My not so little boy, nine months.

My little boy is 9 months old.  Today he wore a little tracksuit and I swear he aged a few months.  He is scooting all around and getting to be pretty fast, although he barely uses his legs, instead opting for the "army crawl".  Yesterday I put him on the floor in the living room and went into the kitchen, and I could hear the thumps as he made his way toward me.  Before I knew it he was at my feet looking up at me and smiling.
Griffin has a very sweet personality that is really starting to come through.  He loves to laugh, he likes being spun around, and anything with buttons fascinates him.  Just recently discovered that if he put his cell phone inside an empty wipe container with music playing, Griffin will be enthralled.
From years of preschool I know that toys are a wasted of money; G is proof of that.  He spent 15 minutes today playing with a bowl and a wooden spoon while I cooked.  He has learned how to turn off the TV, and I have learned that giving him Justin's old Nintendo controller will keep him from pressing buttons on the receiver.
I never thought that I would think about my kid while I was at work, or certainly not that I'd look forward to getting home and playing with him.  I find myself showing pictures of him to people who did not ask to see them, and texting my mother in law from work to ask her for pictures when I miss him.  Motherhood is so interesting; it can soften a person in ways they never imagined but also make that same person feel so strong.  Both giving birth itself and the protective feeling that you could flatten a linebacker if they tried to harm your kid are very empowering, strengthening experiences.  At the same time, I now look at the children I work with and realize how recently they too were babies.  I suppose it's the balance of strong and soft, of protector and nurturer that sets women apart, and probably also makes us the more "complicated" sex. 
At any rate, I am grateful for the opportunity to be a mom to this amazing kid.  I can't wait to see what he does next.