9 MONTHS OLD!

Where does the time go? We are constantly expressing how fast time passes us by... but it truly is hard to believe that 3/4ths of our FIRST YEAR with Kamden is over. In just three short months we will be celebrating his FIRST birthday.

The development from the past two months, has been gradual. Whatever he has learned to do before, he has practiced it enough to know it all too well now. There have been a few new changes to add.

• Had his 9 MONTH Check-Up!!! First one since he was 6 months old. His head is 47cm (90th percentile) His weight was 19 pounds 13 ounces and height was 28 inches long (both 50th percentile).
  
• Still loves to chit-chat. His first word was "Momma" second was "Bye-Bye" or just "Bye" now we've recently added "Da-Da" FINALLY!!! Whoo hooo. He hasn't perfected it yet, but he's mumbling it all the time. He's also added some different sounds, squeals, and syllables to his language development-- almost like his own little baby talk. He also like to say "Ahhhh" really loud and takes turns repeating it back to each other.
  

• Is still giving out high fives, waves, claps his hands, patty cakes. He also reaches for EVERYTHING now... and recently starting to pull him self up. Has known how to give kisses for a while, but doesn't pucker his lips. He just sticks his chin out, with his mouth open, and leans in. Now if you ask him for kisses, he will do that over and over. hehe.
  
• Likes to play silly games. Peek-A-Boo gives him the giggles so bad! Even when he's doing something and you shout, "BOO!" to scare him, he cracks up! He thinks its hysterical!
• Size 4 diapers are too big, we tried them out for a week. So size 3 Pampers Cruisers, it is for at least another 2 or 3 pounds.


• Size 3.5 in infant shoes... we bought him a size 4 for growing room.
  
• In size 9 Months in clothes. Can no longer wear hardly any 6 months clothes at all. We also bought a few 12 month outfits, and he can wear them, they are just a little big on him. The shorts fall off actually. It's almost like he's in between sizes.

• Nothing has changed in the food department. Stage 3 foods... fruit in the morning, veggies for lunch, a meat & vegetable combo for dinner.


• Has mastered feeding himself with his hands. Still loving the Gerber puffs, biter cookies, and any table food that is easy to eat. We find that the all natural cheese puffs are a favorite too. He actually gets everything in his mouth now, instead of in his high chair.

• Same sleep habits as last month... about 50/50 as far as sleeping through the night. Two 2 hour naps per day-- mid morning and mid afternoon.

• Has his six teeth... and learning to use them very well! Looks like he might be teething again soon. Possibly two more on their way this month or next.


• Half way crawling... more like advanced scooting. haha. He hasn't got the concept down pat yet... but it looks like it could be any day.


• Standing well and for long periods of time. Will stand up on his own for about a minute, as long as he is holding on to something. His problem is wanting to grab things, letting go, and falling over. haha.


• Starting to walk if you hold both of his hands over his head and help him.



• Loves to play with all of his toys, take long walks to the park, and now we've introduced swimming as the summer kicks off! He does not like it for the first few minutes, because the water is too cold for him. Once he gets used to it, he loves it!


• Gives us smiles, hugs, and kisses in the morning when he wakes up and before bed at night. It's the sweetest thing.


• Switches from laying down, to sitting up, to the crawling position on his own.

• Knows his name and if you tell him to come to you, he will.

• We're trying to wean him off the paci and bottle, slowly. Our hopes to have them both gone when he turns a year old. We've tried the sippy cups with nipple-like tops, but he doesn't get it. He thinks its a toy. The only time he really gets his paci, is during naps and when he sleeps at night. He actually doesn't miss it half the time anyways.
  
  
• Overall, he is getting smarter everyday. Really starting to act more like a little boy, rather than a baby. He is into EVERYTHING! We have the house on lock down right now, because if it's in arms reach, it will be destroyed... which could be a very dangerous situation for a little one.

Our only goal for him right now is to actually start crawling normal. We also hope that he will be able to start walking in the next three months. We need to work on getting him used to using a cup too. That's a new concept for him. So far, he seems to be right on pace with where he needs to be.

We are having so much fun with him during these summer months. We love to take him outside to play, to the park, and to the swimming pool. We're hoping to take our first family vacation in the next month or so. Maybe to the beach this time!