9 Months

Nate is 9 months old today. Slowly growing out of the babyness and into a little boy. He is sweet, loving and a happy little guy. When he is awake he does a great job of entertaining himself. Always looking for something to explore and climb on, which makes for a busy Mommy. Here he his using his "car" as a walker...

He is determined and very stubborn. If he wants something he tries his hardest to get it and that includes his Mommy when he should be sleeping. I sound like a broken record and nobody wishes I didn't have to report this more than me, but we are STILL having the sleeping (or lack thereof) issues. For those of you who are sick or hearing about this, skip to the next paragraph. The naps are a bit better. He usually goes down for those without too much protest and though they are still about 30 minutes, he's starting to sprinkle some longer ones in there for me (he had an hour and a half one today!) But the nighttime, oh how I dread the nighttime. He goes down about 7:30pm and eats about 2 times during the night, not including his morning feeding when he wakes up around 6:30am (which feels terribly early when you haven't had longer than a 3 hour stretch of sleep at a time). Often times he decides he doesn't want to go back to sleep in the crib in which case he will cry/scream for 20 -45 minutes or longer though 45 minutes is about all I can take before I give in and go latch him on again so he'll finally go back to sleep. I'm so tired. Lack of sleep messes with your brain and emotions so much! I look forward to feeling like myself again someday.

Okay, on to why I put up with all the above. Because he is so friendly and loving. He usually has a smile and sometimes a "high five" for people he encounters. When I go get him crib he always clings onto me like a little monkey, and will sometimes cuddle with me for awhile, laying his head on my chest while I tickle his back. I hope I always remember how excited he gets when Luke walks up the stairs to say goodnight to him. He cocks his head to the side or into my chest, grins and reaches his hand out for Luke to give him a high five. He's very playful and loves throwing things, especially balls. I can tell he understands a lot now. When I tell him to throw the ball he looks at me and grins and throws it.

If he does something cute and I say "aah" he smiles like he knows he's being cute. He is walking along furniture and climbing stairs. He seems very self-reliant. I suppose he has to be in away. He LOVES being outside or anywhere other than home for that matter. He is starting to babble and yell a lot. It's pretty funny when he starts being vocal. I love you Nate! Happy 9 month birthday!