9 Months

Dear Alex,

Last week marked your nine month birthday, that means you've been out for as long as you've been in. What have you been doing up it? After weeks of stubbornly resisting it you have started to crawl. The crawl was similar to a drunken inchworm wobbling his way on branch, but has grown more fluid recently. And it hasn't stopped there, you've started to pull up, climb, and open cabinet doors. And now I regret encouraging it.
The grand prize for me has been that you have started to babble ma-ma-ma even before da-da-da or ba-ba-ba.

You've also started to incorporate a broader range of solid foods. In addition to your baby puree you've tried chili, curry, guacamole, and pizza. I know what you're thinking, you fed a baby chili? But you really liked it and in fact its been hard to take this stuff away from you. Your eagerness to eat what we eat is vigorous and was apparent at the most recent doctor's appointment when you tipped the scale over 20 pounds. 

Perhaps the development that has been most pronounced in the past month is how social you have become. Without fail you've turn on the smiles, squeals, hand clapping and waving towards anyone willing to pay attention to you. And this is what I am most proud of - your ability to light up someone's day no matter how short you have known them. May you always be that way.

Love,

MOM