Dear Emmett, 9 Months

Dear Emmett Boy,

You're getting so big! Your dad and I can't believe you're already 9 months old! You're still a tiny little guy (only in about the 3rd percentile for weight!), but to us you seem bigger and bigger every day. You've grown so much in the last month, since you've been eating non stop and using all your little muscles!

I remember my friends saying their favorite age for their babies was 9 months, and I totally agree! You are SO MUCH FUN lately! You're happy all the time, full of energy, and all you want to do is play! You wake up in the morning all smiles, so excited for the day, and you don't stop smiling until your little head hits your mattress.

Each morning when you wake up, we bring you into bed with us and try to sneak in a few snuggles. You are so sweet early in the morning- so excited to see us and you're still so soft and warm from sleep. You eat the most first thing in the morning, which makes your mama happy since you're way too busy to nurse these days. This week your favorite thing to do is give your mama raspberries on my belly, which makes us all laugh and laugh! But once you see little Bagel the snuggles are over! You get so excited and scream and yell until we let you play with him. You love that dog so much!

Poor Bagel. You spend most of your day chasing him around the house and pulling on his ears and tail. Every time you get distracted and Bagel finally gets to rest, you discover him all over again- you get this funny little look on your face like you can't wait to go torture him some more! Your favorite thing to do with your food is grab it in hand-fulls and throw it down for Bagel. He loves it and you laugh every time.

Here's a little Vine video of Emmett sharing his dinner with Bagel (Do ya'll have that app? So fun!). More here and another really cute one here.

Up until this week, you've been eating so many new foods! Whenever your dad or mama or your aunt Lulu are eating, you get really excited and beg for us to let you have some too. You've been eating turkey sausage, beans, avocado, corn, vegetables, a little pork, and everything else you see us eating.

Trying eggs and sausage at an Easter pool party!

Wanna try some mama?

Such a silly boy!

But this week something crazy has happened that's made you eat a lot less than normal... You're finally cutting teeth! Your two top teeth are popping through, so your poor little mouth is hurting. I couldn't believe it when I saw that tiny little tooth coming through your gum. I was so excited and so proud of you, but also a little sad because this means you're growing up! You haven't been sleeping very well (what else is new!) since we found that little tooth, but you're still so happy all day long. Your mom and dad are pretty tired, but we know you'll get back to normal soon.

Your aunt Lulu (my sister Lucia) is your nanny, which makes you a very lucky boy! She loves you so much and plays with you all day long, which makes your mama very happy. We love not having to worry about you while we're missing you at work, and you love going for walks with her. She took you to the pool today for the first time this summer, and you loved it!! Lulu can't wait till it's warm enough to swim all day.

I took this picture of you while I was home on my lunch break today. Your tongue has been out ALL WEEK since your little teeth started coming through!

I still have such a hard time leaving you at home to go to work every day baby boy. You're so much fun right now, so all I want to do is stay home and play with you! I wish I could stay at home with you every day, so we play as much as we can in the mornings and evenings. I kiss you a thousand times before I leave, and another thousand times when I come home to make up for all the ones I missed during the day. Your dad and I never want to leave you on the weekends because we love having whole days to spend all together. Whenever you are sleeping we talk about how we miss you and can't wait till you wake up!

Hanging out with Daddy after work yesterday!

So excited to see you after work today!

You are so wild! You wake up ready to go and don't sit still for a second all day long. You try to stand up by yourself now- you pull yourself up on something and then just let go and stand for a couple of seconds, and everyone's heart stops while we count the seconds! Your record is still just a few wobbly seconds, but it's pretty exciting to watch you try. You're getting better at moving around now too. You crawl SO FAST and you walk around the coffee table holding on with one hand now. You love the stairs, and can get up them so fast! We stay right behind you the whole time though because you're totally fearless and try to stand up while you're climbing. You always go for the most dangerous thing you can find- like the stairs in our house, or the sidewalk if we're playing in the grass outside.

Playing in the grass today. You love getting dirty!

You have been way too busy to nurse lately, so I look forward to our time together when you are really sleepy just before bed. You wake up in the middle of the night at least a couple of times still to eat, but I don't mind too much. I like to think it's because you miss me too during the day, so you wake up just to spend a little extra time with me at night. :)

You're filling our days (and nights!) with so much joy baby boy. We love you more every day, and we can't wait to watch you grow and learn more and more as you get older. You're such a good, sweet, happy boy, and you make your mom and dad feel like the luckiest parents in the world!

Here we are on Easter Sunday! It's a weird photo but we don't get very many all together!

I love you sweet Emmett boy!

Your mama