9 Months Old!!

6/22/12

William, I swear, I have blinked and you are 9 months old! We can hardly believe it. You change so much in just one month! You are at such a fun age in my opinion. You are very interactive. I got my favorite monthly pictures of you this month. You just smiled and smiled. But I had to be quick!! You wanted to climb out of your chair and reach your toy bin. Too busy for Mama.

We went to the doctor for your 9 month well appointment on Friday, June 22nd. You are right on track. You lost a little weight this month, and Dr. Willey said that was very common at 9 month appointments, since you are more mobile now and burning more calories. Your weight was 17 lbs. 14 oz (10%) and height 28 in. (45%). You didn't have to have any shots, thank goodness!!! You just sat there and smiled the entire time. I can't believe that your next appointment is your ONE YEAR!! It is just crazy how fast time flies.

We talked a little bit about your eating habits. You never have been a huge eater. She said you should have 3 meals a day, 3-4 bottles a day, and 2 snacks. You have this, so we are good ;) I asked her about whole milk and table food, just to be prepared. She said whole milk can wait until after your 1st birthday, since you need the iron, etc from formula. As far as table food, I told her you try it, and sometimes it goes down the wrong way and you choke. You are always fine, but it freaks.me.out. She basically said just keep trying, and keep bites small. Any other mama's out there that can give advice on how not to freak out and what you do when your baby starts table food?! I just can't imagine you ever eating an entire meal of it without me having a heart attack. :)

You are pretty much on the same schedule as last month. You wake up between 7:30-8:30, have a fruit, then have a bottle. You typically go down for a nap an hour and a half - two hours after you wake up. You usually nap for 2 hours. When you wake up, you have lunch (veggie) and then have a bottle around 1. You play for a little while, then take another nap from 2 to around 4:30 or 5. You have a bottle at 5, then have dinner with us around 6-6:30. You usually have some cereal and veggies, or some fruit for dinner. And sometimes, you have yogurt too! You also are trying more and more table food. You play some more and then go to bed between 8-9, depending on what we've got going on. Luckily, you are so flexible!!

You pull up on everything now! You love to pull up in the crib, your music table, the dishwasher (which I HATE), the pack n play, the coffee table, toys, etc. You pulled up for the first time the Sunday we got home from the beach (6/10) in the pack n play! I was shocked. You were just looking at me grinning BIG.

You have officially moved out of your 6 month clothes. I have packed away all of your 6 month pj's. :( You fit really well in 9 month, and a LOT of 12 month pj's and jon jon's fit you really well, too. You can still wear a size 3 diaper, but we moved you up to a 4 since that is what Grandma bought. :) They are especially good for you at night, since you sleep so long.

We went to the beach for your first summer trip June 2-9. You loved it! You splashed in your little pool, swam in the big pool, and tested out the ocean. I can't wait for you to fall in love with it like I did as a little child. I hope we have many happy memories taking you to the beach.

We had a playdate at Courtney and Davis's house this month. Molly came too! It was so much fun to see the three of you. You were the only one who was into everything, so you kept me on my toes. I hope these little friendships flourish over the years!!

We also had a playdate at our house with Noemie and Sara. It was too funny! You loved just watching her. She is a little more mobile than you!! Even when she took your paci, you just looked at her - no hard feelings. ;)

We had to take you to the dermatologist this month. You had a rash in your diaper area that just would not go away, even after seeing your pediatrician and calling the nurses several times. She didn't know what else to do but send you to a specialist. Luckily, there is nothing really wrong. Probably just something we will encounter throughout your life in diapers...so we just switched your soap and use a heavier ointment when changing you.

You still have your same two teeth. I keep thinking more are coming, but not yet!! You do a pretty good job of gumming your food, though!! ;)

I'm not sure where you got it from, but you have learned to dance! Whenever you hear any sort of music, you start bouncing around and your version of dancing. It is hilarious!!! A lot of times you pull up on your knees and really start going!

You love to be read to. Thank goodness!! Both your Mama and your Daddy are big readers, so hopefully you will love that! You have figured out how to help turn the page. I get so tickled. You hold the left side of the book and I hold the right, and then you help turn the page when it's time.

We definitely did something I said I'd never do this month - bought a van! It has really turned out to be a great thing. You have SO much room and the air vents are right above your head, so you aren't as hot as you always used to be in the car. You come with a lot of stuff, so it is nice having lots of room. :)

Oh my goodness, you have a new trick and it is my FAVORITE!!!! You clap! It is so adorable. You love to do it. I think you like the attention, because whenever you start, you look around waiting for someone to praise you. And of course we all go crazy!! The other night at the Japanese steakhouse, you clapped when he was finished cooking. I almost died!!

You are starting to wave. I can't wait until you will do it more regularly. It is so cute.

In the car, you love to look in your mirror and see us in the front seat and laugh. You just love to giggle when you see us. SO sweet!

Another new trick you have is to stand up in your crib. You haven't quite figured out how to get back down yet without falling, so you typically cry until someone comes in to rescue you. Most of the time it only takes a couple times for you to go on to sleep. One night, it went on forever, and you knew you had us - everytime we would walk in the room to get you, you would just smile and laugh!

You do a lot of babbling, and have even said a few words. Of course, they are your version of the words, so they're not quite perfect, but they are adorable!!! You say mama, dada, Hannah (you said this for the first time at the beach and had us all laughing so hard) and bye bye occasionally. Bye bye is said in the sweetest, softest voice. I love it!

You have a few favorite toys. A Fisher Price turtle sorter has been a favorite for a while. You love to lift the top off and take out all of the shapes and shake them around. You also love your music table!! You pull up and just laugh and push buttons and love to flip the pages of the book on there. Your Aunt Pam bought you Scout at the beach and you love him! He has the sweetest little voice and sweetest songs. Hannah and Nana got you the Fisher Price puppy that dances and sings. You LOVE him. You try to hold him down as he is singing. You LOVE Sophie the Giraffe. She is a constant companion in the car, stroller, or restaurant.

You have started reaching out to us to get up from the highchair, or to go to someone different than who is holding you. It is so sweet and we love to see if you will come to one of us. 

You are the fastest crawler. You are obsessed with Riley's bowls. She just stands in the background and watches you carefully. We think we have more time to get you, but everytime you beat us to whatever it is that you aren't supposed to have. It is so funny. We always know when you have found something to investigate; you flop down flat from the crawl position and study it in your hands and just flop your feet behind you. You look like a teenager. :(

You had your first real cold this month. You handled it pretty well, only really complaining at nighttime. We are definitely not ready for another baby, ha! You woke up a few times during the night for a few nights. It was pretty rough. Thank GOD I was working from home that week so it wasn't too terrible. It started Friday night (the last night at the beach). You scared us so bad!! We had to make a midnight run to Harris Teeter for some saline spray. I went out and got a NoseFrida to use instead of the aspirator. I always said that they were disgusting, but it actually worked really well and I definitely didn't feel like I was ruining your little nose!!! You never really ran a fever. Just a runny nose and staying up at night. We were so glad when you were back to normal!!

William, you are simply an angel baby. We are so in love with you. It is unbelievable. Every month has new challenges, and more and more new fun things to explore! We are loving being your Mama and Daddy. We can't wait to see what the future has in store for you!!!