9 Months

My dear little big boy,

Time has passed so quickly. What a joy it has been to care for you these last nine months. I am such a lucky mother to have been blessed with such a wonderful little boy.

Brooklen, you are getting so big and changing so much. We think that you weigh about 19 pounds and that you are about 29 inches long. You have seven teeth now and boy do you know how to use them! Just last week, you started blowing while you suck on our arms. You've figured out that this makes a funny sound.

You've started babbling a lot lately. Most of your babbling sounds a lot like "da da da da." Your daddy appreciates this. Much to my dismay, the sound you make when you are upset is "ma ma ."

You still love to drink milk and to eat fruits and vegetables, and you have recently acquired a very healthy taste for cottage cheese. You also love to eat anything off of mommy and daddy's plate. And sadly, you have acquired your mother's unhealthy addiction to ice cream. You can spot a bowl of ice cream from across the room!

You love to move it, move it! You are an "efficient" crawler. You have also recently learned how to crawl down the stairs. You love to stand up and walk around (with help). I think that you are just weeks away from walking on your own. You just need to build up your confidence a little.

You are a silly little boy. Peekabo is one of your favorite games. You love to play in the curtains and hide from mommy so that she will come and find you to play peekabo. You love to laugh and you think that mommy and daddy are very funny. Sometimes, when we try to tell you "no" or scold you, you laugh at us. You must think our "stern voices" are funny.

You like to take baths, but you are spoiled . . . you do not enjoy bathing alone. You only think that it is fun to bathe with mommy or daddy. We are going to work on this in the next couple of months.

We are amazed at how well you know our home. You are a very smart boy! You are familiar with the layout of our home and you know exactly which cabinets hold fun "toys" that you aren't allowed to play with. You love to throw pots and pans on the floor and you enjoy unloading the cleaning supply cabinet. Mommy spends her days putting things back into cabinets and then letting you amuse yourself by emptying them. At some point, we really ARE going to find the time to put locks on the cabinet doors. I am amazed that you can hear the sound of the dishwasher being opened from across the room. One of your favorite things to do is to help mommy unload the clean dishes and dirty them again with your slobber.

Brooklen, you are definately your daddy's son. You love to be outside. You enjoy taking long walks with mommy during the day. You like to sit in your stroller and talk to yourself while you enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Last week, I took you to see the ducks. You smiled and laughed at the funny noises that they made. When we take you out on the grass, you go right for the dirt. Yum!

Brooklen, I have to admit that I like the fact that right now, you are a mommy's boy. You won't take a bottle from anyone but me and you follow me around all day and night. You love being with your daddy when he comes home, but sometimes, you scan the room just to make sure that I didn't leave you.

Happy 9 month birthday sweet boy.

Love,

Your Mommy