Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands!

We've got a clapper on our hands! Little P l-o-v-e-s to clap. It is in his blood. Clapping and making motor boat sounds fill up his days lately. If he's not clapping, he's channeling it somehow like when he pats your back. Recently in North Carolina, Aunt Sophia taught Patrick a new routine: clap, clap, clap, throw your hands in the air! It was so neat to see Patrick study Sophia as she demonstrated a couple of times and then out of the blue, he joined in. So smart!

MBM

Motor Boat Mouth. That's my child. His favorite pastime, coughing, is now a thing of the past. Making motor boat sounds with his mouth takes the cake! It is CONSTANT...and so loud! It can happen anywhere: checking out at Target, in the produce section of the grocery store, in the car during his favorite nursery tune, in his bed after a nap, in the arms of Mommy, Daddy...or anyone! At any time of the day that he sees fit, he starts up! At least it makes you want to squeeze him tight when he does it because he's just THAT precious.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Brr...it's been cold in Texas (until this week!) but Baby P and I have been bundling up and heading outdoors during the early afternoon when the sun is out. It is always so quiet and warm on our walks...or even hanging out in the front yard! On one particular day, I took a few snapshots of little man enjoying the scenery - er, grass. He is definitely all boy and I'm waiting for the days he brings me his 'finds' from outdoors.

Army Crawler

A few weeks ago, Patrick debuted army crawling...but has since decided on it as his preferred way of travel. He now prefers rolling and an occasional booty scoot. No matter how he travels, he certainly is a man on a mission when he decides to be somewhere. His strong will and determination will carry him far in life! Here are a few cutie pics of him in the act.

Christmas Playdate

We spent SUCH a fun afternoon with our favorite friends, Angie and Aubrey! Patrick was IN LOVE with Miss Aubrey and I think the feeling was mutual. She definitely entertained him during lunch, dessert, pictures and shopping. We ended our day as we splurged on dessert at American Girl. All of our shopping had worked up an appetite!

It was such a fabulous afternoon spent with my fabulous friend.

Gobble, Gobble

It's only fitting that I post about Thanksgiving during the week of Christmas! Can you tell how far behind I am on blogging? :)

We spent Baby's First Thanksgiving in Carmen, OK at my grandmother's...and it was awesome. (Isn't it funny how I date everything pre and post baby now? haha.) I can't begin to tell you how many wonderful memories I have of trips to my grandmother's and this year was icing on the cake with our newest family member: Baby P! We spent a fast 24 hours eating yummo scrummo food, trimming the tree and just being together. Patrick Jr. decided to give us a run for our money Thanksgiving night and neither Daddy or Mommy slept a wink! Not EVER has our child caused us such grief! Fortunately, when the sun came out, he was 'back to normal'...and in Mr.'s arms.

After our whirlwind visit to Carmen, we celebrated with Nonni and filled our tummies yet again, Italian style of course! We had such a wonderful time and can't wait until next year when Baby P is able to experience all the tastes that Thanksgiving has to offer.

Meeting Santa

Mmm...Mum Mums

Little P loves to share his newest treat with his best friend Bear. Patrick takes a bite. Bear takes a bite. Repeat. It's one of those memories which we'll look back on fondly but each time it happens now, this Mommy cringes bc of GERMS! P loves to play this game and has more fun giving Bear the Mum Mum then he does eating it. Here's to this sticky, germie little memory.

9 Months

My little Muffin...you are so darn cute that I just can't take it! :) You are just a JOY and DELIGHT to be around. Your Daddy and I laugh all the time with you, "Mr. Entertainer." There is so much about you that makes you great. How lucky are we?!

Here is what you are up to this month:

You are quite the ladies man. Period. You will see a pretty lady and stop the bus because you are a flirt and a half!

You army crawled but have since decided that booty scooting and rolling are more your style of mobility. Fine by this Mommy because I can still keep up with you!

You said "dog" when Bear walked by your high chair during breakfast one morning.

You love to purr. I can't begin to describe just how cute it sounds.

You said "mama" deliberately on the 13th! And kept saying it over and over and over and over and...well, you get my drift. Music to my ears.

You said "hi" when you met one of Mommy's friends while we were at lunch. No lie.

You met Santa and loved him.

You are Mr. Motor Boat Mouth. All. The. Time.

I love watching you SHOVEL Puffs in your mouth. And when you eat Mum Mums, you are the girls' best friend. You take a bite and then offer them a bite. Repeat. I cringe every time.

You are so smart! You learned to sign "milk" asap. I think it was out of necessity because you are a hungry little boy!

We just had your 9 month wellness check up and you weighed in at 18.15 lbs (20th percentile) and 30 inches long (92nd percentile.)

You LOVE to play hide and seek with Mommy. Okay, so you don't truly "play" and it's all Mommy, but I bet neighbors can hear your giggles from the street!

You take 2 naps - 9 am and 1 pm - and 'retire' for the night at 630. You will typically sleep until 7 am the following day. Love you.

If we could be 'on the go' all the time, your life would be perfect. You LOVE to be out and about and especially so now that you've tasted freedom: sitting in the shopping carts! Boy oh boy are you happy as a clam. And Mommy's happy because Target is just so hard to leave once you walk in!

You are capital "O" Obsessed with tearing tissue...and napkins...and paper in general. Christmas is going to be FUN.

You have learned to express your dislike like when we take a toy away from you or if you are bored and need a change of scenery, OMG. You certainly tell me about it!

You are fearless. If you are being jostled, tossed, jiggled, bounced or even tickled, you are the happiest.

You are learning to drink from your Sippy Cup. Perfect form, but we're just working on the sucking part.

You can officially turn the light switch on and off. Every morning after you wake up, we stop by the front door to turn off the porch light. Recently, you reached up and turned it off for me.

You also LOVE LOVE LOVE to give the girls their treats (aka: bones). This falls in line right after the light switch in the part of our morning routine. I give you a bone and you giggle the entire time you give each dog her bone. We have been doing this for as long as you could grasp a bone in your tiny little boy hands.

As you can tell, you are hardly loved at all. Quite the opposite! We are reminded of God's greatest gift each and every day we spend with you. And after you fall asleep at night, I count down the minutes until the morning so I can see you again. Thank you just being you, Little Man Patrick.