Andrew at 9 Months

 

Hi! I'm Andrew. I'm 9 months old. I'm pretty sure that my Mommy is NEVER going to get around to getting my photo boards finished so I'm taking matters into my own hands...I'm going to tell you about my 9th month in my own way.

Mommy says that I'm getting big! I love being on the move. Feet are AWESOME.

 

My Mommy is pretty excited that I've started growing hair.  It's slow going but it's there. Sometimes I even have to have it brushed in the morning. What a pain in the rear. Baldies have it so much easier. I think Mom's especially excited that my hair is very dark brown, just like my Daddy. 

 I've discovered how to stand up! Seriously it is the BEST.THING.EVER. I can pull up on anything  and I cruise all around the house. When I think nobody is watching I often take a few steps on my own but I grin and fall to the ground if someone sees me. Even better than all that, I can climb onto everything! Couches, tables, beds, baby gates...everything. Nothing is safe people. Not one thing.

My Mommy tried to contain me in this contraption one day. Imagine her surprise when I immediately escaped! 

See, all you have to do is put your foot up on this little thing here and then BAM! You have the leverage you need to dive over the edge head first at a speed that makes Mommy's heart race. Sure, you whack your noggin pretty good but who minds minor head trauma? My Daddy says I'm made of tough stuff.  I agree. I just get right back up with a huge grin on my face and run off to get into something.

Mommy had to break out the big guns. I haven't figured out how to escape this cage just yet. :( It sits in our living room now so Mommy can do things like "use the bathroom" or "fold the laundry" without my assistance. I don't know why she thinks these things are so important but I love her anyway.

I have a secret weapon that guarantees that Mommy will stop whatever she is doing to pick me up though. All I have to do is peer over the top of the play-yard and smile real big before ducking down and she comes running to play with me. She calls it peekaboo. I tell ya, that game is magical.

I love bathtime! My sis collects duckies and there are a TON to play with. It's a good time in there with all of those duckies and plenty of room to splash around. This one is my favorite, we call him Mighty Duck. He keeps me safe from that weird bucket thing that pours water over my body when Mommy says it's time to wash off.

This is what happens when you try to get my dressed now. Ha Ha Ha, you'll never catch me!

 Mommy is my best friend. We laugh together all day long. She snuggles with me, tickles me, reads to me, chases me all over the house and plays lightsabers with me...I love that lady!

I love playing with my Sisters too, although they don't always seem as interested as I am, especially when their toys are involved. Mostly they yell NO when they see me heading towards their stuff. I don't get it, I'm always game for a good time playing Barbies! See? So I put their heads in my mouth...big deal. Just in case you wondered, Barbies taste AWESOME.

 I'm an equal opportunity terror. I try to get into Big Sissy's things too but since she likes to play with stuff that Mommy calls "dangerous" , like glue sticks and Legos,  they are all kept in tightly closed boxes and buckets to keep me from eating them. Sad story.  I love this shelf though, I may not be able to open these things but I CAN drag them all onto the floor and make her have to pick them all up. He he he. Take that.

I prefer to cut teeth in groups of 2 or more at a time so I almost always have my fingers, or my entire fist, in my mouth.  That's just how I roll.

Speaking of teeth, I have five now. Don't you just love my toothy smile?

I have lots of toys I can safely chew on like the ever trendy Sophie giraffe...

But, I really prefer to chew on the Wii remotes. I don't understand why everyone is so opposed to this. What's the big deal anyway?

I have killer baby blue eyes. I can almost always get my way when I pull a cute face with these bad boys. Well, at least I can with Mommy and my Sisters, Daddy is a tough nut to crack. 

I went on my first trip to the zoo this month. I really enjoy watching the snakes. They wiggle around just like I do!

My sisters were just as entertaining as the animals though. I think I must live in a zoo everyday. Our home is certainly loud and wild like the zoo. I wouldn't want it any other way.

10 months here I come! 

Getting Rid of the Crap

I began an organizing project of sorts this month. I came across a post on Pinterest challenging readers to tackle the task of getting rid of 10 things a day for a week. Sounds pretty simple huh?  However, as I glanced around my house, I realized that I needed to get rid of 10 things a day for the entire month to make the kind of impact I want to see in our home.

Why not do that?

This month I am getting rid of 10 things EVERY DAY for the entire month of April. That's it.  No other rules to follow or "clean ____ on _____ day" charts to dictate my process. Just a promise to get rid of the crap that I've put on a backburner for too long.  No more "I'd like to sell those when I have  time to list them online..." or "Maybe I can craft with that someday..." I'm doing this thing.  Just me and a trash bag tackling the world...er...my house anyway.

Honestly, I've tried a few Organize Your Entire House in 30 Days! thingies before. I NEVER make it more than a week before I'm behind and give up out of frustration. I don't follow rules well, I like to be free to work in whatever area I choose instead of using a "Day 7: Laundry Room" type system. I think this variation will work well for me.

While I'm keeping my plan pretty loose, I've decided to follow the basic organizational guideline of Toss, Donate, or Sell. If I decide to toss something, I do that immediately, into the garbage that crap goes. That's the easy part for everyone though right? It gets trickier when you start considering donating or selling items. Ugh, I don't like tricky. :/

 This is what I've decided to do. I set up two bins in my home- the donation bin is easily assessable in our garage and the sell bin is in my bedroom. You might think that my bedroom sounds like an odd place to stash stuff I want to get rid of but honestly I want that sucker smack dab in the middle of my way each day so I don't forget to focus on getting rid of it. I'm spacey, if I tuck it into my closet or even push it over into the corner of the room I'm likely to allow it to stay there forever and not think about it ever again. Not the goal here. It's sitting at the foot of my bed and anything that goes in there absolutely MUST leave by the end of April. If I don't manage to sell it I'll take it to donation with the other bin.

I'm excited to see the change in our home after getting rid of all of the excess items taking up space and causing extra work in my home. Goodbye outgrown baby clothes! Goodbye unused toys! Goodbye random kitchen gadgets that I don't even know how to use! Goodbye maternity clothes! Can I get an amen on that last one?!?

Now I want to encourage you to tackle a declutter challenge of your own this month. Maybe you're one of the amazing people that would see a huge impact from simply getting rid of 10 things a day for a week. Or perhaps you prefer a detailed attack plan guiding you to tackling all areas of your home according to a schedule. Whatever floats your boat is great! I encourage you to find something that you think will work for you and give it a go with me this month.  We can encourage each other along the way and set ourselves up for a relaxed spring in with less clutter. Sounds pretty good to me.

Let's do this thing.