3 Months Shy & a Photo Dump

Our baby boy is 9 months old... a tear! It's going so fast and I can never get enough of our little red head. This is really difficult for me because in my mind I didn't really let myself think of Porter getting older. I've been in denial, but he's turning into a little boy before my very eyes. The last 3 months Porter has grown and emerged with one very large personality. Here is a list all about Porter at 9 months...

Porter:

• loves to interact with family and friends
• digs his new Tigger vibrating tooth brush we use for speech therapy.
• has a knack for making new friends. People are drawn to him and we've had some really positive experiences with strangers introducing themselves who have someone with Down Syndrome in their lives.
• he's a blushing entertainer, especially for the ladies.
• His early intervention service provider is SO proud of him. She cried last week when he crawled for her. Porter loves her and I'm so grateful to have her in P's life.
• chatters often and his father is giddy every time he says DaDa.
• he says MaMa but only when I make him mad. I'm not counting it until he says it when he actually likes me.
• recently started watching TV and actually enjoys it for short periods of time, if it's colorful.
• thinks being read to is pretty awesome. We can read him longer stories now and I'm enjoying the wide variety of children's books.
• sees the world as a large playground. Everything around him is for exploring...meaning I'm dealing with more dangerous situations. (Baby proofing is priority #1 this week!)
• has shown us once again he's a fish, and loves water.
• Eats LOTS of foods. His favorite is Green Beans. He now eats some form of grain with every meal! Yay!
• has turned baby massage into a thing of the past because he can't waste time holding still. We maybe get 1 massage in a week, I just have to watch close for the right mood.
• spends lots of time playing in our mirror corner.
• still loves to cuddle and be held close. It melts our hearts.
  
• will throw temper tantrums if he doesn't get his way, but it makes Aaron and I bust into hysterics and P's bad attitude can't survive the laughter. Even though the temper tantrums have shown up his temper is much better.
  
• enjoys a gentle tickle on his palm, especially from Aunt Rachael.
  
• thinks he has super powers and tries to roll/crawl through walls.
  
• crawls after Sydney and poor Syd doesn't know what to think.
• is easily entertained by larger shopping bags. (I only let him play with this when I'm right next to him.)
• gives kisses on cheeks
• has discovered sleeping on his tummy, and we often peek in to see him sleeping with his bum in the air.
• gives high fives. Aunt Kaleena taught him this.
• is intrinsically motivated. This more than anything else has contributed to Porter's success. He wants to learn, do, and try! We encourage and help, but he is a more than willing student.

Porter, you are the greatest privilege of our lives and we're so grateful you're our son!