To Anyah at 9 Months Old

My Ani,

Oh Baby, Oh Baby, Look at you now! I had a hard time picking a picture for your letter this month. You're all smiles and cuddles and adventures in crawling and pulling yourself up in strange places with an ear to ear grin and I-just-couldn't-pick. So Layla climbed up in my lap to look at the pictures in the snow and she kept going to this picture and saying "mom look at my baby" and I thought...yep...look at my baby.

So you crawl, fast...and anywhere we set you down I might add. Bark at the park, no problem. Snow, not a moment's hesitation. Someone's floor, okie dokie. The store, a place we go to eat, anywhere your knees hit ground and *ta da* you're on the move.

A moment ago you pulled yourself up on my pajama legs and you were standing at my knees alternating between screaming "mom mom" and hitting me with a jingle toy Nannie gave you. I thought you might want something so I peeked around my laptop screen to see and you busted up laughing got down and crawled away. When you got about half way across the floor you turned around shot me your biggest smile and tried to signal me to come to you by opening and closing your hand upside down at me in a "come here" fashion. You're so cute when you want to play. I pretended to come get you and you squeeled and clapped.

Oh the things that you say all the sudden. MomMom (mom), LayLaLa (layla), DaDa (daddy), Ranana (banana), Crackah (cracker), Hey (hi), BYaBye (bye bye), Byyb (bite), NomNomNom (nom nom nom), gud (good), ahgon (all gone)... you talk clearer than Layla did at this age and you will talk on command (which she never did) but you refuse to say new words when prompted to try (which she was more than willing to do).

You like exploring, sausage and eggs, apple juice in your new sippy cup, blocks, putting things in your mouth, eating snow, dancing by popping up and down on your tushie, Club Butter Crackers, chasing Layla, stealing other people's stuff, co-sleeping, Kipper the dog and laughing when people tell you no.

You dislike peas, peaches, loud noises, the ball Papa got you for Christmas because it moves on it's own and you think it's gonna chase you, being stopped from going places you want to go, things that don't fit in your mouth, when everyone else goes to another room, interrupted naps and when Nannie's dog licks you.

You're the happiest baby I've ever met when left to your own devices you just crawl from place to place and check out the toys, steal an oreo sister stashed somewhere, watch a little Kipper, play some more... too cute. You have a walrus smile (you have two center bottom teeth and you are missing the two top center teeth but have the two that would be on each side of the center two) which people find ADORABLE. You have crazy hair and a wild little look in your eye when you see something you can swipe from Layla.

We love you to bits, baby and watching you grow up is proving to be just as entertaining as I imagined it would be before you got here.

Love,

Mommy