He's been out as long as he was in!

By which of course, I mean, my little boy is NINE months old.  Yikes.

Actually, he was 9 months old last week, but as you more experienced mummys will know, 9 months is a delightful age where suddenly NOTHING is safe, and you can't turn your back for 5 seconds, or sit down for 3 without having to jump back up, fly across the room & run interference between your little darling & some form of impending doom.

It's certainly keeping me on my toes.

But, you know what? I'm loving it.  I really am.  When I was pregnant, my friend (who had 2 under 2 at the time), told me 'every stage you get to, you'll think it's the best yet' - and she was so right.  The 9 month mark is the most fun we've had so far, for sure. The nine best bits being:

1. Kisses. Okay, his technique needs work, in that he basically opens his gob & plants it on my face, but saying 'kiss for mummy?', definitely gets a reaction - and it makes me super gooey :)

2. Cuddles.  Real, proper, clings on for dear life cuddles.  They are THE BEST.

3. Talking. Or at least trying to. He has certainly found his voice, and is having a whole lot of fun exploring what he can do with it. So far we've had a lot of da da da's, a lot of DO which I'm sure is an attempt at dog, lots of gollygollygolly, and most recently, bobobobob.  I don't know who bob is, but the little dude seems to be a fan.  The first Mummy will be any day now... right?!

4. Playing.  All of a sudden, play time is so much more fun, so much more interactive, I'm loving it.  I build him block towers, he crashes them down, then trys to rebuild.  He loves to line his stacking cups up, upside down, so he can put smaller toys inside - that can last for hours.  And of course, the old faithful - peekaboo - oh how we love a game of peekaboo - never fails to make him chuckle away in delight :)

5. Stories - It seems to have happened overnight, but suddenly rather than books being just another something to gum, the little dude now loves to sit & listen to a story - pointing at the pictures, turning the pages - he loves anything of the 'touchy feely' variety, and The Very Hungry Caterpilar is proving to be an early favourite.

6. Clapping - my little man has officially nailed clapping, and it might just be the cutest thing I've ever seen.  He gets so excited & looks all pleased with himself. It's brilliant.

7. Food!  We've been baby-led-weaning since 6 months, and it's one of the best decisions we've made. (It should really have it's own post - *adds to list*) - The Daddy & I are both total foodies, and it seems to be running in the family - there is nothing the little monster won't eat!  I'm so proud of the variety of things he's tried, and how much he seems to enjoy munching his way through his tasty noms :)

8. Early attempts at toddling. I shed a little proud mummy tear the first day he pulled himself up onto his feet - little did I know what was coming next! He never stops. Just desperate to be on his feet - exploring - getting into *everything*. he scoots around so quickly in his walker, I doubt it'll be long before he's walking solo. Then I'm in trouble.

9. The mischief.  Much as he is exhausting me with his new found crawling, standing & wobbling skills, I just love watching his personality developing.  He is such a monkey - absolutely understands the word NO, but chooses just to grin and carry on with his mission of mayhem.  And I can't help grinning back.  I suppose I should work on that.

It's hard to believe this adventure only started 9 months ago.

What's scarier, is that in 3 months, I'll be telling you all about his first birthday. Gulp.