Nine months in, 9 months out, Buddy! Well, not exactly. More like 8 months and 1 week in, 9 months out! Three cheers for cutting that whole process short!
20 lb 7 oz. 50th percentile
28 1/4 in. 50th percentile
head circumference 45.5 cm
I absolutely adore this age! They are able to be educated, ie. "soooo BIG" and waving bye bye. They start to babble sounds that actually represent words. Stranger anxiety/shyness sets in and bloats a mama's ego realizing that her baby actually really does love her. He puts his head down, smiles and bats his lashes at strangers. The variety of table foods offered increases and they become mobile! Just last night, Benham started crawling. More like a chest to ground army crawl but he can actually cover some distance. A slow start to this milestone but then again, I think Maryn only crawled for a month before she started walking. I have enjoyed the extended pleasure of being able to leave him in a room while I go fold laundry and return to find him happy as a clam where I left him. And last week, he learned to put himself into a sitting position from his belly. He started walking behind his little wagon a couple weeks ago and now that's all he wants to do. Loves avocado, tofu, green beans and chicken. Says bye-bye often, dada every once in awhile and mama maybe three times so far. His fuzzy hair spreads joy to all!
Go ahead, prick your finger with that straight pin...don't say I never told you to behave.
*Touchdown*
These two are always up to no good!
Meeting new friends.
He's not around babies often and wasn't sure if Lane was real.
We started Kindermusik last week and the combination of loud musical instruments and children his age is right up his alley.
This Haba walker is the best and even allows Maryn to push him! If you're in the market for a good solid walker that won't tip and has some controlled resistance of the wheels this is the walker!
Most of the time she can't get enough of him, but the other day she told us how she really felt. Benham was being fussy and she looked at him and very matter-of-factly said, "Benham, you always do this, you're so obnoxious". Hmm. I didn't interject because a: she used the phrase appropriately in context and b: she was right.
Just checking his stocks and status updates on Facebook.
9 months is also a big deal because in our house, we learn to get rid of bottles. I start sippy cups at 5-6 months and basically its a trial and error stage to find the brand that they do well with. By the time they're 10 months, bottles are packed up and they breastfeed morning and night and get two sippy cups of formula/breastmilk during the day. I have always felt that the window between 10-12 months is crucial for preventing long term habits like bottle and pacifier addiction. Once they hit that year mark, they know what they want and it only gets more difficult to break it. Granted, getting rid of bottles in a breastfed baby is probably a lot easier than an exclusive bottle fed baby but it's all about taking the initiative as the parent and making the decision. I remember seeing pictures of Suri Cruise in magazines when she was 4 years old, carrying a bottle! That's just weird and really bad for their teeth. We all have our quirks and that's one of mine. This was last month and the early stages of sippy boot camp *note the humongous smile and the sense of independence on this child's face*.
I have such big dreams for this little girl.
I would totally marry this guy. According to Maryn, that sort of thing is acceptable. She asked her daddy at the dinner table last week if he would marry her. He of course accepted the proposal and left me in the dust. She kisses him "like Jasmine and Aladdin do"...tilts her head, places her hands on his face and holds the kiss for a good 10 seconds. Today, she told me that "when I'm Jasmine's age I can kiss a boy"! If Jasmine is 25 then she's correct.
Another end to another beautiful day in this place we call home.
Little Man walking with his new wagon that Poppop Loeps got him. I think Maryn was a couple weeks younger than Ben when she started doing this but it still just looks so silly to see such a mini person walking! Such joy! The pride oozes from his fat roles. (please excuse the lack of cabinet doors. we are in the process of refinishing them and by 'we', I mean Mac:) )
