Growing BIG

I can't believe that my little man is already 9 months old. Time for sure flies. I remember just bringing him home from the hospital and now, he is crawling, talking (even though most of it is incoherently), eating on his own and having a mind of his own as well. It is actually pretty funny that he understands when I tell him "No". He then stops what he is doing, shakes his head and once I turn my head, he continues with what he was doing. Here is a little video clip of him showing of his "skills" :)

He also tries to get in to trouble by climbing on furniture, getting the dirt out of my flower pots (which I now have moved to the outside), chasing down the cat, taking Amelia's toys away or being in her room for that matter (she now closes the door when she wants to play by herself and then he sits outside of it and cries). Yes, he is doing a lot of things little boys do and I never had to deal with before. 

On the other hand, he is really good playing by himself in his room (with a gate blocking off the door) when I need to clean the house or cook. The other day, he was in there for an hour happily playing. Every so often I peek around the corner to see if he is ok and smile when I see him play in his ball pit like a mad men. His big sister showed him how to act crazy in there and how to throw out all the balls. He loves playing with her and unconditionally loves her. Lately, his newest friend is the cat who lets him come real close and as soon as he is ready to touch her she moves on. It is funny to watch them interact and the fact that he tries to meow at her but it sounds more like a seagull instead.

Elliot also likes to help me, especially with the laundry. He usually pulls out the dirty laundry from the washing machine or helps with the folding. It may take me a few minutes longer when he helps, but I think a boy can never learn early enough to take care of him and a household. His future bride will thank me for this one day.

Of course, his favorite time of the day is tubby time/ taking a bath. Normally, he only takes a bath every other night unless he is extra dirty. But if he could he would be in that tub multiple times a day. I now have to close the bathroom doors since he crawls in there all the time and stands at the bathtub and trying to climb in. 

My baby boy may not be that little anymore and he is for sure on the big site in terms of measurements (at his 9 months checkup he weighted 21lbs (9.6kg) and was 30.5 in (78cm) long), but he still loves to cuddle, being kissed and being with his Mommy. Especially now with the constant teething, he is extra needy at night and often nurses still every 2-3 hours. Even though all that nursing and constant waking up at night drains me, I still love holding and cuddling him at night when the house is all quiet and dark and it's only the two of us.