9 Months

Dear Sweet Devin,

Month #9 of your young life has been full of adventure and big changes! You went from the army crawl to an actual crawl within a week or two, and now that you can easily pull yourself up on things you are constantly standing and inching around the ottoman or anything else nearby.

You were in "turtle mode" up until just a few days ago. You could move anywhere until someone laid you on your back. Then you accepted defeat and awaited rescuing. I helped you figure out how to roll yourself back to your tummy one night, and I instantly regretted it. The first night you had it just about down, I found you moments after putting you in bed sitting up in your crib, playing with Walter and reaching for anything else that looked close enough to grab. Bedtime aside, diaper and clothes changes are also a whole new adventure. As soon as I pull your legs up to clean you up, you twist yourself over and onto your belly. It's frustrating, to say the least.

You are clapping, waving, "giving 5", and giving kisses now, but you have become selective about when you want to show off your skills. And you've also started singing along when I sing, or when we listen to music. You LOVE music!

For a couple of weeks you didn't seem interested in food, other than rice krispies, cheerios, bottles, and sometimes what we had on our plates. Then one day we gave you a squeeze packet and you SUCKED it down like you couldn't eat it fast enough. It turns out, you'll eat pretty much ANYTHING (even the broccoli/apple combo) that comes out of a squeeze bottle. You also LOVE water. Anytime and anywhere you can get water in your mouth, you suck down all you can get. you'll drink it from a cup, the tub, mom's water bottle, and you even suck it out of a washcloth (I know. gross!).

You love your daddy so much, and you two got in quality bonding time while Mom traveled this month. It was so hard on me to be away from you, but McKenzie, Ben, and Dad took great care of you, and you definitely weren't lacking for love!

Our new house will be done the end of August, and for awhile we weren't sure we would be moving in after all. We went to see the builder's progress after church one day, just as we were deciding to keep it.  As we walked through you looked around, looked at me, and smiled your biggest smile. I was pretty sure you knew this was supposed to be home.

You're right at 50% for weight and height, and healthy and strong. The doctor also helped empower us to get you through a full night's sleep (you were still waking up a couple of times a night) and we're just about there! No more bottles at night. Just a little soothing and you go right back to sleep.

I try to avoid too much TV at home, but you really like Little Einstein's, and you'll sit through a few minutes of a Disney movie here and there. I love watching you recognize things like the Little Einstein's theme song. It's fun to see you recognize the things you like.

You also like the piano. We didn't have our keyboard with us the first couple of months we were here, but now that it's hear you love to experiment when you get the chance.

Devin, this month has been hard on your Mama. Leaving for two trips, two weeks in a row broke my heart. I knew you would be watched over and loved, but I miss every moment I'm away from you. I've always wanted to be a mom, and always hoped I would be able to stay home with my kids. I know that for our family it's best for me to be at work for now, but I feel so grateful that most days that means I'm still home to be close if you need me. You have handled it all so well. You are such a good natured kid, even though you definitely have your opinions about things!

People still tell us everywhere we go that you look like Jack-Jack, and we agree. Your chubby cheeks are so kissable, and your smiles fill your whole face. We adore every little bit of you, and love having you as part of our forever family!!

xoxox,

Mom and Dad