#blw anyone?

i'm over the moon for the 9th month. i know you aren't shocked. i love how this little man child teeters between baby and little boy within seconds of each other. i can't get enough of watching him learn new things - soaking up the details that surround him, things i haven't taken the time to notice in years. tonight he spent several minutes looking up at the faucet during bath time - you know, where the water comes out and fills the tub. i can remember looking up at that when i was little too, completely mesmerized and intrigued by the thought of where all that water comes from and the journey it must have taken to get to me. i saw a flash forward of a 4 year old little boy asking, "mom, why does the water come out?" or "where does the water actually live?". i can't wait for that. as you know by now, i pretty much can't wait for anything that has to do with him.

we're trying a lot of new things these days -- he's flying free in the tub now, like a big kid. we retired our baby bath tub and put a lot of faith in his ability to sit on his own now. he has his moments of over-confidence, but he's learning. i probably say "stay on your bottom" about 100 times during every bath time. i love that he knows what that means and listens to me when i say it. for now. he absolutely loves water. he splashes, scoots, and grabs and i can tell he's in his happy place.

he's "cruising" -- a term i just recently learned. he walks around the couch, his crib, his downstairs play zone with ease now. he laughs when i tell him he's "crusin' for a bruisin"... my dad used to say this to us. i love having those moments where i connect with my parents and find myself doing something that i learned from them. it's in those moments i remember they are always with me, even when they aren't.

we've made our way into entertaining meal times - and while many refer to it as baby led weaning (#blw in social media terms), i see it as simply feeding your baby normal food and letting him have fun exploring the sensation of touching, feeling, and chewing it himself. it works for us. he's independent and opinionated so naturally he wants to do this on his own too. the concept is straight forward and easy. i like easy. dump a few things on his tray and let him go to town. it's messy but of course it makes for great photo ops. case in point above. he loves avocado - one of the first we tried. we've also done nectarines, cheese, yogurt, and strawberries. we did yogurt tonight, and surprisingly he appropriately used his spoon. apparently we can do meat now, but that weirds me out. any tips on how to introduce meat the blw way are definitely welcome.

everyone is right when they say each new stage is better than the last. i could freeze time right here, but knowing how it just seems to get better and better is my reminder to ride this perfect wave.