{Austin 9 Months}

Dear Austie Bostie,

This is the newest nickname that has stuck...everyone calls you this, and it fits you so well. Why? I guess the word boss...you sure are the boss around this place, what you say goes. You are loud, fast, and so so cute. Oh my, the smiles you give...your big old cheeks look even bigger when you smile. It melts my heart every time.

These days you can be found one of two places. Either down on the ground in the action...or in someones arms. You love to play, and you really love to be held. Most days you would rather be in my arms than anywhere else. It makes it very very hard to get stuff done, but I have learned how to do most things with you on my hip or in the carrier.

You are now eating everything and loving all of it. Your favorites these days are eggs, watermelon, raspberries, cheese, ham, chicken noodle soup, peas, black olives, yams, and grilled cheese. You really do not discriminate when it comes to food. If you don't like it, or its too hard, you just spit it out. When you are full, you continue to shove it in your mouth, chew it up, and then spit it out. Food everywhere all the time. Messy messy messy.

Your sleep these days is finally getting back to normal after our trip. It was a very tiring few weeks because you did not sleep in Ohio, and then it took you almost a week to get back to your old habits. Now things are pretty good. You go down for the night around 730 and get up around 430. You will nurse at 430, and then sometimes go back to sleep. One day you will sleep until 6am! You take 2 naps a day, one at 830am and the other at 2pm. Most days you will sleep for at least 2 hours during each nap. We are making progress here...maybe by the time you are one year old, you will be sleeping just a TINY bit longer:)

Talking. You started "talking" and its so so cute. Dada was your first word, and continues to be your favorite. Every once in a while you say Mama, but its rare. Just yesterday you started shaking your head back and forth...you imitate your brother doing it. It is so so cute! In the bath you were shaking you head no, over and over, and imitating your brother...we all thought this was so cute, so this went on for a long time.

Bath time is one of your favorite parts of the day. You go nuts in the bath, playing with each toy and tasting them all. You and your brother have so much fun together in the bath.

You are still nursing on demand throughout the day. Every few hours, and right before naps. You make it through the night without needing any milk, and I am thankful for that. When I go to work, you take the bottle of thawed milk just fine, and have still never had an ounce of formula. Nursing you is my favorite time of the day, and since you like to nurse a lot, its great:) You will nurse while we are out, you don't really care. Noises don't distract you very much, you are very focused. I was never able to do this with your brother, it had to be a quiet room. I cherish this time.

You are starting to stand on your own for small amounts of time. You get nervous and then fall over to crawl, but I have caught you doing this more and more. Its sort of like you don't realize that you CAN do it, its pretty cute to watch.

You get to spend lots of time with your Ma too. She comes to watch you on Thursdays while I take your brother to school. If there is one person that you will jump out of my arms to, its her. You see her, and try to get in her arms as fast as you can. You are building a very special relationship with her, and its one of the neatest things to see. We are so thankful for all her help and of course, enormous amount of love for you guys. She is the best.

You get to spend lots of time with daddy, especially in the mornings and weekends. You love your daddy so so much, and smile soooo big when you see him. When you hear him come home from work, you will race to see him, and then follow him while he changes, and do everything to get yourself into his arms. Like I said, you LOVE to be held!

Oh Austie Bostie, we love you so much. You bring such joy to our lives, and you are always making everyone smile. Love you bubba!

Mamma