Madelyn at 9 months

Madelyn is now 9 months old and I can hardly believe it. She’s been learning and growing so much lately and has been bringing me and Troy so much joy.

She likes crawling, standing up while holding onto furniture for support, reading (aka chewing on) books, throwing toys (in the air and out of her playpen), going for runs in the jogging stroller, exploring every nook and cranny of the house, giving high-fives, and blowing kisses and raspberries. Some days she blows dozens of kisses at a time, which makes mom and dad feel very well-loved.

She still gets up twice a night and usually won’t go back to sleep unless I nurse her. I’m hoping she’ll start sleeping more soundly — for her sake and mine — once she begins eating more solids!

Here are a few fun photos of her from the past week…

A sweater and no shoes. #FashionStatement.

Car seat lounging (before getting strapped in)!

Post-run! She’s my favorite running buddy.

Published by Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Mallary is a mom of two young kiddos -- Madelyn and Tucker. Mallary absolutely loves being a mom and often writes about the need to find harmony when juggling motherhood and work. Mallary is the Assistant Director of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin, where she manages the Center's various programs related to distance learning, freedom of expression, and digital journalism. Previously, she was Executive Director of Images & Voices of Hope and Managing Editor of The Poynter Institute’s media news site, Poynter.org. Mallary grew up outside of Boston and graduated from Providence College in Rhode Island. In 2015, she received a certificate in nonprofit management from Duke University. She now lives in beautiful Austin, Texas, with her kids, husband Troy and cat Clara. She's working on a memoir, slowly but surely. You can reach her at mjtenore@gmail.com. View more posts