Month Nine

Well, Ryan, it's the infamous nine-month mark. The part of the show where you've been out in the world now as long as I carried you inside ("back when we were roommates," as I always tell Norah). I feel like you've reached the point where your personality traits are really developing and I'm finally getting a sense of you as Ryan versus just you as this kind of baby or that.

The biggest challenge we're having these days is your clinginess. Your preferred order of activity is as follows:
1. me carrying you in my arms
2. me carrying you in the Ergo or any sort of pack
3. someone else carrying you, in sight of me
4. on the ground in sight of me, usually clinging to my pant legs
Below that is everything else, and
AT THE VEEERRRY BOTTOM: being buckled into your car seat

Don't get me wrong, you're a very sweet boy, you just like to be with your mama. I know I'm struggling it with it a little extra because it's so different than what I went through with Norah. I remember asking her doctor and teachers if it was okay that she didn't seem to care whether I was with her or not. To this day, I often forget to tell her I'm leaving when we have a sitter because she truly just doesn't care (not in a bad way, she just doesn't worry about where I am).

On the more fun side of things, you are faster and faster every day and you love when Norah gets down on the ground to crawl with you. You guys chase each other around, just shrieking with happiness! You don't have any words yet, but you have the "uh" part of "uh-oh" down and use it as a good excuse to drop all kinds of things. Just today you figured out how to make a B sound and have been practicing "buh buh buh" all day! You started swimming lessons with Daddy this month and from the sound of it, you absolutely love them. It's no surprise given how much fun you have splashing in the bath!

You had your 9-month checkup the other day and you are int he 75th percentile for height and the 15th for weight (!!) but you're growing well and eating well, too, so I guess that's just fine. Your favorite foods are jelly sandwiches, bananas, and just recently, cheddar cheese. You often eat more than Norah does at dinner and the other night when I made quiche, you must have eaten twice what she did! Grow, little man, grow!

But not too fast...