Sweet little one,

After a busy summer full of travels and adventures, things have finally started to settle into a routine. You now are enjoying some quiet mornings, long walks, and mommy/baby playgroup while your sisters are at school, but eagerly await the afternoons when they come home to play with you! You are extremely busy these days, which keeps us all laughing (and running!). 

• At your doctor’s appointment this week, you weighed in at 9.7kg (21 lbs, 6 oz.). That’s definitely bigger than any of your sisters were at this age! And trust me, I can feel every ounce of it as I carry you around!
• You are the absolutely happiest baby. You smile at everyone you see, but especially at sisters. When someone says hello to you, you first smile, then wave (with your whole arm), and then bury your face into mommy’s shoulder like you’re shy. It’s pretty cute. 
• Your favorite thing to do with Daddy is “wrestle”. Even if you’re busy with something else, all Daddy has to say is, “Hey Christopher, do you want to wrestle?” and you come running. Well, crawling fast.
• Speaking of crawling fast, you’ve perfected the art of crawling with one knee and one foot to kick off so that you go faster. You often use this technique when you’ve found something wonderful to eat (like a leaf) and we’re coming after you to take it away.
• You are continuing to develop a growing attachment to mommy. You now notice when I leave the house (or even just the room) and will stand at the door until I open it again!
• Your second tooth popped through at the beginning of the month. You now have two little pearly whites in the middle on the bottom. You occasionally like to try them out on my shoulder, but you have started to take the hint when I say “no!”
• Ever since your teeth came in, you gave up the thumb sucking. I’ve tried (in middle of the night desperation) to give you a paci, but while you think it’s fun to play with and chew on, you refuse to use it as intended.
• As for sleeping, it’s terrible. You just simply want contact with Mommy about every hour or so. So, you often end up in our bed for a good portion of the night. You are precious and sweet and snuggly, and I know this won’t last forever. But maybe this month will be a turning point?!?
• Fall in Latvia has definitely arrived, and you now have to be bundled up every time we go out. This includes tights (yes, baby boys here wear tights – blue ones with dinosaurs or cars, but they’re still tights), boots, puffy coat, scarf, mittens, and hat. And your stroller is now outfitted with a wool sleeping bag for you to snuggle down into while we walk. You really do love going out for walks, though, despite all the gear you have to wear, and you sleep quite soundly while the cold wind blows around you!
• This month you started clapping hands! You actually did it for the first time while Mommy and Daddy were leading worship and you were sitting in Anna Kate’s lap. I looked over at you and there you were, just clapping away! Now you clap just about any time you get excited!
• Your favorite songs are the Doxology and a Latvian praise and worship song called “Ko vairāk vēlēties” which is about spending time in God’s presence. Anytime we sing those you start bouncing and clapping along!
• Your favorite toys this month are our magformer shape magnets, a rubber ball, and your basket of board books. You often entertain yourself for quite some time with those toys!
• We have a little family joke that your best friend is actually the vacuum cleaner. Any time I leave it out, you love pulling up on it and playing with the tube extension. You also love to put your hands on it and walk along while I vacuum!
• Speaking of walking, you are easily cruising around the living room furniture. I don’t know when you’ll actually let go, but I think it may not be long.
• You still like eating, just about any fruit or vegetable. You like making a mess with finger foods, but you also let Mommy spoon-feed you if we don’t have time for an immediate bath afterward!
• You’ve perfected the motorboat bubble blowing sound, and you do it frequently!
• We’ve continued the babyproofing this month, as you pulled over a small dining room shelf and figured out how to get into the trash can. Both of those items have been sufficiently stowed away until further notice!

Christopher, you are such a fun little guy and we are loving getting to know more of your personality each month. We love you with all of our hearts!

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy (and your sisters, too!)