The Humble Abode: 9 months already!

Gosh... time is going by so quickly when it comes to watching our little man grow up. Sheesh.

I just really wanted to reflect on some things before I forget them... the traditional baby book I'm filling out, and Burke's Q & A that you can read here really help, but I just want to remember things that I might not other wise note... things that are uniquely Burke.

As I rocked and nursed Burke to sleep as a newborn he would pat me... then at five months, when he was fully on a bottle, he would pat his bottle... which somehow turned into running his little fingers through my hair. I have to admit, it is one of the reasons why I have NOT cut my hair. If we are playing during the day he pulls it ... hard! But something about that last feeding, in his room, in the rocker... he gently plays or twirls with the ends of my hair. It's so very sweet.
His kisses. They have mutated to open mouth to often being a closed mouth kiss... I think he gets that it shows affection... because he wraps up around my neck afterwards. I melt.
He is getting very good at mimicking our sounds. Mmmmm and Uh-Oh are favorites, but whether we stick out our tongue or smack our lips... he loves to copy!
His temperament is changing. I was convinced that we had a perfect child. :) He never cried unless he was hungry or tired, but recently when he doesn't get what he wants, i.e. being held, getting his puffs, or longer bath times, he will whine, grunt, and sometimes cry. This is new to us, and we are having a hard time adjusting to this new behavior.
Bath time! He loves it. We recently moved from the kitchen sink using the PUJ, to the big people bath tub. I think he loves the space... and toys! However... the washing of the hair is NOT liked. We just wash it every other day... unless his solids went more in his hair than in his mouth. :)
Burke loves the outdoors. We try to take walks or runs on most days... some longer than others, and sometimes the only outdoors we get is the walk to the mailbox... but nonetheless, he loves it.
Up until his 9 month birthday I have been toting him around the Bjorn carrier. He loves it... I love it. However, our last trip to the grocery store I placed him in the buggy. That stinker is starting to get heavy... but the real reason... he's starting to outgrow the carrier. :( Sad day. Maybe I should look into carriers for larger babies... maybe I'll tote him around until he's 14. Do they make a carrier big enough?
As for sleep... it's now a hit or miss. Before his 8 month birthday I could count on getting my 8 hrs of shut eye if I went to sleep 2 hrs after I put him down. He would sleep from 7 pm to 6am... rarely waking between. Now he is waking up in the middle of the night, wanting a bottle or just to be rocked back to bed. However, I read that their minds and little bodies are growing and trying to learn to do so much that they practice in their sleep and it wakes them. What's even more weird is that I often don't mind it... it's just another chance to cuddle a little boy that will not be this small for much longer. Of course this is not my thought process ALL the time... :)

And now for a little photo recap... of this last month.

Eating Daddy's nose... some may find this gross... but we think it's hilarious. :) He only does it to Ryan, and only when their faces are super close to each other.