Where have we been?!?

So it's been awhile since I've blogged.  I did that post about Ari at 9 months and then he decided to do all sorts of things he was almost doing. Apparently turning 9 months meant something to him.  He is now a proficient crawler, pulls up on everything, sits and stands up in his crib, waves bye-bye and hi, does "so big," and now signs for "more," his first sign, although I'm not sure if he completely understands what it means yet.  

And because we've been a little lacking on pictures......

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday at Grandpa & Grandma Partlow's house

(meeting the horses for the first time)

And, last but not least, an Ethiopian "pool party"

with the Barnhouse twins

Dax and Ari....they go way back :)

Baby Days.....

are precious.  short-lived.  a gift.  priceless.  so much fun.  You get the picture.  They are also incredibly fleeting (especially for those of us who meet our children at a ripe old age of 6 months or older!) and it causes me a little panic attack and makes me catch my breath here and there when I realize how fast time is going.  We are now (already) to the point where Roger and I look at our pictures while in Ethiopia and think (already) "Ari looks so little."  How can that be??  It was only three months ago.  But he has grown so much.  Two inches and 4 pounds to be exact since the beginning of February.  And he's acting like such a big boy these days with crawling all over and pulling up and learning the meaning of "no" and imitating us and taking little steps and eating big people food and all these amazing new firsts.  I was looking at our pictures at the top of the blog and thinking how we need to update them with some super cute more recent pics, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to do it yet.  I wish there was a way to "save" that beautiful, innocent babyhood and be able to revisit it here and there for the next......well, forever.  I really get it now when a mom says once my baby, always my baby.

Ari @ 9 months

Today Ari is 9 months old and has been with us for three months.  Here is what Ari is up to at nine months of age:

• two bottom front teeth
• gives open mouth kisses but not on command
• Knows how to "give me 5!" on command (so cute)
• is really mastering the pincer grasp and can feed himself Cheerios, cut-up squares of string cheese, Puffs, and now baby Goldfish
• Is able to stand unassisted
• continues to sleep through the night (unless he is sick or teething.  Ugh.)
• Participates in peek-a-boo with anything he can get his hands on
• LOVES to play "chase"
• Has just recently started bouncing when he hears fun music
• Is able to walk by himself if he is pushing something (i.e., music table)
• Can cruise along furniture
• Has started throwing little fits when he doesn't get to play with something (i.e., dog bowl or toilet or dirt in potted plants)
• Still does not like to crawl even though we know he can do it.  Prefers to walk EVERYWHERE with the assistance of mom and dad
• Points at things (and sometimes nothing at all) with his pointer finger
• Says da-da all the time for everything
• Has realized he has a say in dinnertime with spoon slapping and spitting of food.  Awesome.  For some reason that is incredibly irritating to me.
• Loves to play at the indoor kid playground in the mall.  Is a little too young yet, but loves, loves, loves to watch the other kids play around him.  Lots of delightful squealing when we are there.
• Loves to swing at the playground and at Grandma & Grandpa Wasson's house

Things we are working on:

• Waving bye-bye
• Clapping
• Getting into a sit position from a tummy position
• Pulling up from a sit position into a stand position
• Saying ma-ma
• Becoming less dependent on the (stupid) bink.  So far we are doing a pretty good job of keeping the bink in the crib.  As a result we are hearing a lot of incessant whining during the day.
• Learning the word "no."  I'm pretty sure he already has a grasp of the concept.  He hears "no" the most when he is playing with rocks and tries to put them in his mouth.  Today he slowly brought a rock to his mouth and immediately looked at me to see if I was going to react.

It's funny how little kids develop.  Last week was an explosion of a second tooth, real crawling, and an improvement in walking.  This week he has a double ear infection, has been incredibly whiny at times, and seems overall frustrated with life.  I suppose frustration is good; it means he's wanting to improve his skillz but just hasn't figured it all out yet.  Nine months is a lot of work, you know.

Fun little diddy for your viewing pleasure.