Been too long

I promise I did not give up on my blog...it's just been on hold a few months while I watch my daughter grow up before my very eyes! Any time I think about sitting down to write I find myself being distracted by email, facebook, to-do lists, work, tidying up...but mostly by Melody moving around the table towards me wanting my full attention or eagerly pulling herself up on our entertainment center trying to put cords in her mouth. Yes Melody is officially mobile, crawling all over our house and pulling herself up on anything sturdy enough to hold her weight. She is about to turn 9 months old and I'm excited to see her "stats" at our doctors visit this week. It has been 3 months since our last visit and I'm dying to know how much she weighs...my guess is about 21 lbs. She's definitely been packing on the pounds since I stopped nursing at 6 months. Her best features are her thigh rolls; I can't get over how chubby her little legs are! Here are a few pictures from the past couple months of what she's been up to lately:

reading & toys

 standing up in her crib...we lowered it the next day!

 her favorite sleep position, butt up in the air

 her "gerber baby" pose

 having fun with her mirror

 practicing standing with shoes...doesn't keep them on for long

 nice roll shot...almost too many to count!

 pool time in the front yard

 one more backside shot :) I couldn't resist!

 Oh yeah, and Melody loves to make this new face where she's really excited about something! I can't believe I actually caught in on camera because it's so sporadic. Not really sure what to say about this look except it makes me laugh every time! And of course Bentley tried to get in the shot.

 my little munchkin

Lately we have been spending our time adjusting to her new Mother's Day Out program twice a week, which has allowed me to see clients or have a few hours to myself. She is one of the only girls in her class of about 10 other babies. She seems to be enjoying it but has been pretty clingy lately as she's moving into the "separation anxiety" stage. When Melody wants her mama she wants her mama! It's been both frustrating and humorous at times to see her throw a fit from just putting her down and walking into another room. I find myself becoming more hesitant to pass her off to people because I don't want them to feel like they might be upsetting her. But I know this is a natural and healthy progression for her little developing self and secretly enjoy all her attention. There's something very comforting about knowing your child wants/needs you so badly that they are upset by the mere thought of separation from you. I wonder if this is not anything less than a perfect reflection of what our desire should be towards our Father in heaven...wanting to cling to Him to badly that the thought of being separated from him would bring us great distress.