Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are still in New York with Rob's parents while Rob is on a business trip. We had a wonderful holiday and spent time with many friends and relatives. Jay really enjoyed his first Thanksgiving meal. He ate more sweet potatoes than anyone! He was eyeing the turkey, but we felt he should wait until he has more than two teeth.

Jay is now nine months old. It is such a cliche to say time flies, but it really does! I feel it more with Jay than I did with Cole, maybe because the days are busier with two little boys. Before Jay it was busy, but it was all focused on Cole. Now the time has to be divided. I treasure the quiet times with Jay before his naps and the minutes he is awake when Cole is sleeping (although not the ones in the middle of the night). I am trying very hard not to let Jay fall into the second-baby syndrome with fewer pictures and a smaller baby book and fewer memories, but it is difficult because Cole demands attention. In light of these thoughts, here are some observations about Jay at nine months.

He always crawls on hands and knees now (before he only crawled on his belly), and he is getting a lot of exercise going up and down a long hallway in the Mirman house. Sometimes Cole follows him and plays "meow-meow" (a game I started one day when I forget that if you do something once with a toddler you have to be prepared to do it everyday until such toddler graduates from high school and moves away). It consists of crawling on the floor pretending to be kitty cats looking for food. I am really looking forward to the day Jay can fully participate in meow-meow and let me off the hook.

Jay is also pulling up on everything. Before we left he could pull up on low things, like the bottom step and a stool. Now he pulls up on the hearth, the ottoman, end tables--absolutely anything. Often, he lifts up a leg while standing like he is trying to climb. He is in constant motion. As soon as I turn my back, he heads for the cat food, the electrical outlets and cords, or starts climbing the stairs (he got up two steps a couple days before Thanksgiving).

He is starting to communicate more and more. He says "mamamama" when he needs to be comforted and "dadadada" when Rob is with him. He also has a "nya nya" sound that we think means "no," and a "Haaa" sound that may mean "hi." And he rocks back in forth in his highchair when he is done eating, sometimes banging the back of his head on the seat (fortunately, it is well padded).

Cole and Jay are playing together alot this trip. It is nice to watch and imagine all the fun they will have together in the future. At this point, the play usually ends with Cole tackling, shoving, or pulling on Jay and one or both boys in tears. However, we are starting to see them becoming friends. That is definitely something to be thankful for!