Like a weed

Kiley had her 9 month check up a couple weeks ago. The girl is 17 lbs 6 oz-only 22%, and 30.5" long which is 100% and the size of an average 15 month old TODDLER! So I did a little math and I am 5'5" or 65" tall. Half of my height is 32.5". This girl is a couple inches away from being half of me, which maybe isn't so weird but I still remember her being inside me and it really doesn't feel like so long ago I could feel her little butt pushed right up under my ribs. And now she is HALF MY SIZE!(almost) The doctor even said that she needs to move up to a forward facing seat.
So last weekend I went to Costco and got her a big girl seat, (which is WAY more complicated than the baby seat) read the instructions, and the instructions said child must be over 20 lbs and over 34". I know she is growing fast but I don't really feel good about putting her in a forward facing seat when she is still 2.5 lbs and 3.5 in under the manufacturer specifications. Plus what was the report that just came out that said children should be in rear facing seats until 2 years old now?!? So I was bad and went against doctors orders and used mommy judgment and decided to keep her scrunched in her infant seat a little longer-plus I'm just not emotionally ready to start thinking about her as a toddler. Poor Chad really wants a forward facing seat because he can't slide his seat all the way back with the rear facing seat because he runs into it causing it to be installed wrong. But he will just have to be scrunched up for a few more months. So there. She will be an infant in her infant seat until I am good and ready.
Kiley also had to go through some more poking and pricking. Luckily she only had to have one shot-which she handled like a seasoned pro- and then had to go get her finger pricked for some blood to check for anemia. This wasn't as bad as I anticipated either, the prick kind of scared her but after that it was like she knew she was upset but wasn't sure why and couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to cry or not so she decided not to. I haven't heard about the anemia test results so I am assuming everything is fine.
Not only is Kiley getting bigger by the minute but her little personality is developing everyday and she is learning new skills all the time. She is pulling up on everything and starting to walk along the furniture and her favorite activity of the moment is climbing the stairs. I don't know how good most kids are at these skills when they first start but I really thought Kiley would have a lot of bangs from not holding on very well when going from one piece of furniture to the next, or falls down the steps from leaning backward too far, but she has really surprised me and always seems to have a good grip and focus on what she is trying to do to make sure she does it right. Not once has she fallen down the stairs and there have been countless times she has snuck up the stairs without either Chad or I behind her. Maybe that is pretty normal, but I think my daughter is pretty special.
Along with her mobile independence she has also gained a new way to communicate: whining. She will crawl all around the house whining for someone to pick her up, whining for someone to put her down, whining for someone to let the dog in, to put the dog out, whining for someone to open the fridge for her to play in, or because someone shut the door when she wanted to play, whining for someone to open the dishwasher for her to play in, whining for someone to unblock the stairs for her to play on, whining for someone to help her walk around the house, whining for food, whining because she doesn't want to be interrupted for a diaper change, whining because she is so tired she doesn't know what she wants anymore... She is still a smiley, giggly girl, it's just that whining has now entered her repertoire or emotion and expression. Next up... tantrums. YAY!