[transcribed] Nine months old

[chanaleh]

April 2 was Aria's second funeral, for Mama's uncle Terry (the first was for Mama's friend Kay's husband Bill, on January 21st). This was in Crown Point 10 minutes from our house, so we went to see Mama's Aunt Judy and cousins Tracy and Kelly. The next Thursday, Aria started showing symptoms of her first cold (coughing and sneezing), and all the next weekend she was a goopy mess -- but HATED getting her nose wiped! She was mostly better by Monday (when both Mama and Dada started to get sick) but the cough lingered for a few more days. April 22 was Aria's first Passover! We went to first-night seder at the Chabad house in Munster -- we hoped she would fall asleep before the end, but NO WAY when there was so much to see going on -- and then had one at our house for second night. Aria is eating more "finger foods" now: chunks of soft vegetables (sweet potato, broccoli, banana) that she can pick up in her whole fist and bring to her mouth. She will sit calmly in her high chair for over 90 minutes at a time as long as she's got food to play with! Her "furniture walking" has gotten much more confident, but it was just *after* her 9-month birthday that she took a couple of independent steps (two steps at a time).