Month Nine

Dear Jack,

This month marks a milestone in your life—you have now lived in the outside world as long as it took for you to grow inside me. Nine months in and now nine months out. And in many ways, nine months seems like a turning point for you. This month you have grown and changed in so many ways.

First, you have started to sleep longer at night and have started taking consistently longer naps during the day. I’m not sure if this is because you are older or if it’s because you now sleep on your tummy and this position is more comfortable for you. Either way, mommy enjoys the extra sleep, not only because it means more sleep for her, but because you are so much happier when you are well-rested.

You have also learned how to roll onto your back from your stomach. You’ve been rolling onto your stomach for a while now, but you would get so perplexed by your inability to get OFF your stomach. Luckily, this past week you figured out how to roll over to your back. Unfortunately for mommy, this means no more leaving you lying on the bed unattended for any period of time because you now have the potential to roll, roll, roll off the bed.

Other fun things you have learned this month are how to imitate grandpa doing an Indian (I mean, Native American) war whoop (which daddy isn’t quite sure is the most useful skill to know), clapping your hands and giving high fives. And you have become quite the chatterbox. Not that I know what you are saying, but you always seem very determined and adamant about your positions, using your hands to emphasize your points (this is especially adorable to watch through the rear view mirror when I’m driving, which is when you make your most impassioned speeches, which typically involve waving your socks in the air). It’s so much fun seeing your little personality emerge and to see you learning how to do new things.

And finally, your hair seems to be getting long enough that it no longer sticks straight up. I will admit, this makes me a teensy bit sad—I will miss your little mohawk.

Each day I wake up excited to see you and to spend time with you. You are loved very much.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy