Another month has gone by too quickly and our little Joseph is now 9 months old! He always changes so much in a month's time but I feel like this past month has really showed some of the most major changes it seems.He still loves to roll around everywhere and does his little army crawl when there is something he wants. Sometimes I will see him playing with something on the ground and when I look closely I find that it is just a little speck of dirt or lent on the carpet. It's amazing how he can find every speck on the floor and it's made me realize just how dirty floors can get! :P He is also just starting to pull up on stuff and just did it by himself for the first time a couple of nights ago! I've realized that everything in our living room is really tall, so I'm trying to work with him more on the standing up thing on stuff that I know is a good height.
His babbling has increased dramatically. He says "dada", "lala", "baba" and his new favorite is "nana". He has said "mama" a few times but obviously he doesn't quite use any of the words appropriately just yet. "Na-na" is his big one right now. He especially uses that sound when he is frustrated - which means mostly during diaper changes and when he runs out of food. :)
He is still a GREAT eater. Now that he is 9 months the doctor said we can start him on soft meats. So he has had chicken, tilapia, and ground beef. He continues to do great with all his other baby foods and it's fun to introduce him to foods that we eat too. This morning he even had some tiny pancake pieces when we had that for breakfast. He also has mastered his sippy cup that has a straw. He drinks water only but is doing great with it and really likes it. He hasn't figured out how to breath and sip at the same time though so he tends to get out of breath when he drinks. ;)
If I had to describe Joseph right now in month 9, I would say the words that most accurately describe him are curious and observant. He's definitely at that age where he has to touch (and eat) everything. But he also really enjoys observing new surroundings. I really feel he has been that way since he was a newborn too. But anytime we go out shopping, to the grocery store, or even for our walks around the neighborhood, he doesn't even need a toy to play with because he just hangs out and looks around and is perfectly content.
His sleeping at night has gotten a lot better for the most part. He still has some rough nights here and there but for the most part he is doing a lot better. He takes 2 naps a day. Normally one aroun 10:30 and the other around 3ish. Then he goes to bed around 8pm. I've realized his cutest time of the day is after dinner and right before bed. I don't know if he has the tired sillies or what, but he gets so giggly and we have a new game now that when one of us is carrying him to his room to get ready for bathtime, the other one walks behind and he gets so excited thinking that person is going to get him. He just squeals and bursts into laughter!
Joseph also loves peekaboo. Even when I'm not really trying to play it he still thinks it's fun. For example, when he is in his high chair and I bend down to pick up the gobs of food that end up on the floor, he thinks I'm ducking down to play peekaboo so he peeks past his tray to find me and laugh. Sweet boy!
His 9 month appointment went great - no shots this time...yay! He weighed 18lbs, 6oz which is the 10-25%. He is 28in long (25%) and his head is still at the 75%. It's so interesting to see him going down in his weight so much (percentile wise) because we were so used to him being so big since he was born so big! But like the doctor said, how they're born is no indication of how they'll be in the future. Plus, she said with him getting more and more active, that's probably why he is dropping a bit - no concern though. He is in 12 month clothes now and still in size 3 diaper.
Here are some pictures of our 9 month old little guy!
Last month when he had his really bad cold, he had a really hard time falling asleep since he couldn't breath enough to use the pacifier. So to calm him down, I showed him a little stuffed animal and he eventually fell asleep like this. It was his first time to sleep with a little animal and he looked so peaceful.
He likes when we roll his windup cars to him down the hallway. He gets so excited and flaps his arms!
First time to try some bit size pieces of cooked carrots (from the Gerber self feed tray)
9 month pic with Kermie
Again, poor Kermie :)And here are a couple of little videos:
I had a bit of trouble trying to get him to bend his legs to show off his new trick, but he finally cooperated. (and excuse how sloppy I look - I had worked out earlier)
He's been having fun lately in his jumparoo!
