Nolan David: 9 Months

November brought 9 months of life with you! You have always been a happy baby, but I think your happiness has grown even bigger this month. You have loved being around people. If you had your choice, you would be snuggled 24/7. And you light up the room with your smile and excitement whenever you see me, daddy, or your sister. Your joy is contagious. Oh, and your giggles have become the soundtrack to our lives!! I have very specific prayers written in your prayer journal from before you were born hoping that you would be a snuggly and happy baby, full of life and a heart of gold. God has already begun to answer those prayers over and over again!! 

This month you have impressed us with your ball skills. Your daddy is quite proud. We are thinking you inherited some of your daddy's athletic abilities. I had very limited athletic skills to pass down to you, so this is all daddy :) You learned how to palm a pretty decent-sized ball, catch it, and throw it back (I use the term 'throw' loosely). You will choose a ball over a book every time. You have learned how to stand and pull-up on furniture. You loved discovering your music table and pushing buttons to hear different songs.

You mastered the wave and learned how to point. My favorite new activity this month was when you figured out how to get on your tummy during bath time and swim around. You loved splashing and swimming back and forth from one end to the other. Water in your face didn't phase you. The bigger the splash, the better :)

You got 2 more teeth this month. Although I have taken lots of pictures with you and Teddy, your bear, you haven't taken any interest in stuff animals, blankets, or anything soft. You choose a hard toy over a soft toy all the time (6 teeth in 4 weeks probably had something to do with this preference)! While you still only eat purée baby food, you discovered crackers and graham crackers this month. I thought we were onto something golden because after you ate your first graham cracker, you slept 12 hours straight that night. So you better believe we fed you a graham cracker with dinner every night after that. The sleeping trend continued for 4 nights...4 glorious nights...but then it stopped. Apparently graham crackers were not the answer. Oh well, I have come to enjoy our late-night ritual of rocking and nursing. I know these sweet moments won't last forever.

Speaking of food, you weighed in at 22 pounds this month! I have built up some muscle carrying you around :) You are so squishy, and I never want to forget your chunky legs! Your Grandpa Walker says it best, "You are a solid boy!" You also are quite tall for your age. You measured 29 1/4 inches tall and moved into 12 month clothes.

The weather this month was unbelievable. We had temps in the 50s for the majority of the month. So we took advantage of the beautiful weather with lots of walks and exploration around campus. The animal museum (a.k.a. the Science Building) is Katherine's favorite place to visit, so we went there a lot this month. And she always reminded you that the animals were not scary because they didn't move. They were napping ;) And Mimi and Papi came to visit!

Socks...you always take your socks off...the right one comes off first. 

November also brought some firsts. We celebrated your first Thanksgiving with Mimi and Papi, and you had the best time with your cousins. You took on the role of observing from a distant as all the kids ran circles around you and were a little crazy! But before long, you will be in on the fun :) You also got to meet Duane and Peggy who are like your great-grandparents. Duane quickly become your friend. You snuggled up next to him and didn't leave. You saw your first snowflakes this month, and we decorated our new home for Christmas!

Katherine still takes her role as big sister very seriously. She is always "helping" me keep in eye on you and making sure you clearly understand which toys don't belong to you. But she has loved making you laugh this month and chasing you around the house! We made a thankful tree this month, and her first grateful leaf was you!! All the pictures below are blurry, but I loved them because the pictures show how much you have liked playing together this month! You both make each other laugh, and I hope that is something that never changes.

Nolan, you are a constant gift of love and joy!

-I want to remember the sound of your belly-laugh.

-I want to remember the joy you get from playing ball. 

-I want to remember the way your face lights up and how you pound on your highchair in excitement when you see me open the cabinet to get you a cracker. 

-I want to remember how happy swimming in the bathtub makes you. 

-I want to remember the way you rub your eyes with both fists when you are tired. 

Thank you for filling our lives with your snuggles, smiles, and giggles!