9 months

dear arlo,
today you are 9 months and 4 days old, 21 pounds, and 29 inches tall. your head is 45 centimeters. your hair is getting long, your eyes are staying blue/gray, and you steal the hearts of all manner of passerby.

though you were never short on personality, you are becoming a little more you these days, or at least we are all figuring out who that you is.

• you smile at everyone.
• unless you're eating, and we're not feeding you fast enough. then you get angry. angry arlo is funny. you actually growl.
• you now want to stand up all the time, and have a very funny proud face when you've managed to pull yourself up without your feet slipping away behind you.
• you still hate socks, and when you manage to pull them off, you hold your feet up in the air and wiggle your toes.
• you will crawl across the room to play piano, play with your drum, or take all of your books off the bookshelf. thank you for playing fair with your parents, and going out of your way to show that you take after both of us.

what i will tell you, though i feel like i shouldn't: every night, after your dad gives you your bath, i take you into the rocking chair and nurse you to sleep. we listen to iron and wine and you put your hand on my chest and i can feel you completely relax. once you're good and asleep, i lift you to my shoulder and rock you for a few minutes more. i savor this time with you. i can almost feel you growing too big for it, as we sit there and rock. sometimes, when i press my cheek against the back of your head, your hair still damp from your bath, and i whisper "shhh," i can feel my heart slow down, and my head spin a little bit, and its all i can do to not cry. i get woozy with love for you.

xoxo
mama