a little screamer

Well, babycenter.com says in the 9th month of a baby's life, his/her personality really shines through. It is certainly true of baby A. Lately, he has really been a little screamer who knows exactly what he wants and when he wants it. It happens both during the day and in the night and started all of sudden.

Daddy says he is an aggressive little boy, certainly more so than his siblings. He's also strong, determined and extremely curious. When he wants down, he'll literally dive for the floor and it's very difficult to not let him get down or mistake what he wants. Baby A has always been strong with his fine motor skills. Recently, he waved a quite weighty clay basket his brother made with ease. He even can pass comfortably between his hands.

Now the little guy can also be sweet when he's happy. He'll give us hugs or pats on the shoulder. His favorite activity seems to eating. When he's picking up food off his table, he's a very content baby and we can some period of peace. He's still nursing but mostly for comfort. Occasionally, when he's in the mood, he'll even suck on his toes like it is milk. Mmmm-good. :)

We have tried to put him in different carriers and one thing we know now is that baby A better be able to face the front or he's going to want out fast. So the slings and other carriers we brought are mostly left at home. A wants to watch all the actions and follow all the sounds. So far he seems to be a very auditory and visual learner. He loves when you make the "ew" sound like he's stinky. It works almost every time.

So far, A shows no interest in crawling and he is almost 10 month. When he is on his tummy for too long and can't go anywhere, he gets frustrated. But he loves it if you help him to get on his knees and he'll hold our hand and walk toward where he wants to go. He's also been getting stronger on his balance and is able to stand with his back to the wall. Though he is still a little scared and will scream for you to help him to change position.

In the last week of so, A seem to be having growth spurt and has been eating a ton during the night making mommy and daddy very tired. I'm hoping this is just a phase he's going through since waking up and staying up for 2 hours at a time during the time when I'm most sleepy is not fun.