Month 9 has arrived and boy was it hard to get here. February proved to be really hard for Nicholas (health wise). He spent most of the month battling ear infections (2 more) and a really nasty cold/cough. The photos from this month were taken on the 27th and show how unwell he felt. It was hard to catch him smiling that day.

Note: we are on our third round of antibiotics. If the ears do not clear up with this round we will see an ENT doctor to see about tubes...

Milestones:
Big news this month!!! He started crawling and boy does he move. This is also the reason many of the expression photos show him rolling over on his getaway. Crawling has led to furniture cruising. He prefers to stand at the coffee table and watch the action than to sit or crawl. Once, he also stood unassisted for about 3 seconds before taking a header into the carpet. He has become accustomed to bumps and bruises, and has learned to cautiously squat from a standing position to a sitting position.

He had his second haircut, this time at a salon and he handled it very well. Lots of movement but no tears and he got a balloon, something he was fascinated with.

Nicholas much prefers table food to the bottle (this might be because drinking from a bottle hurts his poor ears). He also has mastered the sippy cup. He loves water, bananas and graham crackers. He weighs 24.5 lbs. His thighs are the greatest!

We've started to notice the fussy side of Nicholas. Diapers changes are suddenly traumatic. He fusses when I leave the room or walk away from him. And, don't... whatever you do, take away an item he knows he shouldn't have (a piece of paper, small toys, etc). I didn't think Nick ever got mad, but that sure pushes his button. I removed a coupon from his hand at the grocery store the other day and he was suddenly possessed, really possessed!

He likes to be read to and does enjoy playing with baby apps on the ipad. He prefers balls and toy cars to all of the other baby toys we own.

Nicholas blew Chris a kiss goodnight tonight. It was so sweet and very noticeable. Speaking of kisses, he loves to kiss himself in the mirror. Most of the mirrors have Nicholas kissy marks. They make me happy. He is also fond of the open mouth slobber kiss. I guess I am too.

We love him so, so much!