9 Months

Tank has nearly been out of my uterus as long as he was in it. And Thank God we did not need to refer to him as 'Tank' pre-birth. Ouch.

Our little Handsome is now 9 months old and is becoming so fun and troublesome. Here's the monthly rundown:

Size - At Justin's 9 Month Appointment we learned he is 22 lb. 14 oz. heavy (a good half pound lighter than we expected) and 28.75 inches long. Both are around the 75% for little boys, so he is growing well - not too big, just big :) He is wearing size 12-18 month clothes (though a pair of 12 - 18 month jeans I tried last week were a little tight around the thighs) and we just switched to size 4 diapers :)

One of my favorite Justin photos yet - an outtake from this month's photoshoot. I believe he was mid-sneeze. It makes me laugh every single time I see it. 

Baby Daddy dressed him this day. Could you tell?

Food and Drink - Justin has had pretty well every Stage2 food offered. New this month were apricots, cherries, bread and raspberries among others. And, shocker - he eats them all. We have given him more finger foods - bread, fries, chicken, and crunchies. We introduced a sippy cup and even tried putting diluted apple juice (which I hear is crack for babies - well, that and Fruit Snacks) in it, but to no avail - it is still merely a teething toy for Justin. Justin seems to eat a lot of orange vegetables - carrots, squash, sweet potates, corn, mixed veggies - so much so that we've been telling him he's going to turn orange. Sure enough - his pediatrician commented today that he was a little orange - all the carotene in your diet. Our goal in the next month is to start lots of table foods and transition away from little jars of food.

What? There is sweet stuff inside this? Oh wait, I don't care . . . nom nom nom nom 

Sleep - Another crappy month. Confession time - I am a deep sleeper, Baby Daddy is not. Baby Daddy wakes up when Justin so much as farts so he is up when Justin is up. Sometimes (okay, most of the time) I sleep through it. Remember when I said I wouldn't let my baby cry it out? Yeah, I lied.  I'm looking into Mr. Ferber. He has not had to 'cry it out' yet and I soothe him in less time than he recommends, but as long as it works and Justin knows that I am there for him, I am okay with it. I think Justin's problem is that he wakes himself up at night and can't put himself to sleep again. We've started putting him to bed awake, but drowsy, so he falls asleep in bed and he has slept through the past two nights. Here's hoping it continues to get better - for Baby Daddy's sake ;)

Would you be able to sleep if you had all of these toys waiting for you?

Toys and Games - Justin loves to take all of his toys out of the container one by one, study each one and set it aside for the next grab. He plays with his toy car dash complete with horn, wheel, and rearview mirror (which we often set on his walker so it looks like he is driving ;) ), puzzles, and his walking toy the most. He also loves to be in his walker - seriously, what would we do without that thing? He likes when I sing 'If you're Happy and you Know it' - especially the 'stomp your feet' part. He will play peek-a-boo with any cloth we give him, even a baby sock. though he usually just lifts it above his head and drops it. Sometimes we have to pull it down but he always smiles and laughs. He also loves to grab long hair (mine) and glasses (no one is safe). Hopefully the weather continues to improve so we can spend more time outside in the next few months. 

OMG NEW TOY!!

Development - Justin does not crawl. I would not at all be surprised if he skipped it. He still does not like being on his tummy, though it seems his favorite thing to do is go from sitting to his belly - yeah, figure that one out . . . He is standing steadily when holding onto something and has started to let go and try to stand on his own, and to pull himself up. We have to move the crib down to the low setting when we move. He also has discovered how to pull the cabinet drawers out so that he can get leverage to stand and tried to knock Izzers' bowls over. He has been clingy on only a few occasions, but has started to pull himself into our arms if he is sitting - which melts Mama's heart.

This is his excited face - like when he sees a bunch of Puffs. It is accompanied by jumping. 

Speech - Justin is a talker - shocker: another thing he gets from his father. His daycare teacher says he talks a lot for his age. He has 'Mama' 'Dada' and now 'Lala' down. 'Lala' is an attempt at 'Lora' - an auntie, but Justin has expanded this sound and named his new monky 'Lala'. I tried for 'Norman' - an offshoot of 'Nom' which Justin did to the monkey, but when asked what the monkey's name was he said very loudly, 'Lalalalalalala'. Okay . . . Lala it is.

I think he may get this face from me - but you'd have to check with Baby Daddy first to see if he will claim it. 

Events - Justin celebrated his first Easter this April and was showered with gifts by his loving families. He also had Cousin Annabanana's first birthday party, and was a great little boy for Mother's Day and Mama's birthday. For my birthday, I wanted fabulous pictures of our little Handsome and our little family, and Justin obliged for a little over an hour :) Hopefully I can get you a peek of some favorites soon :)

Forty-five pounds of baby = OMG. 

Showin off the proper colors . . .  

  

OMG PUFFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Basketful of Harley, and his first pair of shoes :)

At Choung Garden for Mama's birthday. No, he did not try the Peking Duck. But he did learn the valuable lesson of letting the lady pick where to eat on her birthday :) He is going to be a gentleman, remember?

Chillin with Auntie Wiebs on Mama's birthday.