9 months old!!!

Believe it or not Gabe is celebrating another birthday. He is 9 months old today! It's unbelievable to me that he's been alive for 3/4 of a year - it's just crazy. However, he has started wiggling more and more and more - and I think that I'm starting to realize why moms are tired! Church the last 2 weeks have been a headache - he just can't stop moving. It's going to get worse before it gets better though (or so I'm told) - so I can't complain yet.

So today since Gabe's 9 months old I thought I'd just jot down 9 things he's doing now.

1. He loves to say anything with the sound "da". He says (a version of) Daddy, "Ta-Da!", dog, or anything else that Cory and I imagine that he's saying (it's all probably just noise, but we like to think he's brilliant).
2. When you make kissey sounds he likes to smack his lips together. He won't give the actual kisses, but he's great at the sound.
3. CHEERIOS - this boy can pack away the Cheerios. It's a great snack for him to munch on when I'm getting dinner, or sometimes while we eat our dinner and I'm waiting to feed him. He also loves most foods. He puckers with sour fruits - but he will pretty much eat anything we feed him. And he always wants whatever we're eating.
4. Naps....ha! I wish that this kid had a routine as far as naps go. He's not so regular as to when he takes naps. Some days he'll take a 3+ hour nap, and other days I'm lucky for 45 minutes, or a cat nap in the car - wish I could count on it from time to time! {Speaking of going in the car - Gabe loves to sleep in the car. If we go anywhere for longer than 10 minutes - he's OUT. And he will count that as his nap for the day, even if it lasts 3 minutes.}
5. Still loving books, baths and being out and about - these look like favorites from here out. We can add to that going on walks, going to the library, and singing songs at the top of his lungs.
6. Gabe can make a mess faster than any 9 month old I've met. (and I'm sure this is just the beginning too). Whether it's tearing up a magazine or catalog I've given him to "read", or taking toys out of one of his toy boxes and throwing them around - it takes a matter of seconds.
7. FAST! He's not crawling yet - he is pulling himself around though. And he rolls fast enough that between the pulling himself around on his tummy, and rolling - he can get pretty much anywhere he wants to be. He also likes to sit down and turn around on his little bottom.
8. Social butterfly - Gabe loves to wave. The first thing he does when I take him out of his crib and open the blinds so his room is light is to wave outside. When the dogs come in from being out - he waves. If he sees someone smiling at him at the store - he waves. He loves to wave at any and every-thing. (That is until we tell him to wave at someone and then he refuses - making mom and dad look like idiots).
9. Music - Gabe loves to listen to music with a good beat. Whether it's an advertisement on the radio, or a Disney song we listen to in the car - he will dance. He nodds his head up and down and kind of rocks - he is so cute!

Last of all - I can't believe how much I love our little Gabe. I knew I'd love having a little boy - but I had NO idea how much. They say that having a baby changes everything - but that is an understatement. It flips your world upside down merely by how much your capacity to love expands. I know all of you who read our blog are sick of hearing it - but each and every day I am astounded at how much MORE I love this little guy. It's pretty amazing. So here's looking forward to the next 9 months - or the next 9 years for that matter!