NINE MONTHS.....time fly's

HALLOWEEN 2009~ Z-French

I think I have reached my first big milestone being a Mom. This week Marley has made 9 nine months! He has been alive on the outside as log as he has been living in my womb. He is such an incredible baby. He is discovering, loving, laughing, and banging on any instrument he can get his hands on.

Marley is now coping with his 3rd tooth. He has been self soothing to himself by chewing on his fingers, teething bisquits, toys, etc. And I have been trying to comfort him in his teething pain by nursing or giving him homeopathic teething tablets. Sometimes, I feel so horrible that he has to endure this pain, but like I said he has been a champ.

Marley has been slowly falling in to a regular schedule with his naps, eating, nursing and sleeping time. I just really just try to be in tune with him and trust my natural instincts. The schedule changes every once in awhile due to teething, which causes fevers and diarrhea. When I see that he is tired, I try to take the opportunity to lull him to sleep. When he has his burst of energy I try to keep him entertained, by broadcasting everything we see, sing songs, play instruments for new sounds, look at picture books, and take lots of walks.

My favorite thing about Marley is his sense of humor. He is so funny! He loves to laugh and he is extremely ticklish! Loves kisses and enjoys cuddling with me. I love it. The day he no longer wants to cuddle with Mommy .....will be a Dark day for me. Which brings me to the why I wanted to write this blog. I am being totally melodramatic about this but I see his stage of a baby slipping. Just when I feel like I am getting really good at being a Mommy for this infant, he is already prying away from my arms in the quest for the freedom of walking on his own two feet and grabbing his spoon away to feed himself with his own two hands. He melts my heart everyday and we are having the time of my lives.

PHOTOS: This year we dressed up as a family. We were Z-French! We had fun and Marley wore his mustach well.

Look Mommy! I have my Two Bottom Teeth!

Well, Ladies and Gents

Marley's teeth has actually broken through his gums and protruded past his gum line! It is really difficult to get an 8 month old to show his bottom teeth so....I just snapped a picture when he was crying. I know....so cruel, but he will appreciate it when he's older. I cannot believe how fast this little boy is growing.

It has been such a joy to see and continue to see his face light up every time he discovers something new. I am learning so much from him, especially how to savor the moments and celebrate the present. We celebrate everything. We clap when he plays , sings, crawls, and every time we hear music.

Today we had our routine visit to Marley's doctor Dr.Bass. She said is is healthy and doing fine. He is 23.4lbs and 28 inches. He is in the 90 percentile for his weight and in the 75 percentile for his height. He is cruising any minute he can get the chance. It's becoming a sport that is keeping me very busy. If I turn my head for a minute he is on the other side of the room holding onto something standing up!! "They" weren't joking when they said it goes by fast.

We recently visited a petting Zoo and Marley loved it! He saw ducks, sheep, goats, pigs, ponies and a doe for the first time. It was so cool for me and Ahmed to watch him take it all in. Reliving childhood is really refreshing! It's like sitting under a tree on a beautiful day, drinking lemonade and watching humming birds play.

Last nite Marley had the roughest time sleeping because of his  teething and......wait for it. BBBRRRTTT Brrrtt......GAS!  Ahmed and I look each and ask "was that you?" followed by ....."Oh My goodness Marley, you smell like a grown man"! I don't know what it is. My diet? I have no idea. I roll him on his side and he just goes for it, and laughs. It is very funny, but somewhere along the line we have to teach him to be a little more discreet. 

My baby boy is growing so fast I feel like everyweek he is reaching a new milestone. He continues to grow more alert, he is mimicking sounds and his reactions are becoming a long list of facial reactions that makes me so proud! So it is making it very easy to communicate with Master Marley. (that's and old english was to address little boys). He doesn't like any particular teething toy, he actually likes to just grab my finger and chew on it. So, you know right about now I am totally obsessed with washing my hands. But I mostly encourage him to chew on a cloth or his hand. He is complete self soothing. My Boy!!!!!  Marley is also very easily distract...... sounds like someone I know. lol. Even in his discomfort he can laugh and coo and long as lond as  you give him love. Some of the things he is doing.... holding up his head strong, grabbing and pulling his mobiles off of their support, with my help sitting up and standing up, rolling onto his side, splishing and splashing in his bath, and today he reached for me! (He makes me feel so loved)

We've started our nightly ritual of story time a month ago. Marely in his PJ's, dim lights and his choice from his library ;) ......he gets so excited looking at the illustrations. He waves his hands and his breath gets heavy and he just goes crazy. Ahhhhhh I love it. Reading is fundemental. Oh....and I am looking into that DVD program "Your Baby can Read" . I will keep you updated, I think I am going to start in a month. It's pretty unbelievable.