Our Strawberry at Nine Months!

Savoring a teething biscuit! YUMMY!!! Susannah is quite the little "cookie monster"!

Our sweet angel continues to grow and grow, and on March 4 she hit the nine month mark. As I write this, she is already ten months, which is even less believable than was nine months! Oh, how we simply adore her! She is just a DELIGHT beyond words...a life-giving, sparkly-eyed wonder of a Strawberry. God has been beyond gracious to us in His provision of her, and we truly savor every single moment with her.

A few things that Susannah is loving and doing these days:

--She LOVES EATING! Making all of her baby food has been such a fun experience for me. Her favorites include avocado, spinach, broccoli, apples, pears, prunes, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, mango, pineapple, green beans, peas, peaches, and well...just about anything you give her! Her top favorite food of all? YOGURT! She will eat mass quantities of plain whole milk YoBaby yogurt. Just can't get enough!

--WHISTLING! Around late February, Susannah began to "whistle." In fact, she spent the whole weekend we were in Colonial Heights for Sophie's birthday party (those pictures will be my next entry!) rounding her lips and "whistling" at everyone she met. SO CUTE is our little Wide-eyed Whistler!

--FIRST TOOTH! At around eight-and-a-half months, Susannah's first tooth popped through. It was a Sunday night when Daddy was feeding her and noticed it...and Mama cried! I am sooooo pathetically (nauseatingly?) sentimental...

--TRYING TO CRAWL! Susannah will get herself on all fours and rock, rock, rock back and forth. (Even though she is now ten months old, she still is not moving anywhere! UGH!) She began to practice in her crib before and after naptimes, and when she awoke in the mornings. In addition to rocking on all fours, she began to scoot small distances--mostly backwards and in small circles--on her tummy to access out-of-reach toys.

--BOOK LOVE! Susannah officially ADORES books! It is both endearing and exciting to watch her sit through page after page, book after book for upwards of ten books. Even if she is exhausted and nothing else in the world can comfort her, a book does the trick. They're the panacea for all her baby woes! She turns the pages herself, and especially loves books with pictures of real animals and real baby faces.

--STRAWBERRY SOUNDS! Susannah has really found her voice these days. She has "branched out" from her typical pterodactyl squawks and now delights us with coos, babbling (da-da-da, ba-ba-ba, ga-ga-ga, ma-ma-ma), and "conversations" that are lengthy and involve growling, gurgling, and, of course, SQUAWKING! She loves to experiment with the many movements her tongue can make as she makes these sounds, and will lay on her changing table and stick it out and bend it in multiple directions.

--CUDDLES, CUDDLES! My favorite times of the day with Susannah are when it's time for her to go night-night. After reading a zillion books, we look out her bedroom window and say "night-night" to the grass and trees and doggies in the yard, draw her shades, nurse, and then dance to a song or two before I tuck her into her crib with her paci and Silky. I breathe in her sweet milky smell and all but melt as she firmly presses her cheek to mine while we sway to the gentle melodies of Pachelbel's Canon in D or Twila Paris's "Come Thou Fount," just two of the many soothing songs we enjoy at bedtime. Oh, being Susannah Joy's mama is the greatest gift ever... The romance is unending!

We are so tickled by the bond between Susannah and her Rylie-dog. She looks for Rylie first thing when she wakes up each morning, and anytime she hears the jingle of Rylie's tags, her face registers excitement and she begins to look around for her.

Susannah is, at last, getting more hair! It's still a very scant amount, but it's more than she's had all this time. We love fluffing it up when it's wet. It's the exact color of Mama's, which is really fun. No curls yet...we're just waiting for the first one to pop out!





Playing with Her Little Friend Judah




Susannah became increasingly social in her ninth month of life. Suddenly, she would seek out simple interactions with other babies, and she began to show intense fascination for slightly older children, as well. So wired for relationship is this baby girl! God has blessed us with a family just a block up the hill who has a little guy. We have known Seth and Melissa since we moved to Staunton, and they have lived up the road for about four years, but it hasn't been until we shared motherhood that Melissa and I started seeing each other or at least talking on the phone just about everyday! Having babies--and navigating all the ups and downs and questions and life changes--causes new mamas to knit together in unique ways. Melissa and I are like-minded and like-hearted in many aspects of our mothering, so talking and strolling and eating lunch and making cookies and sewing and letting the babies "play" together not only provides wonderful fellowship, but also peace for our hearts and joy for this journey. Harry and Seth also get together sometimes, though it's harder for working daddies to spend so much time with one another. We are sooooooo grateful to God for his provision of perfect neighbors! So great it is to raise our babies together...

Judah at just over four months and Susannah at just over eight months play together on the floor gym in our living room. Judah, despite being four months younger than Susannah, weighs just about what she does and is almost as long!

It's always a major "suck fest" when these little babies get together!

"Sharing" a slinky (only because they don't realize it's connected, I am sure!). Typically, the babies' play goes something like this: Judah holds and chews upon a toy, and Susannah sits nearby and does the same with a different toy. Both are content until Susannah looks at Judah and realizes that he has the exact toy she desperately needs at that moment...again and again and again! So she takes his toys...again and again and again. "Wow, Judah...I was just gonna play with that one. Do you mind? (grab)" We can't help but laugh at this little rhythm they have!

March Snow Day!

Daddy got a day off from school in early March due to snow! We got about five inches, and it was blissful to be able to play in it with Daddy. This is the first time he has seen Susannah in the snow!

Daddy let Susannah taste some cold, cold snow. BRRRRRRR!

A baby snow angel!!!

Daddy adores his frozen Strawberry...

When we came inside, Susannah's cheeks were rosy pink and ice cold!

A Day with the Hershbergers

Mama's friend Esther brought her three little children for a visit in early March. We spent a few hours playing in our living room before heading out for a special pizza lunch (tis always a treat when a mother of three children four and under doesn't have to prepare a meal in her own kitchen...or clean up afterwards!). Seeing Esther, Johann (age four), Jordan (age 19 months), and baby Jewel (age four months) was such a blessing, as it had been MANY MONTHS since we had been together. Esther is a loving and inspirational mother who balances Biblical grace, patience, and loving discipline well in her shepherding of the little lives with which God has entrusted her, and I always learn so much in her presence.

Jordan really loved playing with Susannah, and Susannah savored the attention from this "big boy" friend!

Sharing blocks with my new friend Jordan. He was sooooo patient with her grabbing!

Esther and baby Margaret Jewel

God has graciously blessed Conrad and Esther with a girl after giving them two little boys. Esther is enjoying every moment of pink sweetness that little their Jewel brings!

While the mamas visited and devoted most of our attention to the needs of the two more active little ones, Johann played independently with my train set. What a big, big helper he is! I have known Johann since he was just over a year old, so to see him now at age four-and-a-half is a jolt to my system! He has grown into a bright, inquisitive, well-mannered young boy and is just a joy to be around.




Happy Nine-Month Birthday!!!

We began the day with a teething biscuit...and followed that up with a BATH!

Susannah then spent some time in her room playing with her stacker toy and its jingling yellow ball. How nimble are those dimpled hands becoming!

Dollbaby, dollbaby, dollbaby!