NINE MONTHS

first nine months of your life seem like a lifetime in comparison to the nine months of pregnancy which flew so quickly. every day is new achievement, every month is an extra inch or two. you are 23lb heavy & 29in long. the 7th tooth appeared on the left side on the bottom, adding asymmetry to your trademark smile that makes many people call you “gerber baby”. overnight your face changed like a chameleon – now you don’t look neither like daddy, nor like mommy, but only like yourself, and i can clearly see a face of a toddler to come.  now you are: singing in syllables (da-da, va-va-va, yey-yey), waving good-byes to yourself in the mirror, kissing with a mouth wide open, and biting mommy & daddy because they make funny squeaky noises when you do. days go by in practicing standing up and sitting down as well as crawling & climbing over objects, people, and stairs, playing dropsy, hide&seek, give&take. you get bored quickly at the play-yard we built for you at home, thus you fearlessly insist on exploring other spaces, which often result in unexpected bruises and fast appearing bumps on your head. they neither make you cry for long, nor stop you from further adventure. sun-kissed, with your blond hair lighter an longer, you are a little dare-devil with an angel face. and i love you more and more every day.