nine months

I can hardly believe it’s been nine months since Michael’s birth. It’s as if I blinked and I have a baby bordering on a toddler in my arms. He’s a bit over 20 lbs now, and quickly outgrowing his 12 month clothing. He’s sprouted his fifth tooth, and I have a feeling more are close behind it.

Michael’s started waving back, and his baby babble has become quite sophisticated. Often he says “mamama” when he’s angry or upset, and “dadada” when he’s happy (I’m trying not to read into that too much…)

He’s incredibly agile and quick — I blink and he’s already across the room. He’s starting to try standing on his own, but much prefers crawling and cruising while holding onto something or someone.

His toy of choice is any sort of cord — shoelace, electrical cord, charger — you name it and he wants to put it in his mouth. It definitely keeps me on my toes.

He’s also taken to growling at the vacuum cleaner. He loves growling and making what we call “dragon noises”, and giggles when we growl and roar back.

I love watching his personality develop. He’s incredibly strong-willed and bubbles over with joy. He’s intensely curious and loves to figure out how things work. And he’s gentle and sweet, especially with animals.

Michael loves animals: if a cat or dog will let him get close enough, he’ll pet them and excitedly screech until they’ve had enough. He’s remarkably gentle with them.

Jake takes Michael when he wakes around 6 am to let me get some sleep until he has to start his workday. They go on walks around the block, or play outside, or spend time in our house. I often wake up to adorable pictures such as this one.

Watching Jake become a father is one of the most wonderful things: he loves our son so well, and Michael adores him.

Watching Michael at church has become one of my favorite things. He loves being up at the choir stand with me (or grandpa), and when he gets tired of that, he crawls around and makes friends. He loves music, and when the choir is singing he often wants to sing along.