Dear Antonio,
I can't believe that you are nine months old! That means you are three quarters of a year. No way are you almost a year old! You are growing so fast and changing so much. I was telling my students during health the other day how much you are learning each day and how interesting it is. (My class always asks about you and loves to hear about you.) Here are some things about you right now...
-You went through a bit of a smiling hiatus the last month, but you are back to smiling all the time. I'm so glad! I was worried that my happy little guy was gone, but I think you were just busy sucking on your lips.
-Everyday when we get home from work, you crawl over to the couch and pull yourself up to see who's home. You give us the biggest grin and reach for us to pick you up.
-You are very attached to me right now and cry when I leave you or walk by and won't hold you. Daddy says I'm spoiling you, but I can't help but pick you up when you cry for me. I love you too much to let you cry!
-You have started nursing without fussing whenever I try. Unfortunately, there isn't much milk left anymore, so our nursing days will be coming to an end soon.
-You are still awful when we change your diaper. When I blow on your face, I can distract you long enough to change it quickly. Daddy and I are thinking about changing you over to pull-ups so we can change you easier.
-I've started giving you your Texas taggie blanket at bedtime. You like to hold it and feel the taggies. In the morning you play with it and I get a few extra minutes of sleep.
-You sleep from 8:00 to about 7:30.
-When you wake up in the morning, I can hear you talking to yourself. I go in your room and you stand up on the crib rail and smile at me. I get you out and nurse you and then let you crawl around while I check Facebook. Your favorite thing to do is crawl to the nightlight and mess with it.
-I've started putting you in timeout in your crib when you won't stop playing with the above mentioned nightlight. Today, I put in your crib three times and finally I think you realized that when I say no-no, I mean it!
-You are taking 10-15 steps at a time.
-You have started turning around from a toy and walking towards us. For awhile, you couldn't turn so this was a big step for you!
-You are still not eating a whole jar of baby food, but you are eating three meals a day. Grandma gives you oatmeal for breakfast, fruit for lunch, and we give you a veggie for dinner.
-I've started letting you try some real food. You've add tiny bites of bread, mashed potatoes, avocado, beans, and banana.
-I comb your hair over to the side and Daddy thinks it's so nerdy. I think it's so handsome!
-You are starting to add more syllables to your vocabulary. You make a mmmm sound and a da sound. We can't wait to see if you say MaMa or DaDa first!
-You pretty much never cry when we lay you down at night. I'm so thankful for that. I can't believe that just a few months ago, nighttime was torture for us!
-You take two naps a day. Usually an hour and half each nap. I love when you nap on the weekends so I can nap too!
-You signed milk the day you turned nine months! Grandpa was here and we were all eating dinner. I was letting you try some of my food and it was sticking your tongue. I got up to get you a sippy cup of water to wash it down and you signed milk! Daddy saw it and told me. I said do you want milk and signed it back and you were so excited! The rest of the meal you would take a few bites, then sign milk so you could have a drink. After that day, you haven't done it again though.
-Our current signing words are: milk, all done, change, bath, light off, bed, eat, more, no-no, stop, thank you, soft touch, and excited.
You are the most precious baby in the world and I love you so much! I can't wait for your first Easter tomorrow!
Love,
Mommy
