The White Pages: 9 (and 1/2) month update

(written January 12)

Turning 9 months on Christmas, then traveling for over a week, followed by ~~the worst~~ ~~most challenging~~ most sleep-deprived week meant this update is coming in quite late... and honestly I can't remember what happened when, so we'll go ahead and call this the 9.5 month update. I'm also feeling slightly overwhelmed at the moment and have literally minutes to write this so I think that sadly, this will be a bullet-list update, despite the fact that there are SO MANY CHANGES!! And I'll throw all the photos at the end.

classic Will - you always need something for each hand

- 9 months. Really cool milestone because now you've been out longer than you were in, which is just amazing because didn't we just find out I was pregnant?! Not to mention you're still a newborn?!

- But newborns don't pull up to standing, which has been your favoritethingeverohmygoodness. Naptime and bedtime are particularly opportune times to work on this. *Cringe* You can crawl on knees but prefer to drop down to army crawl to get somewhere fast.

- Newborns also don't say words. Now, time will tell if these are really, actual words, but I'm 90% certain you really mean "Dada" (though of course you also say that on repeat when he's not around so... not sure), and also "doh" for dog, since you say that every time Aslan comes around, and while pointing at him.

- Communication is in full-force non-verbally too. You can wave, clap, gesture (I wouldn't really call it a "point" yet), sign more and all done. Working on thank you and please.

- You can pick up the tiniest things with your fingers. Miniscule Calico Critter accessories are your specialty.

- You eat, eat, and repeat. You eat everything we eat, and nothing has been rejected. You're adventurous with food and love to feed yourself. Still super skinny though, which makes sense since you are NONSTOP when you're awake!

- Last week was really hard. I hope we are on the ups but there was just a convergence of all these hard things all at once (travel to two separate locations for 7 days, a 5-day 104 fever virus that would not quit, you fell off the bed while playing and had a few hard falls while pulling up, you went on a day-long nursing strike and still haven't quite returned to normal, plus general snowballing overtiredness from all those things). Not that I think I'll forget, but I'll go ahead and mark that one down for memory's sake the worst week of sleep since you were born.

- You're just starting to feel separation anxiety and mom is most definitely your most favorite person in the whole wide world. Mama's.Boy.

- You have two teeth.

- Still can't get enough of your HUGE smile, generous giggles, and funny faces. Just today I noticed that you've figured out when something makes us laugh, so you will repeat it over and over to get more laughs out of us.

- I love this age, but man you're into everything, so I'm also tired.

LOVE YOU! (better update next month, including actual monthly pics WITH A NUMBER, since I somehow lost the 9. Whoops.)