9 months, 3 days!!

How time has flown!! I can't believe Andrew is 9 months old. It seems like just yesterday that he was crying for hours every day, and I was wondering what I had done to myself. When we first brought Andrew home everyone told us, "Enjoy him now because they grow up so fast". Then, I couldn't wait for him to "grow up" and end his constant crying and little sleeping. Now, I am wishing he could just be a baby for a little longer.
We just had his 9 month baby check up today. I know that the nurses think I am crazy because I am totally one of those moms who called everyday for the first two weeks that Andrew was home. This dr. visit was no exception. When the nurse asked, "Do you have any questions or concerns for the dr.?", I replied, "Actually, I have a list". Even the dr. looked surprised when I pulled out my list of questions I had written down in a spiral notebook. Needless to say, we got our money's worth at this appointment---we were questioning the dr. for 45 minutes!! And, I refuse to let myself feel bad about using so much of his time because (A) he is paid to listen to our endless questions and tell us what to do; he is the 'expert' afterall and (B) we won't see him again until Andrew is 1 year old and that is 3 months away....so I had a ton of questions.
Andrew is doing very good. He changes and learns new "tricks" everyday. He rolls everywhere now because he has figured out that rolling makes him mobile. He sits up by himself, and can feed himself crackers. He loves to bounce---in his bouncer, in my lap, on my knee, on my hip, etc. He is discovering his body parts ....and that is all I am going to say about that! He loves to drink "juice" from his sippy cup. We don't do real juice, just water. I am a little paranoid about his teeth--long story. He tries to grab everything, which has resulted in me cutting my hair and banning long earrings. He recognizes familiar faces, and loves to see his daddy. It really is cute when he gets so excited to sse Rob: his legs pump, he reaches for him, he "talks", and he smiles the biggest smile ever given to anyone. It kind of hurts my feelings that he is never that excited to see me--I guess because I am with him All the Time. He is trying to crawl, but has not gotten the hang of it yet. He loves to stand, and the dr. agreed with us that he may skip crawling and go straight to walking. I am not sure how I feel about that (as in, "I was already nervous about following all over the house when he crawls, but I am totally not ready to follow him all over the house Wallking!"). That said, we will be working on crawling this week. "Andrew, crawl for mommy....Please!!"
Oh, and we are also practicing saying our first word. (Practicing as in I say the word over and over in all conversation throughout the day and also slowly sound out the word for him so that he can see how his mouth should move to make the sounds.) I am crazy, I know but I am beginning to be okay with crazy. Anyway, the word is a secret, but, let's just say that I will be disappointed if it is not his first word!!