It’s been super fun to see Noe understanding more and more words. Today we were looking at a book with babies in it and I was pointing out the colors of the babies’ shirts: “He has a red shirt, he has a green shirt,” and Noe pointed to her shirt. How brilliant, right?!

Check out her new tricks on this video:

After being able to see emerging teeth for months, they are finally here! Noe acted like she was teething in Maine, and then had a rough week last week, but now she has two very beautiful bottom middle teeth poking through! I’m trying to get images of them --you can see them in the video below if you look really closely!

We had a great time in Maine this past week with Josh’s family, and even got to see my side of the family because of an airport mix-up. Noe had a great time with her cousins (and her mom didn’t mind the entertaining help).

Noe and Audrey (who is only 6 weeks younger) spent a good deal of time trying to trade pacifiers.

Noe couldn’t get enough of William…or his game system.

Noe also took her first carousel ride and loved it. It’s hard to see her in the video, but she was pretty enthralled, and somehow knew to hold on to the pole.

Noe has been showing that she understands at least some of what we say. When we read her animal books and get to the butterfly page, Noe points up to her bedroom wall, where she has butterflies painted courtesy of Grandma Cheryl. She and Josh have been working on her Pat the Bunny routine…

So she’s too young for the famous marshmallow test, where researchers put kids in a room with a marshmallow and told them that if they could wait to eat it until the researcher returned, they’d get another marshmallow, with the ability to wait tied to future success in school and emotional stability. But this girl can w…a…i…t! Check out the video --she’s initiating peek-a-boo now, and sometimes even I can’t wait as long as she does!

The photographer who took Noe’s pictures this spring has her studio down the street from us. We were walking by the other day when we noticed that Noe had become one of the features in her window!

Noe may not be crawling, but she’s getting a great neck stretch when we put her on her tummy. Come to think of it, it may be genetic, as it’s quite reminiscent of her mom’s exercise routines…

In other news, Noe is using the same move to show affection. (I tried to get a picture of it in the last post, with her hugging the ball.) She’s hugging just about everything now--her mom and dad (yeah!), her dolls, toys, pillows on the bed, the ottoman… Trying to soak them all up to last us from her teenage years until we have grandchildren.

(Here is Noe hugging our exercise ball, which she loves.)

Noe had her 9-month well-child doctor’s appointment today. She checked out just fine, and it was so interesting to think about the last time we were at the doctor’s, when she was 6 months. This visit she was so much busier –she wanted to check out everything in the room (she loved being able to open the door and grin out at all the nurses), whereas last visit she was content to sit in my lap with a toy. And the next time we’ll be there (fingers crossed!) is when Noe is a year. Wow.

Noe’s new stats:
Weight= 17 lbs, 14 oz. (less than I expected–I thought she’d be over 18 lbs)
Length= 27.5 in (she grew 1.5 in in 3 months!)

The doctor also said that Noe is cutting a tooth, so be on the watch for a picture of a pearly white sometime soon!

Noe and I finally joined Josh for lunch last week (he now works within walking distance of our house), and Noe enjoyed her first crust of bread.

In other news, Noe is starting to make some locomotive progress. We’re not talking baby steps, but her parents are thrilled (of course). Watch closely or you’ll miss it.

You don’t quite get the full effect of Noe’s 4th of July outfit without the white hat with a blue ribbon, which she wore to the neighborhood parade and picnic. The parade is hilarious- think a modern-day Pied Piper, with about 200 kids, plus their parents and dogs, on all manner of kid transport: strollers, wagons, bikes, trikes (I saw one pogo stick). We were one of about 30 people watching. The parade funnels into the local park, which is complete with Irish-bluegrass band (?), bounce-house, pie-making contest, and community picnic. It’s a riot, and we’re excited to see how Noe enjoys it in a couple years.