Dear Max: Eight and Nine Months

Dearest Maxwell,

You are such an adorably handsome baby.
You look so much like a Gerber baby with your perfectly round head, big blue eyes and gigantic smile.
I can't get enough of your cheeks.  They are so kissable and sweet.
You love to blow bubbles and click your tongue.
You've been giving everyone the cheesiest grin lately.  You scrunch your nose and eyes and smile wide.

You are a real mamma's boy.  You're very attached, but I love it.
It's funny though, because you really are very friendly, and you don't mind visiting with other people.
You usually find ways to show your interest in them.
Such as pulling off glasses, yanking on earrings, finding pens and putting your hands in their mouths.
Interestingly enough, you still love to suck on your pointer finger.
I'm wondering when you'll grow out of it.  For now at least, it's very cute.

We love that big toothless grin.  I guess it's not really toothless any more.
You finally got your very first tooth (April 13th).  It was an absolutely miserable few weeks for all of us.
As your parents, we really didn't know the meaning of teething until you.
Poor thing.  That little bottom tooth went up and down for weeks until it finally broke through.

You love to play with Kathryn's piano and the music makes you happy.
You started scooting around at about 8 1/2 months.  Really, it's more of a bounce.
It's amazing how far you can get.  It's funny, because Kathryn also scooted before conventionally crawling.
We'll see what happens.  For now, your content to bounce to get where you want to be.

Your hair is growing out, so we started spiking it.  It suits your little face.
Every morning Kathryn asks if we're going to put a spike in your hair.
She loves to get the lotion out and do it all by herself.  She's pretty good at it too.

You are a little guy, but you deceive people with those cheeks and proportional body.
At your nine month check-up you were:
Length- 27 inches
Weight- 16 pounds 8 ounces
Head-45.1 centimeters

We love to make you laugh.
Your giggle is so charming and cute, and you are very, very ticklish.
You laugh so loud when we kiss your neck, throw you in the air and tickle your belly and arms.
You're very vocal and you jabber all the time.
I think you must like the sound of your own voice, you're so loud sometimes.

We are still dealing with feeding issues and we hope to figure you out someday.
I think we've broken all the feeding rules to get you to eat...
You don't sleep through the night, and for a while there, it was really rough.  You would wake up in extreme pain and be restless for hours.  Hopefully that was partly the tooth.
You love to give big cheesy grins, flail your hands and arms, kick your legs, bounce and chew on your toys.
You love your baths, Kathryn's toys, your socks, your shoes, your feet and your hands.

We love to watch you grow.  And we love to watch you learn and discover new things.
Love Always,
Mommy