WOW! Nine months have gone by. WOW!
Our precious sweet girl is nine months old today. I keep saying it. It's amazing. She is amazing. The mommy thing is not a walk in the park but it is so rewarding. Seeing Nadia grow right before my eyes...seeing her discover and mature...seeing her understand things and try to communicate...it's all so awesome, in the true sense of the word. Kory and I do have a sense of awe as we watch her wave for the first time or the second or the third or the 25th time. We are awed when she smiles wide so pleased with herself that she picked up a piece of banana. We are awed when we tip-toe to her crib during the night and watch her angelic little self sleeping peacefully.
The day-to-day seems to have gotten easier but then again the variables that come with each passing week always add a new dynamic, a new hurdle that we have to learn to navigate around constantly.
Miss Nadia P helps by napping consistently - now once in the morning and once in the afternoon - and so I have a bit of free time to catch up on email, take a shower, eat, write a blogpost. I got an Event Coordinator gig that has me making calls and sending emails during most naps over the last few weeks and....drumroll, I am in a show! It goes up Sept. 10th and we've been in rehearsals since late August. I'm doing a show!!! I'm a mom and an actress! This is truly a dream come true. Now I know that even when I'm not in a show, I'm still an actress (auditioning, etc) but the fact that this is the first theatre production I am doing since she was born is still thrilling. Of course the juggling of Kory's and my schedules in terms of childcare has been a little tough, but overall it's been manageable thankfully. So Yay!
Nadia has her nine-month check-up today with Dr. Gold. We'll see how much she weighs now. She got her first fever last month which was hugely stressful and anxiety-producing for us but, as all my wonderful mommy friends said she would (and we would), she got better and we got through it.
I found a lovely young Turkish woman who will now be her regular babysitter which was a huge goal of mine. So Yay on that too! The hope is that she will be exposed to Turkish and pick it up a bit.
And Nadia...she is rolling over and really getting around. She holds herself up on her tunny expertly and even scoots around with her arms and legs, besides the rolling everywhere. She loves rolling under the couch. She loves chomping on the pieces of her playmat. She is a great eater...now everything from yogurt and avocado to peaches and olives. Most things she eats on her own with her tiny little fingers bringing each morsel to her mouth. She has a new smile where she scrunches up her face and her eyes narrow...it's an adorable 'whole face' smile. She has added tttt-tttt to her repertoire of ggg-ggg, ddd-ddd, nnn-nnn and mmm-mmm.
She drinks from a cup (even if she dribbles most of it). She's not so hot on the bottle but did take one from Sila the other day, and occasionally from her dad.
I love her with all my being. And when at night when she is falling asleep and I'm holding her in my arms listening to her breath against my neck, I am filled with so much joy. Any of the stress or anxiety melts away for those moments and I try to capture them in my mind as I know that sooner than I can really wrap my mind around, she is going to be a grown up little girl and such moments will not come as often.
Happy nine months Nadia Perihan. You are ever-smiley and so so sweet. I love you I love you I love you.
Your Momma,
Esra
