Nine Months Old

Hello, little love.  You are nine months old now.  You are becoming more independent every day, and you seem to really want to be a big boy.  

You would rather push the stroller than ride in it.  You like to brush your teeth when I brush mine.  Papa's tools are far more interesting to you than your toys.  You also have started dropping pieces of toilet paper in the toilet and watching it flush (may this bode well for future potty training!). 

                   We took you to the beach for the first time last weekend.  When we got there, it was gray and cold, but we decided to persevere and have our picnic anyway.  Soon after we arrived, the clouds parted and sun peeked through.  It turned into a beautiful day.  You loved playing in the sand, finding rocks and seaweed, and watching the waves. 

One thing that has changed in the last month, is that Papa and I have decided not to have you go to an outside childcare provider.  Papa works in the evenings and I work in the mornings, so we are able to take care of you at home (with help from Grammy!).

This feels like absolutely the right thing for our family and for you.  You cried every time I took you to childcare and every time I came back to pick you up.  It is so much easier for me to go to work, knowing that you are with Papa or Grammy.  You and Papa are forming such a close bond, and Grammy is definitely your buddy.  And when I come home, you practically jump into my arms with a big smile on your face.

The biggest news for this month is that your Auntie Sarah is pregnant!  Sometime next January, you will have a new little cousin.  Sarah and Oceana just left yesterday for a month-long trip to Spain.  Oce will be staying with her dad's relatives, and Sarah will be making a pilgrimage by foot on el Camino de Santiago with her best childhood friend, Sarah S. 

I am so excited to watch Sarah go through this pregnancy and to meet the lucky little baby who will be her child.