The Schmitts

Dear Noah,

Today you are 9 months old! Wait, did I really just say 9 months?! That means in just 3 short months you'll be a year old! My oh my, time is flying! You, my sweet little baby, were quite the busy boy this month.

Shortly after you turned 8 months we ventured up to Michigan to visit some of Daddy's friends that he grew up with. You also got to meet your new baby friends, Cate and Jack. The three of you had a blast playing and watching Baby Einstein together. During our visit we also took a trip to the University of Michigan to see where Daddy went to college. Daddy had so much fun showing you around the campus. Who knows, maybe you'll follow in Daddy's footsteps and attend the same school some day. Wouldn't that be neat? Mommy and Daddy love daydreaming about your future and trying to predict what you'll end up doing some day.

You've become even more mobile this month than last! You stopped army crawling earlier this month and have thus perfected your hand/knee crawl with your belly off the ground. Each week you seem to get faster and faster. You love to crawl around the house and explore. It amazes me how many new things you find on a daily basis (translation: you are into every.single.thing and Mommy spends her entire day chasing after you). This month you also started pulling up and standing on just about any thing you can hold on to...whether it's the furniture, your toys, or the bath tub, you are constantly pulling up and standing! Mommy and Daddy are in full baby-proofing mode to keep you as safe as possible. These days, it's pretty hard to walk away from you for more than 30 seconds. It seems like every time we turn around you are into something entirely different than you were less than a minute ago. In fact, your new nickname is "Tornado Noah". We figure it's pretty fitting for this stage you are at right now ;)

Another exciting milestone you achieved this month was trying lots of new finger foods while perfecting your "pincher grasp". You've gotten really good at feeding yourself, and so far, have been pretty receptive to most of the new foods we've given you to try. You especially love Cheerios and Puffs. You also had your very first taste of ice cream this month, which you obviously loved! Mommy is quite excited for all of our future mommy + son ice cream dates!

This month we celebrated Mommy's 1st Mother's Day, which was quite the special day for you as well, since you were baptized the same day. You were exceptionally well-behaved during the entire baptism ceremony and looked so darn handsome in your outfit. Pinned to your outfit was a special cross you received from Grandma Schmitt, that is now pinned to your crib mattress. As an extra bonus to this special day, you got to spend the entire weekend with both of your grandmas at the same time, which meant lots of hugs and kisses for you :)

The weather here in PA has finally gotten warmer (we had such a long winter this year!), so we've been enjoying lots of walks at the park together, along with rides around the neighborhood in your new car. We've had lots of fun this month with play dates, Gymboree classes, and swim lessons, too! We are certainly busy bees!

Until next time, here are some of my favorite snapshots from your ninth month.

You've become a big fan of puzzles!