NINE MONTHS

Bobblehead turned nine months old the other day, and I almost missed marking this milestone!  Thankfully his nine-month well baby checkup reminded me to post an update here.

His height curve is BARELY above the last visit, and weight curve has actually moved DOWN, since he only gained 2 lbs in the last three months. He is now 17 pounds, and 24 inches long...so he is pretty small for a nine month old.  The doctor isn't TOO worried about this, since his head growth is normal, and at least THAT growth curve still shows upward movement on the chart.  But he did suggest that maybe I should start adding BUTTER to Bobblehead's diet.  Yes, BUTTER.  I think, before I get that drastic, I will try giving him more avocados, and other 'healthy' foods that are high in UNsaturated fat. I know he needs fat for brain growth, but am also reluctant to give him something as 'bad' as BUTTER just yet.  One good thing the doc said about the weight issue, is that Bobblehead's motor development is excellent, and its likely that he will just need more calories because he is so active.  AND HOW!  I can't even get him to hold still for a diaper change lately.

He's crawling like a pro now, and LOVES to pull himself into a standing position using any piece of furniture (or my leg). He also cruises along the furniture, but not quite as confidently as he crawls.  The cruising thing has led to numerous falls, most of them without injury. I do catch him when I can, but I also know that he will learn much faster if he actually experiences some of these falls - so I don't beat myself up about the times I can't quite catch him, and he bumps his head or simply startles himself.

Sleep is still a myth...or at least NAPS are.  Nighttime is pretty routine, and he's bathed and down for the night, in his own room, between 8 and 9 every night.  He occasionally wakes up to nurse in the middle of the night, but then goes right back to sleep.  And he definitely KNOWS his limit during the day, with his 2 to 3 hour periods of wakefulness....anything longer and he becomes a cranky MONSTER.  Unfortunately, a 20 minute 'power nap' seems to satusfy his need for rest more often than not.  I remember three times last week that he actually took a REAL nap (1 1/2 to 2 hours) and I celebrated each time.  I am hoping we can get to a point where he takes two REAL naps every day. Someday.

For now I just keep my camera and my Flip handy to catch all the silly stuff he does. He just started shaking his head, like "NO" the other day...only he's not saying "no"....he's just enjoying the dizzy sensation.  What a nut!

He enjoys the pool now - enough to make me REALLY wish we had our own pool here!  But my brother lives nearby, and lets us use his backyard pool.  We also go visit my sister often, about 20 minutes away, and they have a really awesome comunity pool, complete with kiddy-splash-park.

He's feeding himself more finger foods, and LOVES playing with his food.  Sometimes when I am spoon-feeding him in his high chair, he grabs for the spoon with his little hands, resulting in a blob of pureed veggies on the tray.  This, of course, necessitates a long finger-painting session each time.  I absolutely LOVE seeing the look of wonder on his face as he makes designs by smearing his little finger (usually just the index finger, but sometimes his whole hand) through the mess. I don't love cleaning it up, but I know if I don't I won't get a chance to see THAT LOOK on his face again the next time he eats.  :)

His favorite foods right now are Pears (still), cheerios, peach flavored puffs, diced fresh apricots, VEGGIE STRAWS, and anything Mommy is eating.  I'm thrilled that he's begun to enjoy some of the food from my plate, and can't wait until he's really eating ALL table foods.  Last week we went on a two-day vacation to Disneyland and I had to pack SO MUCH BABYFOOD.  Totally not looking forward to that with our family reunion next month.

I know the table food thing will get even better if he can actually CUT those two top teeth that have been trying to push through for like a month now.  The two bottom teeth look lonely. Maybe he should ask the tooth fairy about this?  We know her...she lives down the street.  Bobblehead even borrowed her wings and wand for a few minutes: