Monday, August 27, 2012

A page from the baby book: 9 months

Dear Jake,

Recently you turned nine months old. Mommy can hardly believe it. She couldn’t have dreamed up a better baby boy if she tried.

Already you are charming, chatty, smart, and self-assured.

You have untamable hair, dimples to die for, and an infectious, gummy grin that boasts a lone tooth struggling to the surface. Your laugh is downright delicious.

You effortlessly snag admirers everywhere we go. You spend probably half of any given day “dancing” to either music or the beat of your own happiness. You have a glint of mischief in your eye that Mommy knows is waiting eagerly to be realized at a later stage.

Favorite things: You love all types of music. Your favorite person is your big brother Brendan. You love it when Daddy makes silly faces at you. You are intrigued by Mommy’s hair and like to stare at it, tug on it, and sift your fingers through it. You love nature, plants, and the outdoors, and swimming in Grandma and Grandpa’s pool. You like to gaze at the tree in our front yard. You indulge Mommy by acting like you enjoy her off-key singing. You enjoy the book "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed."

Things that make you laugh: You love when we tickle you or lift you in the air. When other people are laughing, you join in. You think it's hilarious when Brendan plays XBox. You glance back and forth between Brendan and the TV screen and giggle, I think because you've deduced he can control what is happening there. You think it's funny when Mommy plays patty cake with you.

Foods you love:
You enthusiastically gobble up any kind of pureed fruit. You like oatmeal. You’re not impressed with vegetables unless they’re orange and aren’t sure yet what to think of meat. You still love Mommy’s milk.

Development: You love banging together and waving around any object you can grasp. You become absorbed in looking at books and other fun toys. 

Each day you entertain us with a symphony of “dadas” (much to the joy and relish of your Dada) and what we affectionately refer to as old man noises: grunts and grouchy sounds or rumbles of general satisfaction. You squeal joyfully. You talk with the inflections of adult conversations and imitate sounds. You can hold your own bottle but prefer others to do it for you. Amazingly and mercifully you continue to sleep through the night.

You have not yet crawled, but you 're on the verge. We’ve seen you roll over twice. You have pulled yourself up once at day care which ended in a crash landing, and you haven’t tried since. You're working on cutting one tooth. But Mommy knows based on her pregnancy and your birth that you do things in your own time, and you will hit these milestones when you're ready.

If Mommy could freeze time right now, she would. And she wouldn’t. Today is wonderful, but tomorrow holds great things, too. She tries every day to close her eyes and keep you saved in her mind just as you are…a dream, only better, finding new ways to touch our hearts every day.

Megan Brooks is a Sr. Public Relations Specialist, Stepmom, and Mom to a 9-month-old chunky monkey.

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