Nine months..

Nine months !!!?

At the risk of repeating what I wrote one month ago, I'm still in awe at how quickly we have left infacy behind and how deftly Gus maneuvers his way into toddlerhood. He can't wait to be a little boy and I can't stop him.

- Six teeth, two more pushing

- A new obsession with climbing up on things (boxes, stools, low chairs etc.)

- Loves the banjo, goes looking for it. Gets upset when I close the door to it.

- Loves the Ukulele, almost as much as he banjo, plays it with heart especially in the morning.

- Grooves to the radio on full blast - Techno, Heavy Metal, 80s Pop, he digs all rhythms.

- Has officially licked the toilet brush once (the handle not the bristles), unrolled a full roll of TP twice, tasted toilet water once and sucked on the drainage sieve once. I try, but he is VERY FAST. We keep the bathroom door closed now.

- Loves to ride in the Burley, sings loudly especially on uphills, it keeps me going...

- Dislikes diaper changes and kicks to let you know

- Loves, loves, loves to "drive" the car. If boredom hits we head out to the Suzuki marooned in the driveway and he takes it for an "imaginary" spin while I sit in the passenger seat. He is a good driver and we go all sorts of fun places...

- Adores the pool and all bodies of water - even the sink

- Tries to "catch" a stream of water out of the faucet. It makes me laugh each time.

- Has mastered the excersaucer in the office to a multi-tasking level that is scary to me.

- Can play on his own really well, especially in the morning when it's quiet

- Sleeps through every night now for the past 2 months (keep my fingers crossed)

- Eats everything, spits out what he doesnt' like. Cheerios and raisins are still his favorite, but apple and watermelon are a close second, green beans are good, too.

- Still snuggles with me after naps in the afternoon

- Kisses himself in the mirror, kisses me, but with more tongue and drool.

- Keeps the conversation going at the dinner table, loves to engage his Daddy with burbles, babbles, shrieks and giggles, while we all munch away

- Stands on his own without a hand hold for 10 to 20 seconds at a time...no successful steps yet, but they can't be far (I'm hoping farther than they likely are)

- Can navigate one and two steps of stairs...most of the time

- Shreds things faster than my shredder...only it's usually stuff I still need (like the phone book)

- Loves the dishwasher, loves to crawl into it.

- Hates closed doors

- Loves it when his Daddy plays the guitar or banjo for him, still one of the sweetest things to watch