Rudy

Rudy is now 22lbs and nearly 9 months old. He is not quite crawling yet but managing to get around on the floor, mostly backwards but moving forward every so often. He has pushed himself up on his hands and knees a few times, thrown himself forward onto his face from that position (which really pissed him off) and he is feeding himself (hand to mouth) very well.
Rudy recently had a good little bout with the flu, giving him a fever for about a week and a bit of a rash afterward. He has started sleeping a bit more at night but still waking and crying loudly. I know he doesn't need to eat in the middle of the night but it certainly gets back to sleep quicker and without keeping the whole house up. Jon has sleep issues to begin with so it only makes it harder for him. One of Rudy's signature attributes is his ear piercing scream. Yes it's loud. As a small baby, when he would cry for long periods, as most babies do, he gained a reputation as a fussy baby. Compared to Ella, he wasn't fussy at all. Decibel wise he was louder, sure, but I consider him a happy kid. I don't like it when people refer to him as fussy..... Rudy lets us know he's mad and cries out to tell us and stops. Unless of course he's tired and fighting sleep. What baby doesn't cry out to tell you he/she is mad or tired?
Anyway, like I said he is nearly 9 months old. Time has FLOWN by. Reading my cousin Allison's blog as she is trying to go into labor but not, makes me remember Rudy's birth day like it was yesterday. Jon and I were watching a re-run of 'Carrier' on PBS the other night, the episode when the guy gets a dvd of pictures and videos of his child's birth on the ship. Jon got emotional, I did too. We are coming up on 1 year ago that Jon left for Bahrain. He wasn't gone that long. The next 3 months will go fast too and soon it will be Rudy's first birthday and 9 years that my mom passed. How do we slow it down?
Rudy is sitting on the floor on the biscuit quilt Grandma made him watching Baby Monet with his little shorts riding up around his mid section. Chubby little thighs, chubby little cheeks and and smiling with his toys and at his sister who is pooping on the potty (an urge decided on her own!) My chubby little t-bone is growing up too fast.