9-Months!

Our little guy at 9-months. 

HIGHLIGHTS!

• As mobile as can be! He's up on all fours crawling, and already pulling himself to a standing position and letting go with one hand like "no biggie . . ." Maybe this is normal, but Aiyana was barely crawling at this age, if you can call her movement crawling! (She didn't even get up on all fours until she turned a year, so Aaron is crazy-fast to me!)
• Fantastic napper still. The same ol' 9am-10:30/11 AM and again at 1:30 or 2 PM until 4/4:30 PM. 
• He definitely has Aiya's loudness and temper, though I fearfully take note that his temper is worse than hers! She's always had lots of dramatic outbursts over little things; Aaron is more choosey and gets mad if you wrong him, like take toys away or don't get him food IMMEDIATELY when he's hungry, or diaper changes or the occasional middle of the night screaming . . . (Ok, that sounds like a lot, but generally during the day, he is super easy and happy!) My point is, he's not a screamer all day, but when he decides he's upset, HOLY COW! The decibels this baby reaches in moments!! We attempted the cry-it-out method a little more -- not usually more than 10-20 minutes, but it seemed to help him stop expecting us every time he woke up too early from a nap or seemed disoriented at night. Which has led to . . .
• FINALLY sleeping through the night! And by that, I mean he will put himself back to sleep most of the time if he wakes up crying. I also turned the monitor down to the lowest setting so that I don't wake up to him unless he's truly not-going-back-to-sleep upset. (I'm actually writing this post at 9.5 months old.)
• Nurses well in the morning and then just a bit in the afternoon and early evening. Not sure there is much there because he loses interest fast. He almost seems to prefer his bottle of formula over me! He LOVES having a bottle, probably because there's lots of it. It will be no problem to wean him, I don't think, but we still have 3 months or so before we reach that estimated point.
• His favorite activity is bath time. I used to be able to bathe Aiya while he hung out nearby, but now he makes a beeline for the tub, pulls himself up, and hollers at me until I undress him and put him in. He is just the cutest! I love seeing his personality develop, noting his likes and dislikes. Speaking of . . .
• He is particular about his food! He does not like baby mush anymore. If I'm spoon-feeding him and he sees me eating toast, he will (irritatingly!) knock the baby spoon out of my hands, slamming his hands on his tray until I offer him my toast or whatever I'm eating. Oh, and he can't get enough food! Even if I've fed him a good serving, if I let him crawl around while I sit to eat my meal, he will come crawling expectantly to my side, clambering to have my food. Little piggy.
• I love his great big smile. No more teeth yet, even though I was sure he had to be teething with the fits he was throwing last month. 
• I usually have a few minutes with him before Aiya wakes up. We have so much fun playing Hide 'n Seek around my bed, with me peeking around the corners and then leaping and rolling across my mattress to sneak around to the other side. He thinks its hilarious when I startle him by popping out behind him. 
• Aaron is SO fast. We definitely produce sprinters because he can move! Another game he likes is racing to the internet plug. He knows I don't want him to take that one, in particular, out of the socket, and he scurries as fast as he can, almost beating me to it before I scoop him up -- and he just laughs, so pleased that he made it so close. Such a tease.
• Favorite toys: Plugs, cords . . . you know, all the dangerous stuff. He's very into opening and closing doors, so he likes to sit next to an open door and push it back and forth. He also plays more with Aiya's kitchen set than she does because he enjoys opening and closing the cupboards and little oven.
• I just think he's the cutest thing. He often reminds us of his cousin, Calvin Kiefer (Jake and Carrie's 2-year-old). I remember when Calvin was born and Carrie and I noted that he looked like some of Ty's newborn pics just a little bit. There's a strong gene with those Kiefers!

A couple weeks ago, I noticed that when I was in the nursery and asked, "Where's Ty?" (usually after we finished nursing), Aaron's eyes immediately drew towards the sketched picture of Ty on the wall behind the rocker. I've talked about Ty but not to the extent that I did with Aiya. I kept "testing" him for a few days, asking "Where's Ty?" from different parts of the room or in the kitchen, and Aaron's eyes always looked at Ty's picture. It just makes my heart happy that he knows what I'm saying, and he knows who Ty is. I remember Aiyana being particularly loud and expressive about Ty when she was this age, and how cousin Addie Rock sweetly kissed his picture on the lips when she was also this age. There was a tenderness in that moment that was different than other times . . . and as usual, those moments pass and they act like crazy little babies again who don't have any control over their emotions, so it makes you second-guess the experience . . . so I always remind myself to trust in the feeling "in the moment" and not doubt those little spiritual confirmations and experiences.

I'm sure Ty is too busy to be around as often as I would like -- but I'm sure he checks in on this kiddos more than I'm aware. I watch my kids play and try and imagine all three of them together, and I sigh deeply inside for a wish that can't come true. I hope Aiya and Aaron feel him close.