Look who is 9 months old! That is 3/4 years old! Wow! Time is really flying by.

This past month has been a month of improvement instead of breakthroughs. I’m crawling faster, standing easier, climbing higher, and just doing everything better. I’m very active during the day exploring the house and climbing everything in sight. Sometimes that activity leads to a good night’s sleep where I fall asleep easier and faster and sleep longer. Some nights I’ve slept about 7 hours straight. Other times, my activity actually makes it harder for me to fall asleep and causes me to wake up earlier after only about 4 hours. But overall, my sleep has been better.

I’m very chatty these days. My vocabulary is limited to variations of “mama” and “uma”. Sometimes “mama” means Mommy, but since it is one of the two words I can say, it often means other things as well. I like to tell Mommy and Daddy things, and they try to understand as best as they can and usually get it right. I also like to insert myself into their conversations, chiming in with my own two cents, usually in the form of “mama” or “uma”. I not only talk, but I’m also a good listener, often responding with “un”, the Japanese form of “uh huh / go on / I see / hmmm”. So there is more communication around the house which is a good thing. Mommy and Daddy are even adding sign language into the mix of English and Japanese spoken at home. I’m not able to sign back yet, but I’m getting the general idea of messages when spoken words and sign language are mixed together. I’m quite familiar with questions about hunger or sleepiness. I answer one question with excitement and the other with cries, you can probably guess which is which.

My appetite has never been a worry for me and I’m doing good eating all my meals. Mommy and Daddy don’t know for sure if I have ever been full because I have never refused food. I eat what I’m served and never overindulge in food or eat until I’m ill. It is no secret that I’m a good eater but I’m not obese or overweight. I’m still a very healthy baby boy!

As I approach my first birthday, I wonder what other things I’ll accomplish before the big 1.