, EJ, and I can't wait until you can tell us. How funny to think that less than a year ago "Ella expressions" weren't something that we knew and today they are such a part of your Dad and I knowing you. And we love knowing you, sweet girl! Happy 9 Months!