So I am not sure the above picture is the best picture but I was having an incredibly difficult time getting you to stay still! It's just not your thing....
Yeah, you are all over. And you love playing with balls. You love soccer balls and footballs...you get so excited when you get it and you try and pass it to me.
So let's get down to it!
We are really digging this age! You are so interactive and fun. Sometimes I just like to sit and watch you explore because you are so squishy and cute and everything you do is so darn adorable. You always turn back around to find me almost like you are saying "Hey mom, follow me".
Eating:
You nurse 3-4 times a day and get one bottle of breast milk or formula before bed.
Feedings are a little odd and not completely consistent. You usually wake up between 7 and 8am and I nurse you. This use to be my most successful feeding but you don't seem to eat much. You are so darn eager to start playing that it only takes about 5 minutes. After you nurse we play for a little bit in your room and then head downstairs so I can get things going for breakfast. Around 8am your brother gets up so we go and get him then you guys have breakfast together.
Around 9:30 you are tired and go down for your first nap. This is usually your best nap and it can last 2-3 hours. (
It sounds good in theory but somedays it's difficult because basically when you get up Ryan needs to go down and that means mommy is stuck at home all day and does not have any time to herself to get anything done. And that's why the laundry piles up pretty consistently. but enough of that.) Anyhow, when you wake up I nurse you again and then we usually play with Ryan for a little bit and have lunch. Once Ryan goes down (around 12:45/1pm) we have some time to play together again. Then you tend to go down for another nap around 2 or 3pm and its usually an hour or maybe a little longer. It's nice when you both are up at 4pm because we can get out and do an afternoon activity - like music, swimming, or playdates. I hate having to wake you up but I would say that definitely happens a lot more with you than I ever did with Ryan. I nurse you one last time around 4 or sometimes 5:30pm.
We try and eat as a family around 6:15 or 6:30 depending on when daddy gets home from work. You eat anything and everything which is awesome.
(One of the things I am trying to work on is giving you a larger variety of food so we don't get stuck in the same ol rut and that's another post I am working on.)
After dinner you, daddy and Ryan play while I clean up the kitchen. Then around 7:15 daddy takes y'all upstairs for a bath! Sometimes you guys take a bath together but more often than not you go first and then Ryan gets in after...and you try and get back in because you love it so much. We hang out in Ryan's room and play and read books. I usually give you most of your bottle and then we head to your room and I turn the lights down and your sound machine on to give you the rest. Most nights I can drop you right into the crib after and you will fall asleep but we definitely have had a few nights where I feel like I just gave you a cup of coffee. Luckily it takes about another 15 minutes of running around and then we try again successfully.
Milestones/Sizing:
You are pulling up on everything
Crawling like a mad man
Six teeth (four on top and two on bottom)
Wearing 12 month clothing
You will say Mama, Dada and Ball
Still trying to teach you how to wave and clap - haven't quite masted it yet!
Love:
- The pool & splashing. Your brother was never a huge fan of water on your face...but you don't seem to mind it. You love splashing and getting crazy in the water.
- Bath time - again, with the splashing. Once you get out you will crawl back over, pull yourself up on the side of the tub and lean over to try and grab a toy and splash with it. I really need to snap a picture of you doing this because it's pretty darn cute seeing your little backside and the effort you make to try and get a toy.
- Eating - you really love it. You want to feed yourself which is nice but you are incredibly messy. I try to give you a little bit at a time but somehow it doesn't seem to minimize the mess. I mean...it's kinda ridiculous. It's always smashed all over your face, rubbed in your hair, down your shirt....just everywhere.
- Balls - you love the ball pit and all the balls that we own. When we play and roll the ball back and forth you get so excited (obviously when you roll it back it is a little hit or miss but I do believe you are intending to roll it...you just don't know how)
- Ryan - You love playing with Ryan but sometimes its difficult because you will grab him really hard and pinch him and he isn't a huge fan of that. Or if you grab his hair (like you also tend to do with me) he doesn't really like that either. Y'all play best together when mommy or daddy is also playing - it helps minimize contact. It really is adorable to see you guys play together - I love seeing Ryan be so sweet with you!
Other
Definitely have some sort of separation anxiety? You get shy around others and sometimes won't get anyone else hold you. You tend to do ok if I am not around but once you make eye contact with me it's all over and I have to hold you. I love how much you want me...but sometimes I wish you were just a tad lighter :)
I just realized I never posted your stats from last months doctors visit on you 9 month post so I have gone back and updated it - oops! We don't go back until one year so I don't have any new ones.
You are the happiest baby that I know. I love that I can get a smile out of you so easily and I love that you are ticklish. A baby belly laughing is one of the cutest things EVER! Especially when it's my baby :)
