9 months - Ryan

March 26, 2007

Dear Ryan,

No way. No way are you going to be 9 months in less than 24 hours (really less, since it's 11:45 at night.) How are we ¾ of the way through your first year??? I almost feel panicky when I think about how fast time is going. It definitely moved slower at the very beginning – especially NICU and the first month or so after that – but now time is flying, just like other parents warned me about. Boooo to that.

We have had an exciting month. You are growing SO FAST! A big change in you is that Daddy had to drop your crib mattress down, because you are PULLING UP TO STAND on everything! It's so amazing to watch you figure that stuff out. And I look at you think and think, "Oh my God. I made a person. A person who motor plans and knows to pull into a kneel before stretching one leg at a time to get into a stand. Look how cute he is. Oh my God. He's MY cute!" Of course that makes no sense. Maybe when you and your wife have a baby, you will get it someday. Hope so.

You do other cool stuff now. When you're standing holding on to something, you switch hands. You are CRUISING slowly with these tiny steps, which is especially hilarious when you're wearing footie sleepers, because you always seem to have bunched-up material at the bottom, making it even harder to maneuver. My favorite is when you hold on to the toy bins in the corner of the living room and talk to yourself. "abababababadabababa" in the sweetest little voice. It is so much better than your grunts or crazy dolphin-boy sounds that worry me. :)

Ironically, though you're my little adventurer, you are a little slow to warm up. Ms. Shannon, Ms. Pawn, Ms. Kim, and Ms. Keri all came by this month to evaluate you and meet you to see if you qualify to get some extra help (you do – you qualify for PT because you have something called torticollis, which just means that my baby's neck is tilted a little funny), and you were SO SHY! The baby boy who loves to take off and army-crawl at breakneck speeds everywhere pulled up on his mama, buried his face in her neck, and cried. You much prefer what we call "your peeps" – Mama, Dada, Bailey, and Matty. Unfortunately for Nana, she is not considered your peeps yet. We left you and Matthew at GG's house with Nana and Papa Bear for just 2 hours, and you and your brother did them the disservice of screaming from 5 minutes after I walked out the door to the moment you fell asleep 10 minutes before I got back. I can't help being so popular with my babies, but tell that to Nana, who vows to not babysit you anymore. D'oh.

You got your first TOOTH this month! And even though I always said I never wanted you and Matthew to get teeth ever, I have to admit it's the cutest little tooth in the world save for your brother's. He has his bottom tooth on the right side of his mouth, and you on your left. He got his a week before you did.

Ryan, you are still a CHAMPION eater. You try every little thing, even Mama's weird experiments like, "What would the boys think if I mashed some of this baked potato and poured milk on it?" Yesterday you ate a mashed banana and mashed sweet potatoes, and you tried puffs for the first time. It is a JOY to watch you attempt to feed yourself. You're so funny, my baby. You also ate your first Gerber "dinner" of sweet potatoes and turkey, which was a huge hit with you. Honestly, there isn't anything you don't like, as far as I can tell. You are still crazy about your cereal, but now that we've moved into Stage 2 foods this month, you seem even more excited to eat, which also means that you're more bored with the bottle. You want to MOVE, and you have no patience for the mama trying to hold a bottle to your mouth. You rarely want to hold your bottle, but this morning, you and Matthew laid down head-to-head each holding a bottle, and it was so sweet and so amazing to watch you guys grin at me with formula all over your faces that I absolutely melted. Anyway, get your milk in to keep growing. As of Sunday, you are 17 lbs. even – yay! Matt's got you by almost 2 pounds now, but he's not as mobile, either. :)

Speaking of your brother, you guys seem to find each other funnier every month. Since he is so steady sitting up, you like to creep up to him and ONTO him. Hair- and ear-pulling ensues, along with stolen books, toys, and binkies. There haven't been any major battles yet, but I have seen you pin him a couple times already. I have no idea what I'm in for, do I?

Since you were 3 or 4 months old, your favorite song has been "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," so I try and sing it to you every day. I love doing everything that makes you happy. I love you love you love you love you with every single part of me, my peanut cuddlebug lovey Ry-Pie.

xoxoxo Love always, Mama