Matty: 9 Months!

Sweet Matty, 

9 months?! It is amazing how ridiculously slow the time passed while we were waiting to meet you, yet the days months since you arrived? They've passed at lightning speed.You have fit so seamlessly into our family. A son, a brother, a new little buddy.

You have both grown and changed so much in the past few months that I often times catch myself taking a second look at you and wondering what happened to that tiny black haired baby who once was. Your hair is blonde now and if I didn't witness it five billion multiple times a day, I wouldn't believe that you throw up three quarters of the food you take in. You have graduated beyond baby foods, 12 month jeans and the weight capacity of your car seat. I'm sorry to break it to you buddy but you are a chunk {at about 23 lbs}! 

This month has brought with it continued smiles, belly laughs and a new sense of curiosity. You have officially mastered crawling and can travel from the living room to the kitchen in approximately 6 seconds. I haven't exactly timed you but I'm willing to bet you move even faster when (1) you want to be picked up or (2) your brother left something tiny {and incredibly tempting} on the floor. Needless to say, we've all gotten quite good at remembering to close the gate and I'd say we're making strides in delegating the big kid toys to higher ground. Harley, however, is making zero progress in avoiding your death grip.

One teensy tiny tooth made an appearance a few weeks ago! I've been checking you mouth for a second on a near daily basis because you no longer sleep through the night. The truth is, you wake up 2-3 times and WE ARE EXHAUSTED. With that said, I don't think daddy or I have the heart to let you cry it out. You're just too darn cute, kid. 

Speaking of cute, you've learned to wave enthusiastically when people greet you. You'll even give us the occasional "Hi!" You're taking everything in so quickly and while we are incredibly excited to watch you learn and grow, I'm telling you, it's moving much too fast. I'd give anything to slow this whole thing down a bit and just soak in today. Please?

Love you buddy....to a thousand planets.