Aspen at 8 and 9 Months

I am always behind on my posts, so I will post about Aspen at 8 and 9 months together.  I can't believe my baby is almost 9 months old.  Nine months of pregnancy seems to last an eternity, but the time has flown by since her birth.  (Maybe that is due to constant sleep deprivation so it feels like one really long day...) 

This is a picture of my baby from the hospital.  I can't believe how much she has grown.

Here are some things about my little girl:

• Aspen is crawling!  She started crawling at 7 1/2 months.  Now she is into everything.  She crawls over to people, furniture, and walls and pulls herself up.  She acts like she really wants to walk.  She is also able to go up the stairs, so I have to keep my eye on her because she tries to sneak up the stairs every chance she gets.
• Aspen has three teeth.  Two on the bottom and one on the top.  I think the other top one will be coming through any day now.
  
• Aspen is a very observant girl.  She just watches everything going on with a straight face.  She smiles the most at Sophie.
  
• Aspen has lots of nicknames including: Aspen Honey Bunches, Baby Buckskin, Monkin, Aspen Noodle Friend, and Angel Girl.  I especially like it when Sophie calls Aspen by one of these names.  Usually Sophie is really sweet about it, but the other day she started calling Aspen "toilet licker".  So we will have to stop that nickname before it sticks.
  
• Aspen loves "playing" with Sophie.  I am shocked how early she has wanted everything Sophie has.  Aspen can be surrounded by toys, but she will crawl across the room to try and steal whatever Sophie is playing with.  So lately we have been having lots of discussions about sharing and playing nicely together.  But I think it is really cute to see them together and can tell they will be great friends as they get older.
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• Aspen is still really difficult with her sleeping.  She will only sleep if I nurse her (I know you aren't supposed to do that) or if she falls asleep in her car seat.  Now if I try to let her "cry it out" she will just pull herself up and stand in her crib and cry.  Before she could crawl, I could lay her down and she would fall asleep, but that doesn't happen anymore.  She only naps for 1 hour at the most.  And she still wakes up between 1 and 3 times a night.  We have tried everything and have no ideas what else we can do to help her sleep better.  But she sure is cute when she is asleep.
  
  
  
  
• Aspen loves baths and water.  She has graduated from her baby bathtub to the tub with Sophie.  They have lots of fun playing together.
  
  
  
  
  Aspen is such a funny girl.  She has a really unique personality and can be quite a handful.  But I love her so much.  She is getting so big and keeps me on my toes.  She loves to get into things that Sophie never did (like the toilet).  But I am so glad she is my little girl and a part of our family.