Miraculous 9 Months

Lincoln is still so little and cuddly, it's hard to believe he's already nine months old. There are so many times when I'll look at him and think, "I HAVE to remember him at this moment." Just little things that he does that I find adorable or amazing simply because I'm his mother. I thought I'd write them here so I won't forget...

• His little mitt-like fists always grasping for something, those sausage fingers opening and closing to test the texture of the nearest object
• The way he twists around and reaches out to touch the face of whoever is holding him
• His eyes fluttering and rolling back when he's nursing but getting full and sleepy 
• His belly laugh that sounds like a baby doll
• Him sticking his tongue out and sucking on it when he's getting ready to drink
• Raspberry blowing all the time
• The chuckle that can mean so many things: "I'm ready to nurse," "I'm happy you picked me up," "I'm getting tired," etc.
• The way he toothlessly gums his cereal puffs, like an old man without his dentures
• His grin that consumes his entire face, and the tiny dimples at the lower corners of his mouth
• The dimples on his knuckles
• The way his hair grows into a mohawk
• How he sticks out his tongue and curls it upwards
• Him rocking back and forth on his hands and knees, then pushing into plank position
• The way his brother and sister make him smile, even when they're treating him like a rag doll
• His crazy ability to roll/scoot/push himself all around the floor, and push himself up to sit
• The way he has finally found his voice, usually saying "ba-ba-ba" and occasionally "ma," "la," or "da"
• How he snuggles into me and wraps his hands around my neck
• How I love him so much

As I sat at the computer this evening, wondering if I had a recent photo of Lincoln to finish up this post, Bree said, "Look! Lincoln's crawling!" Chad and I were like, "Uh huh, that's nice," because we thought she must be referring to his scooting or pivoting skills. But when we looked over, Lincoln was actually crawling!



It's always a big deal when our kids reach milestones. But this milestone is a HUGE deal for Lincoln. Chad and I are so pleased.

Of course, we can't take too much credit. Sure, Lincoln has therapists who visit us once a month and give us pointers on how we can help him progress. So we make more of a conscious effort to play with him in way that helps him get exercise. But I think it mostly boils down to the fact that I don't like carrying a baby around all day, and I let Lincoln fend for himself most of the time, so he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands (and knees).

That, and the fact that Lincoln is awesome.