The Cutters: 9 Months

Here are a few of the things that Alex is doing this month!

He has begun to stand independently. I've noticed him pulling himself up and then after standing for a minute or two he'll let go of whatever he was holding on to. After about 10 seconds he usually gets so thrilled with himself that he starts clapping and flailing and he loses his balance! This happens more and more as the days go by, and I wonder if he might be walking before next month's update!!!
He plays peek-a-boo. I often play this game with him, but I'm usually the one doing the peeking and the booing. The other day he was in his carseat with a blanket draped over his legs. He was looking up at me and I said "peek-a-boo!". He responded by pulling the blanket over his head and then throwing it back with a little shout! We did this back and forth until he got tired of it ..... I could have gone on and on all day long!
He waves bye-bye. We were visiting family in New Mexico and as we left a family dinner one night someone said "bye-bye" and waved to him. He waved back with a huge smile! I love this baby!!!!! He isn't very consistent with his waves and his peek-a-boos ... he only brings them out on special occasions, but we are consistently thrilled whenever he does!
He got his first tooth! And his second!!! Of course, he waited until we were on vacation to do this, but thankfully I think we experienced the worst of the symptoms a few weeks before. We were so excited when we woke up one morning and recieved a big, toothy grin!!!

He babbles and expresses himself so much these days. We aren't able to make out any distinct words yet, but we can tell that he is communicating! He says "dadadadada" and "mamamama". I feel fairly sure that he doesn't connect these sounds with Joel or me, but at least we know he can make the right sounds. It's only a matter of time!!!!!

He went on his first long road trip last week! We drove to Santa Fe and spent a few days there and then drove to Carlsbad, NM to spend some time with some of my aunts, uncles and cousins. The first two legs of our journey were 5 hours each. Alex slept for most of the ride! It was very enjoyable and we made great time!!! The drive home from Carlsbad is 8 hours and I think Alex decided that he had been good long enough. He cried for probably 5 out of the 8 hours we spent driving! It was sad and pathetic and it made us wish our ears would fall off, but we survived and it made us appreciate "home" even more! Alex was also a trooper while we were on vacation. He was happy most of the time and let us do all the things we planned on doing. We were on the go much of the time and he took it in stride!
He is developing a fun, playful, personality. He loves to do things to get a reaction out of us! He is also very curious and explores EVERYTHING! He likes to be down on the floor most of the day and as long as someone is nearby he is happy to play and explore on his own. Gone are the days when I would sit him down on the rug in front of the bathtub with some toys while I took my shower. The other day I tried that and a few minutes later he had discovered me behind the curtain and was soaking wet!