Nifty Nine

Weight: 21 lbs 4 oz (85th percentile)
Length: 30 inches (93rd percentile)

 

The Sweet Pea continues his march through Firsts. As you can tell by the pictures above, mobility has been a huge one this last month. The little tater tot started crawling! And I could not get him to stay still for his 9 month photos. At first he would get up on his knees and lunge forward but he is successfully doing the inchworm and army crawl now. And boy does he get excited when he sees something he wants to go after! He starts panting and grunting and moving about a mile a minute. He's usually charging after one of the dogs or a floor lamp he isn't supposed to touch. He has also learned how to sit up all by himself. He only uses one leg/hip to move over on but I have faith this will not have a Zoolander outcome and he will be able to turn both ways. It's funny, though, when he crawls over to something facing it then turns to sit down and realizes he is no longer facing it. Quite the conundrum!

We are also having to work on what 'no' means, because we are having to use it quite a bit these days. He really seems to love playing with everything that can kill him: electrical cords are a favorite, electrical outlets, plastic bags and anything that he can pull over on top of himself. He also will not stay still on his diaper pad any more; it makes changing him a tad challenging. The problem is when I say no to him, he smiles impishly and goes right back to doing what he's not supposed to and when I raise my voice, that's even funnier. Not a great start on discipline.

Food continues to be fun to experiment with and we're starting foods he can feed himself. Mostly, this has been teething biscuits and puffs but I'd like to get some more items for him to pick up. He really wants to feed himself with the spoon and gets a huge grin on his face any time he is handed his own spoon. He knows to dunk it into his bowl but that is about it. If he manages to get a hold of the bowl...well, it is just a big mess.

We also had his first major illness - the flu! He got a high fever one night that lasted about twenty-four hours. I think Jess and I handled it pretty well even though we were winging it, along with some helpful hints from our moms. Poor little guy wasn't feeling well for about a week. I knew he was back to normal when he started chattering again. Even though people say it is good to build up his immunity, the fact that his first fever was at 9 months is something I am grateful for and something we couldn't have done without Rachael and Donavon. Very blessed to have them.

In general, he continues to be a such a good baby and we are grateful. We have a play yard set up for him and he'll sit and play with his toys for long periods of time. He also continues to do really well with sleep. I noticed putting him to sleep was a little harder when he was sick but now, he goes down easy again. He's liking books more but would rather practice closing them then reading them - we've gotta start somewhere. He likes rhyming books especially. And we discovered another favorite in the box Aunt Mel sent us - a book that makes monkey noises when you press a button. He learned how to press that button pretty quickly!

Sweet Pea, your personality is really starting to come through and you are very much your own person. You don't have any fear of falling yet and like trying to lunge past us on anything with height - couch, bed, changing table...you name it, you've tried to plunge off of it. I can tell you love your new found freedom of crawling and want to explore everything. You will go great distances to get the item you want but you rarely ever complain when we take something away from you. There is always something else that can take it's place. But if there is a place you want to go that you are not allowed, you will try and try to get back there - usually holding an item in each hand and a paci in the mouth. You are still pretty studious about new things and feeding is still serious business for you. Every time I taste a bit of your food to see what it is like, I get the dirtiest look from you. You actually stop chewing or whatever you are doing and stare at me like, 'I can't believe you just did that, Mom." I should know that the powerful combination of Soscia and Emerson will not allow any messing around with food. In general, you love smiling and laughing and your joy is contagious.

I love that you wake up most mornings smiling, ready to start the day. I love how you start panting when you see something you want and go full speed at it. I love that you and Sam have the same attitude about food - get excited when you see it, cry when it isn't on time and have utter focus and reverence when it is in front of you. I love how smiley you are. I love when asked by your doctor if you are hitting two toys together I can say, 'No, but he hits himself with two toys at a time...does that count?" You are going to be my rough and tumble little boy. I love that your rib cage is so ticklish because it guarantees I can get you to laugh. I love that when I put you to bed facing one way, you are in the complete opposite direction when I check on you later. I love all your facial expressions. I love your chubby everything. I love your hugs and I love your kisses (even the ones with teeth). Love you, Sweet Pea.


First crawling photo

Fathers Day!!!