MONTHLY PORTRAIT: nine months

Josephine's Monthly Portrait. Taken in her nursery on the 18th of every month.

Nine months old today, and so much fun. A little bundle of laughter and cheekiness, bravery and confidence, love and kindness. And did I mention that she's the most beautiful creature; curly locks swept to the side, beestung lips, the longest eyelashes and bright blue eyes. Heartbreaker in the making.

Likes: The water, whether it's splashing in the bath or swimming in the pool, she's our little water baby. Music and singing, playing with other children, walking with her little walker, eating banana and having her teeth cleaned (she's obsessed with teeth; her own and everyone elses).
Dislikes: Spending too much time in her pram; she'd rather be crawling or holding your hand and walking. And she's really not a fan of daytime naps, but that's nothing new.
What makes her smile more than anything: Mama and Papa both being on the floor playing with her toys. Building towers, reading books and messing about with teddies and dolls. There's also plenty of smiling at the prospect of getting in the bath with Papa and hearing the key in the door when he gets home from work.
Favourite toys: Her vintage Fisher Price house, her walker, her doll Jenny and her teddy, a wooden pull along duck and this rattle. Oh and not forgetting a wooden spoon from the kitchen, our coasters and any cardboard boxes or Tupperware pots she can get her hands on; hours of fun!
Mama's favourite thing: Her singing is hands down the sweetest thing in the world. I hum a tune to her and she'll sing back to me. My heart melts every time. And she's started giving me such snugly cuddles too.
Papa's favourite thing: How happy she is when she learns something new; she was so frustrated at not being able to open one of the doors on her toy house, but when she finally mastered how to do it she was grinning away for ages. And my random little chats with her are awesome. She still says "Dada" more than anything else, which I love!
Career prediction: Vet. Her love for animals is growing all the time. My grandparent's dog Bella is chased around their house constantly when we visit them and we have to stop to look at every dog or cat we pass when we're out. Plus she has mastered her "woof woof" and "grrrrrrr" sounds and her Eric Carle Animal Sounds book is one of her favourites.

We could bottle you up at this age Josephine, so cute you are. We love you xxx

These photos were taken on the 18th, and most of the words written then too...it's just that I didn't quite get round to finishing the post until today. Nine months = a very busy baby and very busy Mama!