Month Nine Letter

Dear Oscar and Judah,

How is it possible? Nine months! You have now officially been outside of my belly as long as you were in. I can tell you one thing definitively - the last nine months have gone a helluva lot faster than while you were cooking!

Every month I feel like I have so many changes to report and this month is no different. First of all, welcome to the wonderful world of real food! We have started making the slow transition from strained orange goo to solids like turkey, pancakes, mangoes and pasta. Tonight you are going to behold all the wonder of pizza! Judah, you are basically a pig. You eat everything and anything we put in front of you. What is even more amazing is that you are very independant and have already mastered feeding yourself. If I put twenty puffs on the tray of your high chair, next thing I know, they disappear! I suspect that only about 20% of them are making it into your mouth, and the rest are landing on the floor. Kiva and Walter are very grateful for the donations!

Oscar, you are still insisting that we feed you, although I think it is all just a ruse. We sit there patiently placing itty bitty pieces of grub into your open mouth, like a little bird, waiting to be fed. What is even more suspicious is that you recline, very relaxed, while we do all the work. I think you have basically trained us. Good job.

We have also introduced the sippy cup. Again, Judah, you have fully embraced this new mode of transfer and you grab the cup the instant it is placed in front of you. You chug a lug quickly and then smack your lips with a satisfied "ahh" when you are done. It is nothing short of darling. Oscar, you are currently on a sippy cup strike, and I suspect that we will have to be fairly persistent to get you on board. In the long run you will thank me. I don't think you intend to drink beer from a baby bottle.

In other developmental news, Oscar you are clearly going to be our verbal kid. You chatter all day long making all sorts of bababab, dadada, gagaga noises. You have full on conversations in your baby language and I think it won't be long until we completely understand one another. You are definitely working hard at mocking and emulating the gestures and sounds that your Dad and I make. You are very social and continue to be very emotional. I can't imagine who you get those qualities from?

Judah, you continue to be very physical. You have been on the brink of crawling and I think we have finally gotten to the other side of that milestone. You haven't quite mastered going forward, but you do a bang up job scootching backwards. You also have mastered an interesting style of going around in a circle. Basically your knees and feet stay stationary, while you move your arms and upper body around, kind of like a baby protractor. All the while you look at me with an expression that I interpret to mean "I wanna go forward! Why is there only side to side and reverse on this thing?"

We have childproofed the entire house in anticipation of your mobility, or what I have come to imagine as "The End of Days." As much as I have been anxious for you two to hit all your developmental milestones on time, I have come to realize how terrifying it is going to be once you are on the move. Our house is full of little knickknacks, electrical cords, stacks of mail, and all the other accouterments of adult living which I have come to realize are fraught with danger for babies. I am constantly trying to balance my fears of you guys electrocuting, cutting, or smooshing yourselves against the realistic need to keep our home functioning. For example, we had child locks placed on all our drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. We got the kind that are magnetic and therefore need a little key to open them. Yeah, that is SUPER annoying. Can you imagine trying to unload the dishwasher and having to unlock every cabinet and drawer as you put things away? I don't know if Daddy and I have the patience for this baby proofing thing. We might end up just locking away all the chemicals and meds and installing the gates and then rolling the dice. Stay tuned to hear how that turns out...

We have lots of big stuff coming up in the next couple of weeks. Daddy and I are going on our first full blown, kid free vacation in Puerta Vallarta. I am really curious to see how that goes. I suspect it will be something like this "Gee, I really miss the boys and I wonder what they are doing today. Can you please get me another Rum Runner? Thanks." In all seriousness, I haven't been away from you guys for four nights before and I think I am going to miss you desperately. Let's make a deal: You promise not to do anything new while I am gone and I will promise not to bring back swine flu. No? Ok, well, I guess it was worth a try.

We also have our first Rosh Hashonah this year and we have the distinct honor of participating in the blessing of the whole congregation for new babies. I am still shopping for the right outfit for this occasion. After all, this is my chance to show you off to all your prospective in-laws! We need to make the right impression on those hot little one year olds. And I need to find just the right pair of Spanx for myself to create the illusion that I have lost all my baby weight. Jews on the high holidays are a tough crowd.

Most importantly, Colts season is upon us! Daddy and I cannot wait to get going on our fantasy leagues again (remember, you guys were my good luck charms last year, I won TWO leagues!). And, best of all, we get to put you in your first Colts jerseys! We cannot wait to see you sporting No. 18!

Month Nine Pics to follow!