9 Months

Dear Kellen,

Yesterday was your 9 month birthday. I thought of you at 2:01 in the afternoon, and how you were exactly three-quarters of a year old. How you have now been in our arms as long as you were in my belly. And it absolutely blew my mind. You're such an integral part of our world, it seems unimaginable that you weren't even here yet at this time last year! And now you're crawling all over us and the house, saying "dada" and pulling yourself up into a standing position.

You are still "army crawling" - you look like a tiny little soldier off to conquer the living room floor. You have a strange attraction to the bathroom. If we don't keep the door closed you will beeline straight in there with a huge smile on your face, as if to say "Ah ha! I've done it!". I'm not sure what this is about because the bathroom is hands down by far the nastiest room in the house, but I suppose your baby brain doesn't care about such things yet. Unfortunately I don't have that excuse for not keeping it cleaner. Meh.

Books, books, books. You always have, and I hope always will, love books. When crawling around your play mat, nine times out of ten you will crawl towards a book and lie on your belly, flipping the pages and either smiling at the pictures or cooing with a concentrated look on your face. When your father and I do yard work, we can set you in the playpen or the tent shelter with a pile of books and get at least a half hour of contented baby. I look forward to years of sharing that love with you.

I don't know that I have much else to say to you this month except that you have made it the best July I've ever had. Your dad and I have had a few days and nights without you in the past weeks, and while it is always nice (and necessary) that we get some time alone together, my heart breaks a teeny, tiny bit whenever I have to walk away from you for an extended period of time. You have become an extension of me, like another appendage, and it hurts me to let go of you. I know that I will have to let go more and more the older you get, but for now you are my little baby, my baby that I can cuddle and fall asleep with in the rocking chair, and I thank you for still being so small that this makes you as happy as it makes me.

Love you,

Mama




KELLEN GIGGLES from Julie Hancock on Vimeo.

Nap Time

Agua

Naked baby drinking water on a hot day.

Kitchen

Found this on my kitchen floor.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

He got in this position because Rudy was on the chair. When he reached up to touch Rudy's paw Rudy lightly slapped his hand. CUE THE HUGE GIGGLE. Just wait until Rudy decides you aren't just a minor annoyance, Mr. Kellen.

Sunday News

Just reading the real estate section. He's got his eye on a few places, NBD.

Ginny

Clash

Some days I look in his drawers and think, "Hmmm, what would look the most ridiculous together?" and he comes out looking like this. That or he pees on all of his other clean clothes that I packed for the trip to Grandma's. Today it was the latter, and here is the fashion-forward result. Ta-daa!

Cougar

He is so cute in his Whole Foods high chair, eating his corn, that an old lady with huge sunglasses sat at the table across from us and PULLED his high chair across the aisle before calling him her boyfriend. GOD BLESS THE ELDERLY.

Studious

Helping daddy study. Two seconds after I took this Kellen ripped out a page and dropped the calculator. What's a helpful boy to do?

Crawl

Kellen is loving being able to chase the cats around and discover new places. The cats, however, have already requested we get rid of him.

Box

Is it bad that I put my kid in a box and watch to see if he can get out of it?

Lovebug

He's just so cute. It takes a lot of effort not to hug and squeeze him all day long.

Whee!

Annnd, we've discovered the cat door. Hours of door-swinging fun await us!

Crazy Town

Now that all my mom friends' babies are crawling also, we have a little army of ankle-biters. Crazy fun.

Upright

Today in the tub Kellen went from sitting to standing for the first time. Uh, what do we do now?

Little Reader

Books are still one of this boys favorite things. He will sit and play wit a book forever - picking it up, turning it over, flipping pages and trying to pick the picture off the page. Oh and eating it of course. He loooooves his books.

I love the Fishes

Checking out the fish at the pet store. I don't think he'd ever seen fish before this...the parakeets were a huge hit too. Sqwak!

Tickles

Letting Aunt Andrea tickle and clap with him. Oh, so much fun!

Perpetual Motion

Now that he's moving, I find I'll look away and look back again to see just a snippet of him going by. It's a big ol' world.

8 Months

Dear Kellen,

This past month, you have gone from being so nice to be around to being a kick-ass time. We are having so much fun now, it should be illegal.

What makes me so fun at 8 months, you ask? Let me tell you.

1. You are "talking". And none of that babbling stuff - that's for babies. You have one word, and it's "Oooo". You might think that "Oooo" doesn't count, but you have shown me that this is the most versatile word in the world. "Oooo, look at the kitty!" "Oo, Oo, gimme that food!" "OOOoooooOOOoo, my feet are so interesting!"  All of us around you find this incredibly adorable, obviously, and your father and I have more than once laughed and said "There's a message in my Cheerios! It says 'Ooooo'." 

Don't worry, I'll teach you all about the Simpsons someday.

2. Smiles, smiles, smiles. Smiling is about all you do these days. You sit and play, look up every once in awhile, smile a HUGE grin at me, and go back to what you are doing. How are you so happy all the time?

3. You can clap! I have been sooo excited for this development, and it was worth the wait! The clapping is more like smashing your hands together and sometimes hitting your thighs instead, but oh man is it cute. And so much fun to do with you!

4. I am actually a bit apprehensive about this next one, because OHMYGOD, but, my dear son, you are CRAWLING. MOVING. Seeing that I have frozen yogurt and COMING TO GET IT SO DON'T YOU DARE GO ANYWHERE WOMAN. When we were in Alaska this past month you started getting up on all fours, and although you haven't yet graduated to hands and knees crawling, you are army crawling. Left hand SLAP!, right hand REACH!, both arms PULLLLLL! You first accomplished this feat yesterday on your 8 month birthday, and you also had a huge day when you turned 5 months and you learned to roll over (both times you were only doing it to get your hands on the camera). As your dad said, you're like Ken Griffey Jr. - you come out for big days.

Don't worry, I'll teach you all about Ken Griffey Jr. someday. Well, your dad will.

All of these things add up to us having a great time, every day. You have become more prone to separation anxiety though, which can make it hard for me to leave you. Just walking to the other room and out of your sight can lead to you bursting into tears and falling over, trying to claw your way in the direction I just left. Don't get me wrong though - I love the fact that you love me so much you hate to see me go.

I left you for the longest time yet this past week. Five girlfriends and I went on a three-night camping trip to the other side of the mountains where there was no internet and no phone service - in other words, no way for me to have contact with your dad or you - and while it was a fabulous, rejuvenating time for me, my heart ached for you every day. You are my favorite, my bestest, my Kelly Belly, and I missed you so. How happy I was to have you back against my shoulder, "Oooo"-ing in my ear, drooling on my shirt, crying when I walked outside to unpack the car. Your dad and I are so lucky to have you, and every day I am thankful that  the healthy, happy little baby we were finally blessed with turned out to be you.

I love you so much Kellen, so very much. You are the most kick-ass time I have ever had.

Love, Mama

This is the actual first time he crawled, which is why I get so damn excited on the audio.

The following pictures were taken in Alaska. You looooove your Uncle Drew, Uncle Geoff and Aunt Shalie (and Ruger the dog!)