Last night I actually slept a full 8 hours, which means today I feel I could conquer the world. Amazing what enough sleep can do for you. I have been running on such a low battery for so long, I forgot what it feels like to be well rested! I hope this continues. A girl could get used to this.

Sophie is napping sweetly right now (as if she could nap any other way) and since I have finished almost everything I hoped to today (go, energy!) I have a little "me" time. That also feels good.

I'm currently working on trying to finish child-proofing the house. For the most part, we give her complete freedom to explore (or that is the goal anyway), but I am securing things that simply must be secured and putting away things that can't be secured, for her safety and my peace of mind. My life will be much easier once this process is complete. Until then, I chase her and pick her up so frequently that by the end of the day I feel I have logged miles and lifted hundreds. Looking forward to less of that. I'm sure she is as well!

Sophie's newest tricks are clapping, standing unassisted all the time, and waving "hi" and "bye"! So fun! We have been going to baby time at the library and to lots of mom and baby groups, which has been good for both of us. If nothing else, I am getting out of the house and she is learning that it's not okay to eat other babies. We also went to the zoo recently, but it was so hot neither of us enjoyed it all that much. Maybe later this fall will be better.

And how are all you lovelies today?

Long day today, but a good one nonetheless. The high point was when Sophie decided to start practicing standing unassisted. Ron and I were resting on the bed and she would stand up in between us and wave her arms around, occasionally reaching for the sky, all while looking about with a huge smile on her face as if to say, ”isn't life grand?” Yes, dear one. With you in it, it's ever so grand.

So. We are midsummer here in Tucson and while the rest of the nation is seeing record-breaking heat, I am amazed by how few days overall we have seen temps rise over 100 degrees. I'm usually cursing the weather more regularly by now. Unless my memory fails me. It could happen.

Last night we had some nice rains, but I'm wanting more. Monsoons are my favorite time of year here, when the rains occur with gusto. Don't like being short-changed on nature's most beautiful symphony. It's why we endure the heat, after all.

Sophie is blooming like a morning-glory, and I'm loving it. She's so much more interactive these days! She plays peekabo and ball with me. She shares her food with me and Lucy. She fishes toys from the bathtub while I bathe (this was my solution to her new mobility and blossoming independence. I tried a little chair and table set up but she was bored by that after two baths. It was bathtub fishing or a 4:30am shower. I chose the fishing.)

Anyway, it's fun these days, even if I do get a lot of exercise chasing after her. I can't begin to imagine how exhausted I'll be when she walks!

She has both her top teeth in, finally, although they are still just tiny nubs. I'm just glad they finally broke through the gums. I suspect her recent 3:30am wakings have been due to teething, so we shall see tonight if I am correct.

She is napping peacefully next to me right now as I consider sneaking in some housework. I'm thinking maybe I'll take the day off on that. Three days in a row of waking up before dawn can catch up to a person. And since I'm the only member of our household who is bothered by a mess, I think I can get away with playing hooky.

And how are you all today?

Some days I feel like Warrior Mother, kicking ass and raising awesome humans. Other days I just feel exhausted and wonder if I am doing anything right at all. Today is the latter. Sophie has a tooth just about to break through the skin and she is cranky, not falling asleep as easy as she usually does and waking at the slightest noise. She also is my glue shadow and doesn't want to be without me for a moment. I'm not sure what is teething, what is normal developmental stuff, and what is something I'm doing wrong (if anything). All I know is the last day or two has been tough.

Even so, I count my many blessings. She is healthy, and appears to be a very curious, alert, and happy baby. Hopefully if I am taking a few wrong turns she will be smart and resilient enough to weather them. Oh, and I love her with every fiber of my being. So there's that, too.

Happy Independence Day (a day late)! Sophie was thinking about what she could do to celebrate, but then I reminded her that she's only nine months old and doesn't even know English yet so she decided to just carry on like every other day.

For the most part, our day was uneventful. We had friends over and played in the pool and played in the rain and ate Mexican food and in general just relaxed until the fireworks. I bowed out and stayed home to put Sophie to sleep, which turns out to have been a good decision, since the consensus is that the show was ”lame” and ”boring.” In any case, Independence Day somehow served to remind me that every day since her birth that is what we work on, her independence, and that she is only a baby for a little while. I'm planning to enjoy every second of it because I know as well as anyone just how quickly that time flies by. Right now, I snuggle my small, squirmy, banging, crawling, giggling, pooping, pre-linguistic little human and praise all that is good in the world for her existence, for one day she will be grown. Even though I will miss all that she is as baby Sophie, I'm excited and thrilled to meet who she becomes as grown Sophie (and everything in between)!

So happy Independence Day, y'all. I hope it was full of reminders of the joys of existence.