9 months

At 9 months:

-You adore finger foods. I picked up on your impatience with being spoon-fed early on, as you inevitably grabbed the spoon just before mouth entry and we both ended up covered in green bean, squash, and yes your favorite squaccolli puree.I jumped right into giving you chunks of food of your very own and you've loved it. Mostly you eat what we eat, or at least the baby-friendly components of our meals. You love broccoli, and it is hilarious to watch you wield the little trees with your sweet chubby hands while you nosh on the florets. You are touch-and-go with avocado, devouring it once and totally eschewing it on future offerings. In keeping with your sister's gourmet palate, by far your favorite meal is salmon and roasted butternut squash. You somehow manage to consume more than the average adult of both of these items and still protested when it was all gone. 

-You continue to have the sweetest of temperaments. As long as a familiar face is nearby, you are content and happy, and we never tire of your constant smiles and infectious giggles. 

-You are becoming  more and more adventurous. Just before 9 months you became fully proficient at The Speed Crawl, and now there is really nothing standing between you and the object of your affection. Which, generally means the object with the highest choking/electrocution/concussion/laceration potential. 

-When you're not crawling towards outlets and trying to eat dirty shoe bottoms, you are often chasing your sister. You don't seem to mind her bossiness and very narrow definition of what may be classified as your toy. Yet. Your dad and I think you are going to be the strong silent type, who quietly observes all the injustices done to you and then when the time is right, very calmly exacts your revenge. 

-You have two little bottom teeth, which you tried to use as weapons against me a few times after they appeared. However, with some firm redirection I think you realized that biting your food source was not a good idea and you've saved those chompers for noshing broccoli and cheerios ever since. 

-You mimic actions like clapping and blowing bubbles. You wave hello and goodbye intermittently, but always in a very distinctive Miss America kind of way.

-You've only worn shoes one day in your life, and I don't think you enjoyed it very much. 

But since your sister insisted that you wear them, you tolerated it. 

-I showed you once how to dunk a basketball and you immediately did it yourself. Pretty sure you drew the foul too, as your sister quickly decided the goal should double as a hoop through which all My Little Pony friends needed to gallop through regardless of the you-sized obstacle in their way.

-Sleep is still a moving target. You are doing ok. Typically I put you down around 7-7:30, and you'll wake up between 4 and 5 to eat and go back to sleep. While I'm not the biggest fan of the 4am wakeup, it certainly could be worse. And to be honest, some of my favorite moments are those spent in the dark with you snuggled up close to me. I may not miss the sleep deprivation, but I certainly will miss the smell of your freshly shampooed baby head and the weight of your almost-but-not-quite asleep body in my arms.

-You think it is hilarious when I hold you upside down and tickle you. Another favorite activity is climbing Mount Mommy. And although you have millions of toys at your disposal, none seem to hold your attention as much as (preferably dirty) shoes, (also preferably dirty) diapers that I've removed from you and fashioned into nice little balls ready to put into the Diaper Genie, and (yes, dirty) grass/sand/dirt. 

-You do well at school, even occasionally napping a little.One of the highlights of my day is the dance of joy you do when you see me come through the door to pick you up. You bounce up and down and flail your arms about with this huge smile on your face. I love it. I think subconsciously I expect to be greeted with a surly "why-did-you-leave-me-here-all-day-you-rotten-mama" affect, and there's always a sense of relief when you don't seem to hold a grudge. 

-You may have said your first word. It may have been Not Mama's name. I am still in denial, but there may be a video to follow. Keep in mind who controls the milk, kiddo. 

 Your first Halloween is right around the corner. And then your first Thanksgiving, and your first Christmas. 

You are 9 months old, far too close to a year than I'd like to think about just yet. I actually caught myself thinking about what kind of cake to make for your first birthday, so I guess I should start getting used to the fact. I won't like it though.