Oh-Bla-Di

It’s happened again.  I’ve blinked and too much time has gone by since I’ve written about our littlest dude.  We were on the road for his nine month birthday and, somehow, I never got it blogged after we got home.  Perhaps that is because, while we were traveling, he decided to become a very mobile baby and we haven’t stopped moving in the last two months.  So, in an effort to avoid the impossible to comprehend thought that our baby will be a year old in eight short weeks, let’s take a minute to dwell on the awesomeness that is right now, shall we?

Between eight and ten months, Noah has learned how to crawl, begun to show a real affinity for music, pulled to standing, learned to climb stairs, cut 6 (!!) teeth, and had five ear infections.  He’s a cruiser now and can get just about anywhere he wants to be.

And, right now?  Where he wants to be is wherever Ava is.  This baby boy loves his big sister and just wants to play with and do everything she does.  In the mornings, when I’m changing his diaper and before Ava wakes up, he turns his head toward the hallway and shouts “Aya!” and then follows with some sort of baby gibberish.  He talks to her all the time and it’s just about the cutest thing ever.

Noah is definitely showing a real interest in music.  He pulls up to the boom box in the play room and pounds on it until someone turns on some music for him.  Then he stands in front of it and bounces to the beat – and sings along!  He also really likes to play with the drum full of noisemakers we have.  As Aunt Jan says, “Noise is power” and Noah is certainly harnessing his power!

Doozers is expanding his vocabulary, too.  He says “Aya” and “Hi” (including waving) and when we walk into school in the morning he starts shouting “Hi” at everyone we see.  He’s so happy at the end of the day when I pick him up.  He shouts “Hi” and crawls over to me and then immediately starts bouncing to go get Ava.  When he sees her in her classroom, he shouts “Aya!” and then continues to shout at her all the way through the center on the way to the car.  I think he’ll have a lot to say when he gets more words!

One of my favorite things about Noah is how affectionate he is.  He gives some of the best hugs I’ve ever experienced.  You know that sound you make when you give someone a squeeze?  He does that.  And then he gives kisses.  Not just one kiss, but an open-mouthed chicken peck series of kisses.  It’s slobbery but so full of love that you just soak it up.

Noah is so busy!  I know it’s been coming on slowly for months, but it seems that overnight Doozers has become so very, very busy.  He moves fast and we’re just trying to play catch up!

(This video is super long but, you know, grandparents.)

I forgot how quickly this phase goes for babies.  The time from eight to ten months has flown by and our little dude has changed so much.  I know that the time from now until his first birthday will fly also and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.  I love all the growing and learning Noah is doing but, as I chase him down the hall and shoo him away from outlets, my heart breaks just a little bit that we’re already here.  I hope that, in the middle of all the busy (his and ours), we remember to soak up as much of this sweet time as possible.

Happy ten months, little dude.  You won’t mind if I slow down the clock for the next eight weeks, will you?