9 months!

My little Shortstop is 9 months old today. What a blessing he is in our lives. I remember life without him very vaguely, like he was always with a babysitter when Mark and I were out or on a vacation...and it makes me sad to think of it. He is an amazing child and I am grateful to be his mom.
He is so much more interactive and his little personality is so fun. He is a lot like his dad so he is laid back, happy all the time and loves to be around people. Every time we say "Yay!" for anything, he claps his hands. Mark has recently started making funny howling noises in the other room to get his attention and Shortstop will howl back in a real high pitched voice. He loves to eat, eats anything and never stops eating! Not picky like his mom was at that age. He is better about being on his stomach and pushes up with his hands and tries to bounce (until he hits his face on the floor...ouch!) So he may be close to crawling but for now he is content to sit up and play with the toys around him. No teeth yet...not looking forward to when those come in! He has a very gummy cheesy grin and I will be sad when that is no more. He likes to squint his eyes and grin whenever you make silly faces at him. He is sensitive and if I tell him "no" too sternly he looks at me, pouts his lip and cries a very sad cry until I pick him up. Then he lays on my shoulder and whimpers. I try to only say "No" when it is pretty serious. He loves butterfly and eskimo kisses and gives very slobbery kisses of his own. And a new, not so fun thing, he screams bloody murder and freaks out anytime I turn on the vacuum. Makes cleaning lots of fun!

He is such a little boy now rather than a baby! Thank goodness he is mine!

And on another fun note...guess where Mark and I are going in 3 months? I will give you a hint...
BOSTON! (Ok, it was a pretty easy hint but I was too excited to not say!) We are visiting my sister for a week, taking in a red sox game, seeing the sites but mostly just enjoying being with Rachel and her family. I miss them! I booked the flight today and now am counting down!