Nine Months

Oh dear boy, where has the time gone? I am still in disbelief that my precious boy is now 3/4 of the way to being one. And if you really think of it- 9 months of growing in my belly + 9 months old = 18 months of Ben in our lives. 18 wonderful and perfect months!

We had our 9 month check up today. We're slowing down on the height and weight. Dr. G said he looked great and commented 4 times on the size of his head. I finally asked if I should be worried. He said Ben is great and healthy and there are no worries. Ben got one vaccination today and was not too pleased with the nurse afterwards. I've never seen him stare someone down like that.


Report Card:
Weight: 22.5 (75-90%)
Height: 28.3 (75%)
Head: 19.3 (off the charts)

He didn't get letter grades this time. Maybe Dr. G is up on the new grading philosophies out there. Instead he said that he's "a big guy!" and "Doing great." Ben has some fluid in his ears, but there's no infection...and let's hope it stays that way.

like a little man :)

This is what we call 'Baby Jail.' Last weekend we were putting together a little cart thing and the Monkey wanted to help so he kept trying to grab the screwdriver. For obvious reasons, that wasn't going to happen so I moved his Pack n' Play into the family room and voila-a safe place for him to play. I was telling my friend, Michelle, about this and she read me some info about how this is beneficial to babies to gain independence and other skills. Turns out we're not horrible parents after all :)

Aunt Tina bought him this outfit WAY back when he was the size of a peanut in the belly. He wore it to church this weekend and looked so cute, but so big, too! My little baby is disappearing before my eyes.

Maybe Ben will bleed orange and blue instead of burnt orange (we all know green and gold is out of the question). This kid has 3 choices for college - UT, Baylor or UF. I don't think it's up for discussion either, sorry kid.

And last, but not least, our big news: HE CRAWLS! Yes it took him one day shy of 9 months, but by golly he did it- and just in time for me to start working out by chasing him.

♥

More tidbits about the big, bad 9 month old:

*likes eating, eating and more eating. He is so interested in our food and we're starting to enjoy letting him taste different things. He likes lemons and guacamole. Proof he does NOT have his Mom's taste buds (everyone can breath a sigh of relief). Yes we've snuck a tiny bite of a donut, too. He's also learned how to take his veggies that we give him and throw them on the floor for the dogs or hide them behind him. Starting early. I'm still at a loss of how to transition him off baby food and I'm not in any hurry.

*LOVES music, especially singing. Luckily for him my class is listening to lots of ocean music so I've been belting out some pretty spectacular renditions of "Under the Sea", "So Big! Blue Whale" and "Yellow Submarine". We can even thank Ashley for the "Tony Chestnut" song I CANNOT get out of my head. He will LOVE this song when he learns the moves to it. Singing to him really calms him down if he's upset.

*loves lights! As soon as we walk into a room he finds the light on the ceiling and waits for me to turn it on. This has always been a happy thing for him. He smiles and smiles and then lets out the biggest squeal when you turn it on.

*Has the most dramatic cry ever. They've even commented on it at daycare. I keep telling him he's too late for Oscar nominations. This is a mommy trait.

*doesn't care too much for tv. I recorded a tv show that many friends watch with their kids and thought he might like it-could have cared less. He did however record the news today while he was playing with the remote. Who needs baby shows when there's news on?

I know I say it all the time, but he's just a wonderful baby. His talking, laughter and even snores are music to our ears. Yes he fusses and has moments of being a stinker, but he is just perfect. I hate that alarm going off each morning, but knowing I get to go wake up my little buddy makes it so much better.

♥

I will leave you with a funny daycare story:

For the past 2 weeks the morning teacher kept saying he was having rough mornings and wasn't himself. I finally got fed up with this and had a chat with the afternoon teachers (I pick up so I never see the a.m. teacher). Turns out he's fine, just not being put down early enough for a nap. So I had Daddy talk to her and tell her that it should help if she puts him down for a nap earlier. Her reply: "But that's when we have foreign language and he'll miss it if he's napping. He loves his French." Not missing a beat Daddy replies: "well seeing as he's just learning English, I don't think it will hurt him to miss a few days of French." Guess who's having much happier days at school now?