Austin: 9 Months

Dear Time,

Why aren't you slowing down?  For real.  SLOW DOWN!

Sincerely,
A Mama Who is Kept on Her Toes

At nine months, my little Austin Boo:

• Is pulling up on everything.  He was doing it only occasionally, but in the last few days, he is pulling up constantly.  Cooper realizes this is a big deal and every time he sees Austin standing, he'll excitedly exclaim, "Mom!  He's did it!!  He did it!!"  Love that he's so proud of his baby brother.
• Loves to chase Drake and Mocha around the house.  Luckily, they are both very child-tolerant animals.  Mocha retreats to the laundry room a little bit more these days, and I think Drake is happy when I put the baby gate up at the playroom door.
• Enjoys getting into the kitchen cabinets, pulling the toilet paper rolls off the hangers, playing in Drake's water bowl, tipping over a red vase in the entry way (luckily, it's not breakable), and knocking everything off the bathtub ledge.  And today, I caught him splashing in the toilet, and he was really excited and proud of himself.  Awesome.
• Loves loves loves the dirt.  And splashing in the water.  Think he'll be excited about all the sand at the beach??  
• Said "mama" yesterday (at 9.5 months) and yes, it made my day.  He also says "dada" and "uh uh" (for "uh oh").
• Has a lot of energy!  He loves to chase and be chased by his big brother.  They will go round and round and round the house, squealing, giggling, with Austin making super loud "happy" noises!  He also loves to jump and bounce.  Whether we are holding him, wearing him, he's standing at a table or he's in the doorway jumper, his little legs are constantly moving up and down, up and down.
• Is officially getting three meals a day and loves, loves solid food.  He's doing a great job at picking up the food and loves to play with his food as much as eat it.
• Has a lot of energy!  He's constantly on the move, chasing one of our animals or his big brother, or just exploring the house.  Unless he's playing with a ball or trying to get the television remote, he doesn't sit still very long to check out toys.  

It was a little tough taking Austin's monthly pictures this time.  He was constantly on the move and most of the photos turned out blurry.  I'm posting several, though, because it just captures where we are in life--with a happy, smiley, on-the-go little guy.