9 Months

Well, today Chase is 9 months. It also happens to be my mom's birthday as well. We had a very full day. We went to have his 9 month pictures taken at JC Penneys. My sister (Chase's 4 year old aunt) also has her picture taken at the same time. They do a really nice job. It is getting much more difficult to have Chase's picture taken because he doesn't want to sit still. 2 months ago he just laid there and could hardly sit up on his own. A lot has changed. After pictures, we went to lunch at Plutos. Yum yum! We went home had a nap, and then ran out and did a few more errands. Tonight we also had a barbecue at my parent's house to celebrate my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom!

The biggest change since last month is that he is now crawling. He started scooting about a month ago, but last Friday he just got up on his knees and started crawling. It is so cute. We had to put little Robeez (leather slipper-like shoes) on him because he was rubbing his toes raw from scooting. I felt like a horrible mother. The little shoes totally solved the problem. He is always on the move. When he is awake, he is always moving all or part of his body. Head, hands, arms, legs, tongue, etc. It is pretty hilarious when he gets all of his extremities moving at once. Abe calls him our little "spaz."

The other big change this month is his struggle with separation anxiety. He never used to care who held him. For example, I could leave him in the nursery at church with no problem. Not anymore. He screams when I leave him in the nursery or the kids' room at the gym. It is awful. We are working on that. He is ok with certain people who he is familiar with (i.e. grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc). However, he is beginning to reach for me even when Abe is holding him. That is not going to fly around here, so he is going to have to mature a little. It is really strange to see him change so quickly in that area.

Time is flying by so quickly. Parenting is definitely becoming more challenging as he gets older. However, it gets more rewarding as he becomes more interactive. I am trying to treasure every moment. Sometimes I am tempted to resent the tiredness and all the work that goes into raising him, but I remember that this time is very short.

Here is a picture taken just now of our little guy sleeping after a long, hard day! :) We love him lots and lots. What a blessing!