9 Months

At nine months your stats are

Weight: 20lbs 0oz  42%

Height: 28 Inches 42%

Head: 44 1/2 cm  25%

You didn't even gain a full pound in 3 months which is why I can feel your ribs sometimes now and I no longer have to clean lint out of your wrist rolls. I hope that you will gain some of that chub back just because it is so cute but we will have to see.

Darling Sawyer, you are nine months old. It is crazy to think that you have now been outside of me for as long as you were inside of me. What a joy you are to us. You make us laugh all day long. Even when we are upset with you (when you bite mommy or wake up several times at night) it is impossible to stay mad at you longer then 3 seconds because you give your little smirky smile and we have to smile back. You have so much personality now and are accomplishing so much these days. It seems that every day you are doing something new. Here are some of the things you are up to at nine months...

• you have two bottom teeth which we brush with a real toothbrush every night (and some mornings)
• you love to "dance" with Daddy. He holds you up to do Puffy Cheek time and then you do the Tango (sort of). It makes you smile so big
• you can get into a sitting up position all by yourself and now when I look in on you, you are almost always sitting up in your crib
• you really crawled for the first time on April 6th at Grandma Lila and Papa's house. We were so proud and we all clapped for you
• Daddy says that you actually crawled a couple days earlier when you two were on the bed together but I didn't see it so it doesn't count  :)
• you enjoy sucking on the pack-n-play where the mesh meets the fabric. It gives you the silliest squishy nose
• you like when I read you stories. You help turn the pages and push the books off the stack
• you did not want to sit still for your nine month pictures
• you learned how to crawl over pillows on the bed while we were in Las Vegas. It hurt and you cried for a while, poor little guy
• you got to meet Great Grandma Pennington (Paul's Mom) and four of your cousins for the first time
• you have really been enjoying blowing raspberries lately including during mealtimes
• you had your first major sickness. We finally figured it out and took you to instacare. I was oblivious for several days because you were so happy. It took a lot of throwing up to clue me in. Sorry. But it was a stomach virus
• you wear 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers
• you eat finger foods now. At your 9 month appt I still wasn't giving them to you because you would gag on them. But the very next week you figured it out. 
• you especially like Aunt Kathy's rolls (which is just as it should be)
• you still love bath time. You like to lay on your back and splash with your feet. You like to lay on your stomach and splash with your hands. You like to sit up and splash with whatever you are holding. I'm sensing a pattern.  :)
• you enjoy scooting over to Ruby Dew's doggie door and pushing it open
• you also like to look out the sliding door at Ruby when she is laying in the sun in the mornings
• you ate some of Ruby's food for the first time, and apparently enjoyed it. I got one piece out of your mouth but a couple minutes later you were still drooling like crazy and I found a second piece in your cheek. Yum!
• you like to play with the alphabet magnets on the fridge
• you have started to play with Mommy's hair while you are nursing. You will tickle your face or try to eat it
• you have tried to give Ruby her Green Snake (her very favorite toy in the world) and she will gently take it from you now
• you really love to munch on any of Ruby's toys. Blah!
• you will look for Ruby when you get up in the morning or especially when you are in your highchair
• you wake up when you hear her so I have started taking off her collar at night so she doesn't disturb you
• you still play in your Johnny Jumper but your favorite way to play with it is when it is sitting in a pile on the ground and you drag it around
• you always want to roll over during diaper changes but about halfway through you realize that you won't win that fight so you give up
• you go down pretty easy at nap times in general and we still take most of our morning naps together. It is a special time for us
• when you are really tired Daddy will sometimes hold you down/snuggle you in bed. You will be pretty upset about it but then you'll fall asleep mid-cry
• you like to touch the plants in your room whenever we open or close the blinds
• you like to suck on the Vaseline jar at night. It calms you down
• you have pulled yourself up on the bottom stair a couple of times now. It makes us nervous because it is on the tile and we worry that you will slip and crack your sweet head. And you even got one knee up there the last time. Yikes!
• you pulled yourself to a standing position for the first time on April 2nd. You were in your crib and you were so proud! You stayed standing for about five minutes
• you are a bit of a Mommy's boy right now and I LOVE it! But Daddy is the one who calms you down at night
• We have started a new bedtime ritual because our old one wasn't working anymore. Now we give you a bath and then do the pj's thing. Then we nurse and then I read you a story. It takes a while right now but I don't mind

Like I said, you have become a busy little bee. We are so proud of you and all the things you are learning. We love you so very much!