9 months - Matthew

March 27, 2007

Dear Matthew,

Happy 9-month birthday, my sweetheart! I just laid you and Ryan down for a nap. He is fussing and very angry with me … you settled right in to sleep. You are a great sleeper!

You, my baby love, are trying so so so so hard to move like your brother does. You can go from a sit to all fours, and you push up on your hands and knees, rocking. You actually can very ungracefully propel yourself in a creeping fashion short distances – but mostly backward, so what usually ends up happening is that I have to rescue you once you get stuck under the couch or changing table and panic. Hee hee hee.

Although you haven't figured out how to adventurously navigate the world yet, you are a goodwill ambassador for strangers. 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 don't as of yet), and you were SO SMILEY! One of the therapists even joked, "Wow, I could just put him in the back of the car and take him home." Unfortunately for Nana, that friendliness is not extended when Mama is gone. We left you and Ryan 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 Ryan 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 left side of his mouth, and you on your right. You got yours a week before he did.

Now let's talk about your eating, Matt. For weighing 18 lbs., 12 oz. as of Sunday, you are a picky eater. You hate peas – you hate them to the point of throwing them up. Same goes for squash. You're not a huge fan of green beans or garden veggies. If it has sweet potatoes in it, you're okay. And you'll eat any fruit, although you're not a big peach person. You still give me weird looks when you try something new or something you haven't had in a while – God help me when I try weird experiments like, "What would the boys think if I mashed some of this baked potato and poured milk on it?" On Sunday you ate a mashed banana and mashed sweet potatoes, and you tried puffs for the first time. SO FUN to watch you feed yourself! You also ate your first Gerber "dinner" of sweet potatoes and turkey, which was a huge hit with you. You're holding your own bottle most of the time now (yay!!!) and yesterday morning, you and Ryan 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.

Speaking of your brother, you guys seem to find each other funnier every month. Since you are so steady sitting up, he likes to creep up to you and ONTO you. Hair- and ear-pulling ensues, along with stolen books, toys, and binkies. There haven't been any major battles yet, but I have seen him pin you 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 "ABCs," ("Twinkle Twinkle" when you are sad or feeling sleepy) so I try and sing it to you every day. I love doing everything that makes you happy, including rubbing my head against your tummy and listening to your precious belly laugh. I love you love you love you love you with every single part of me, my pumpkin snugglebear lovey Matt-a-Cake.

xoxoxo Love always, Mama