Ciuca, Baby: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 NINE

dear adam, what a sweet and fun little boy you are?! i can't believe that you're already nine months old! where has the time gone?! this month, i feel, was the biggest for development for you. not just because of the crawling, but also eating, standing, etc. at nine months you...

- crawl! you started crawling just a couple weeks ago and are a pro now. at first, you stayed right with us, but now you're starting to explore the house more. you crawl from room to room looking for us. and, though otis stays behind just a propped baby gate, you push it down knowing that a little propped gate won't stand in the way of your exploring!

-stand! right behind crawling came pulling to stand on your own. you were eagerly standing holding onto our hands for a long time. but now you've moved on to pulling to stand on the furniture and on an activity table that we got for you. it is so funny to see you standing at the activity table and turn around two seconds later and you're standing on the ottoman.

-walk? while you will take steps and walk while we hold your hands and help you out, your daycare teacher told me that you walked while pushing a walk-behind toy at school. so, i haven't yet seen this, but she swore it was the case and suggested i get you different shoes to assist in your walking. i can't believe this! just a couple weeks ago, you were my teeny baby sitting content, playing on the floor. and now you're all over the place!

-still babble constantly, though now you've added mama to your repertoire (YAY!). again, i don't really think you're saying these things in reference to anything, but who knows. your favorites are dadadad, nananana, bah, and now mamama.

-imitate sounds and motions, which is so much fun for us. you LOVE to play a game where you yell a sound, we imitate it, you yell another sound, we imitate it... you keep this up for awhile. you also will copy what we do. if we blow raspberries with our tongue, you'll do it too. then us, then you, taking turns forever. if we sing, you clap. if we clap, you clap. last night, for the first time, i waved and said hi and you waved back-- over and over.

-like repetition, as mentioned above. you'll touch my mouth over and over, each time i act like i am going to eat up your hand. you'll laugh and do it over and over.

-have gone back to sleeping on your belly. at first, we couldn't get you to be happy on your back at any time- bath, diaper changing, nothing. you simply didn't want to be on your back ever and screamed every time you were, so we did a big-time new parent no-no and let you sleep on your belly. then when you started daycare, you learned to sleep on your back, so that's how we started putting you down at home. but now that you're mobile and roll and stand, you immediately roll to your tummy when we put you down on your back and ONLY sleep that way. apparently, this was always your preference... since birth. your daddy can only sleep this way too.

-eat very well. i can't think of anything i wouldn't give you, except the obvious things like honey, eggs and nuts. you've pretty much had everything else-- all meats, cheese, breads, potatoes, beans, all fruits and veggies. the days of spoon feeding you are over, except for the occasional bit of baby oatmeal i still give you since i like you to have all the vitamins it has. it is SO much easier for us, since now you can eat while we eat at the same time. this weekend you had mozzarella cheese, watermelon, chicken, ham, cheerios, potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, bananas, bread, swiss cheese, applesauce with oatmeal, etc... you've also switched to sippy cups at daycare and sometimes at home. you're still figuring them out, but i'm impressed with how far you've come in a short time.

-wear 12-18 month size clothes. we have your dr. appt later this month, so we'll know for sure how much you weigh very soon.

-love watching older kids. this weekend your cousin cory (6 years old) was here and you stared at him in amazement the entire weekend as he sped around on his big wheel and bounced his balls.

adam, you are just so much fun right now. you're more and more a little boy each day and make me a little sad that my teeny baby is growing so fast! it has gone by in a flash, reminding me more and more each day that each and every moment in this life is precious and should be savored and enjoyed to the fullest. i just love your little life and am so glad that you are part of ours.

(PS- i found your birthday present-- well, one of them, from me. though i know you won't appreciate your ciuca baby book for years, maybe decades, to come: http://www.appscout.com/2007/11/make_your_blog_a_book_with_blu.php)