9 months

Hi Easton...it's Ama!

Today you are 9 months old! Just getting to be such a cute little boy with a distinct personality, likes and dislikes and a charm that is unmatchable! It has been so much fun watching you evolve into the little person that you are becoming. Of course, you are definitely still evolving as you learn more and more about the world around you, your support system, and your own personal little world.

When you come to our house on those school days that you stay with us, you are very happy to see us and greet us with big smiles. You are especially very familiar now with the layout of the house and you make the circle from the front living room to the den, around to the dining room and thru the kitchen. It's a long crawl around the circle, but you do that several times a day when you are playing, so it is fun to watch you make all your stops. You start at the grandfather clock, then stop to look at the fish in the aquarium and play in my fake ficus tree that contains stuff you mustn't put in your mouth. You are learning that very quickly and all I have to do now is look at you and say...can't play there E. (Well, most of the time, anyway. But you definitely know it is a No No place.) Then you are off to the china cabinet and the back door to check out the doggies in the backyard. They always come to the door when you stand there, and Mandy yips and barks this funny little bark like she wants to come in and play with you. Most of the time, something else catches your eye and you make a little sashay around the high chair and under it to get to the little cart that is beside your chair. And then, it's off to the kitchen to see what is in there that you can check out. You have discovered the cabinet where I keep the plastic bowls and such, and the other day, you dragged everything out within reach and found some new toys! It was fun to watch you go thru the containers and pick out one that you decided to use like a car by scooting it around the floor. All of the other cabinets in the kitchen are off limits, but so far that is the only one that you really bother with. So then it's back around to the 'toy' room where most of your playthings are, and that completes the circle. I, in the meantime have been following you from spot to spot trying very hard to catch you when you fall, or get little pieces of stuff off the floor that I can't seem to keep swept up no matter how often I vacuum or use the dust mop. You can find the tiniest little pieces of stuff on the floor and get them into your mouth before I can stop you.

When you are in the front room with all the toys, your favorite spot is the bay window. It has a window ledge that is just the right height for you to pull up to a stand and look out in the front yard. You can see the leaves falling from the trees, watch the critters or people come and go, or just cruise up and down the window to practice your walking skills. You are increasingly getting more confident as you move down the window sill. Every now and then, though less now that you are getting so good at cruising, you lose your balance and hit your chin or your head when you plop down. The window was the starting place for you to pull up, but now it is everywhere you can manage a good grip to help yourself up. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to anticipate all of those 'plops' and you get a little bruise on your chin or your forehead before I can catch you. I hate that!! But letting you try things out is the only way for you to learn, and you are learning by leaps and bounds...it's something new every day. So you definitely keep us on our toes, which is a good thing!

You have started dancing to the music and clapping your hands when you hear music. I can tell that you and Mommy have been dancing together at home. You get so excited when you make the music play on the sit and spin. You have learned how to move it to make it play, tho not by using it in the way it is intending, but by standing up by it and then moving it when the music stops to make it start up again. You know which buttons to push on the other toys to make them play too, and sometimes we have several different tunes going at once.

All of these little things are so much fun for me and Papa to watch as it has been a long time since we have gotten to witness the ages and stages of little ones. It is especially fascinating for your Papa because he missed a lot of that with your dad and Uncle Kelly because he was always at work...lots of times even on the weekends. And it is fun for Ama too, because when they were both little, I didn't have time (or take the time, really) to just let them have the freedom to roam the house and follow them around the way I can do with you and your cousin Austin. You both get to explore a lot more than they ever did. About the only room you got to explore was the kitchen because that is where I was most of the time. Your daddy was a mover and a climber just like you, and I had to watch him like a hawk, or he would be on top of something before I knew it. He was a tiny little wiry thing and get himself up on things in a flash.

So, Papa and I are enjoying our journey together as you grow and play and learn new things, and we look forward to all the things we'll do together in the months and years ahead!

I love you sweet nine month old. See you tomorrow as you continue to grow before our very eyes!
Ama