din din

We have certainly reached the stage of messy, very messy, eating.  I can't complain though, because he can self feed!! 

I know all kids are different, not just boys and girls, but it's remarkable how much boy he is and much girl Xiana is!  He does things so differently than she did!  For one thing, everything is a car and makes car noises, whether it be the remote, a doll, or an actual car, Kolton pushes it around like a car vroom vroooming as he goes.  I've even seen him do it with a diaper or cell phone!  At 9 months he is taking steps, but not walking.  I'm pretty sure he's capable of it, but crawling is so much faster :)  He can stand up independently without falling.  When he is tired of it, he simply squats down and goes on his knees. 

He isn't as generous with his kisses, but he loves to give Xiana smooches.  The other day she was laying on the couch and he kept coming up to her, cuddling her with his head, giving her a smooch and then going on his merry way.  Another time he came and cuddled my foot... gross, but sweet nevertheless!  He got his first ear infection.  His eardrum popped and we didn't even know he was sick.. poor baby.  He got over it quickly and played cheerfully despite the double infection.  He walks with the support of his walker very skillfully (actually let's be serious, he RUNS!!) He babbles and talks, plays and pinches, thinks life is pretty hysterical, and never stops moving.  He is a boundless, wonderful, happy little guy! 

• Little Miss continues to be her loving self.  She adores her baby brother, although she's not keen on the fact that he already beats up on her.  It's not uncommon for us to hear cries from the other room, "Kolton took my toy... Kolton's pulling my hair... Kolton is pinching me... Kolton took my food!!"  We laugh and tell her that she's the big sister, but she doesn't seem to understand that. 
•  She is going through an annoying phase of having to say goodnight 700 times a night.  When she can't, she comes unglued.  We have fought about it repeatedly.  I hope it's just a phase... I hope I'll laugh about it some day... but not today! 
• The other day we were jumping on the trampoline together and it came crashing down on me that she is growing up.  She's so lovely and remarkable and smart.  She is, in short, no longer a toddler and it makes me simultaneously depressed and overjoyed.
• I have been dieting and the other day she assured me that I could not have chocolate cake because it had too many calories.  She still listens to everything!
• She now has the first 4 articles of faith memorized and will recite them to anyone who will listen.  She asked if she could tell the Kirby guy the 4th one.  I told her no because he was not Mormon but she could recite the pledge of allegiance if she'd like.  She promptly did only later asking, "Why wasn't he Mormon?"
• Her favorite trick with her daddy is to blow the traffic light green... I remember a similar trick with my own dad.
• She told me that the people in Nineveh were very bad because they were getting drunk on coffee and Jonah told them that God would destroy them.  How cute that she thinks coffee is that strong! 
• She speaks with such authority... sometimes you'd think she was much older.  For dinner one night she said, "mom, this is so. freaking. good!"  Later when I relayed the story to Brian he asked her how old she was.  With a hand on a hip and a roll of the eyes she exasperatedly sighed, "foe-or."  He said, "oh, you're not a teenager?"
• When American Idol came on one night she informed me, "clearly it's past my bed time!"
• The other day on her cell phone she told me, "I'm playing words with friends."

I sure do love my little monkeys!!!