Victoria turned 9 months yesterday.

To be honest with you, I don’t know where 9 months have gone. I know every mother says that, but I’m serious – I don’t know where the time has gone. It’s gone by fast, way too fast.

As you can imagine, with 5 kids… I love being a mom.

Each stage is a miracle. Each stage is a blessing. Each stage is new and wonderous… even on the 5th time around!

But 9 months… it’s a big deal. It’s a fun stage.

Here are 9 reasons why I love 9 months…

1) Victoria knows us now. “Where’s mama?” She turns to me. “Where’s dada?” She turns to Matt. And believe it or not, when I ask where the boys are, she starts to laugh and clap her hands.

2) She says “mama” as clear as a bell. Talk about love.

3) She’s crawling. I know, I know… mobility is a tough one, but it’s also fun. She loves to crawl around and you can tell she’s so happy about it. It’s adorable to see.

4) She can feed herself little pieces of food. Eating time has gotten a little easier. If I put small pieces of food down for her, she picks a piece up and puts it in her mouth.

5) She sleeps through the night. Let me repeat. She sleeps through the night.

6) She loves interacting with the boys. She’ll dance with them. She even sings with them (no joke, there’s a YouTube video to prove it!). She has a lot of fun being, HERE with us. It’s something I love to see.

7) I’m at the stage now where I can REALLY dress her in frilly and totally girly-girl outfits. This is LOVELY all within itself.

8) The arms up to signal she wants to be picked up. Having older children, I can’t tell you how much I missed that stage. It’s such a cute and special little bond and request.

9) She’s in a highchair and forward stroller… which means, she’s alive to the world now! Before she would be in her stroller at a restaurant and while we were out and about, she’d be facing us in the stroller – now she’s saying HELLO to the world! It’s a cool stage to see. You can tell it’s exciting for her!

9 months, I love you.

I know 12 months will be here quickly, but I’m embracing all these moments in between.