9 months

Benjamin you are 9 months today...three quarters of your first year are under your belt and you are getting closer to toddler than baby.  Don't get me wrong, you're still my baby and I'm loving each cuddle moment I get...and you give me SO many and I thank you for that.  However, time is passing and you are edging closer to days where you'll be walking and talking.  So let me just remember these moments...

• I don't know how much you weigh but we'll find out tomorrow at your appointment, but I'm quite sure you're around 21-22 lbs.  You're actually thinning out a bit as you've become more mobile and you're pretty tall.  You still have adorably chubby cheeks!
• You nurse about 7-8 times in a 24 hour period.  For a good while you were just waking up once but recently it's gone up to 2 times or sometimes 3.  We still try to do the dream feed around 10pm but often you wake up on your own.  Trying to get you to not rely on nursing to take naps and hoping that will help you learn to put yourself down and not wake up quite so often at night. 
• You take 2 naps, morning is shorter than afternoon usually but you average about 3 hours of nap time a day.
• You eat Ritz crackers and pureed oatmeal and fruit, bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes, carrots.  Green vegetables are NOT your favorite.
• You are my cuddle bug and love to nuzzle my shoulder and neck.  You like to play or pull my hair.  You even pat my back sometimes. You like to touch noses and make eyes at those you love. 
• You and Kate are the BEST of friends. In fact the other day Kate declared that you are her best friend. I pray that this friendship continues as you get older.  You both love to be together and I think you both miss each other when the other's gone.  You wrestle with each other and Kate's actually gentle with you.  You and Kate laugh a like and a lot.  You have you own language with her.  
• You have started saying Mama and sometimes towards me but not as frequently as Dada with your Daddy.  
• You wave and clap when prompted.  You wave night night to Kate and Daddy when it's time to go to bed or take a nap.  
• You started crawling about 2 weeks ago and soon after that pulled up.  Each day you are getting more and more balance and you are crawling fast.  
• You are one happy baby and even strangers notice.  You smile easily and laugh when tickled.  You rarely cry for no reason.  

EDIT:  We had Benjamin's 9 month appointment and his stats were:  

• 21 lbs 5 ozs, 70th percentile
• 31.5", off the charts
• 18" head circumference, 50th percentile