Dear Morris,
I’m almost a month late writing this post and all my devices are completely out of storage. That sums up this month quite well. Some days it seems you have grown and changed overnight, each day becoming just a bit more you. We start to see you make connections, copy behaviors, and respond to different experiences and people in your own unique ways as you move from one activity to the next, so curious and active. It is so fascinating to watch! You are a force, little Morris. We know we need to take time for ourselves too but there you are, waddling around like a little penguin on the push cart with the biggest grin or slobbering all over the mirror as you give yourself kisses...and it actually becomes quite hard to leave! You wave your little finger in the air making loud declarations with your newfound voice and squeeze back to give big cuddles...and it makes us laugh so hard, what else would we want to do? Everything you do at nine months either cracks us up or makes us so proud and we know that it’s only just the beginning.
Just before you turned nine months old you surprised us by pulling yourself up and walking with the push cart, all by yourself. You are strong, sturdy, and pretty graceful on your falls (clearly not mama's genes). You walk along and between the furniture and have even taken two steps on your own. While you are more independent in your play which is making life easier in many ways, you are also incredibly quick and mobile which means we can’t look away too long. Opening and closing doors and crawling under furniture have become favorite past times. You've discovered that wrestling with the pillows makes for an enjoyable activity, as well and still love your cardboard boxes. This month you started clapping, flapping your arms in excitement, are starting to wave (holding your arm straight up in the air), and discovered how fun splashing in the bathtub can be. You’ve also made the discovery that you can balance your sippy cup on the edge of your highchair tray so it doesn't fall. A little engineer like your papa. After months of mama and papa playing peek-a-boo to make you giggle, you actually hide yourself under the blanket and pop out giggling to surprise us. It may be the cutest thing.
As you have discovered many new sounds in your conversations and the freedom of movement, you are finding it very fun to explore these at night, too, often getting yourself in the strangest sleeping positions or making the sweetest sounds. Sometimes you fall asleep with your head on mama's stomach and your butt in the air. One night you even tried to get milk from mama's belly button. Ohhhhh did she laugh.
We love how adventurous you are, diving off of the couch or sticking your face in the bath bubbles, always looking back up with a goofy grin or giggle. With becoming so aware and curious you have also developed some new fears and dislikes. You jumped at the sight of your first tiger toy, holding staring contests with him from across the room, and strategically moving yourself behind us every time we placed him near you. What type of connection could you be making that would make you fearful of this animal?? Sure enough, there is a very scary tiger in one of your favorite books! Incredible! Once you overcame this fear you started getting really excited when you saw big cats anywhere. Now, you love them! You suddenly don’t seem to like red peppers but love meat and bread (also like papa). All in all, you are such a good eater, eating all three meals with mama and papa and your adorable seven teeth, breastfeeding on demand in between. You chat, chat, chat in utter messy joy during.
This month your first holiday season began. You made your first Sint Maarten lamp, put out your first shoe for Sinterklaas, celebrated mama's birthday, and we anxiously anticipated our first Christmas with you. I'll never understand how such a small human can already have a sense of humour and infectious smile but you sure know how to make us laugh and fill us with the craziest love. As we look to the new year, hopeful that we make a little more time for ourselves, too, we also hope to remember just how fast these months fly by and that we will never regret having been so immersed in these moments with you. May your force stay with us, Morris-sasaurus! We are crazy about you!
Love, Mama