9 Months Old

Love that Sweet Potato Hair Gel

9 Months old....where did the time go? I can't believe that Will is at this milestone already. We went Monday for his 9 month check up and here are the stats:

Weight: 20 lbs 6 oz- 65%

Height: 27 3/4 inches-25%

Head: 18 1/4 inches-86%

This was our first "well" visit at the new pediatricians and it went great! Will showed off all his tricks for the doctor and is officially-"right on track".

At 9 months, Will is crawling everywhere. He still prefers to be in the "army crawl" because he can move faster, but he is able to get up on all fours and rock a little and even take a few "crawls". He usually ends up dropping back to his belly to get right to where he wants to be. He is very fast and is quickly gone in a flash and "into trouble". He can pull himself to standing and has taken 2 cruising steps while standing at Jack's train table. He has only been doing this for about a week, but already he has gone from pulling himself up occasionally to doing it at every chance he gets. He loves to stand at the ottoman and band the remotes on the top or together. He continues to babble ALL THE TIME. It is so sweet to hear. In the mornings when I am nursing him in the rocking chair in our room, he will sometimes stop eating and start, in a whisper, saying "Dadadada". It is so sweet, as if he is calling Tom, but knows that it is still early. 

As you can tell by his weight, he is an eater. There is not a food that he has met that he doesn't like. I am definitely more adventurous in what I give him. With Jack I was terrified of him choking. I stuck to pureed baby food and that was it. I hated that there was no "set diet/menu" for me to follow. I felt lost. I needed someone to tell me what to feed and when. This time is so different. I love mixing up different things for Will and trying them out. If they don't work, oh well, I move on to something else. I give him mostly table food and very little baby food. I just chop everything up really small and make sure it is as mushy as possible. We got the ok from the doctor to try eggs and Will LOVES them. It is a nice change of pace and great new protein to add to his diet. This week he got Gramma's Mac and Cheese for the first time and couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough. 

Jack's new favorite show is called The Octonauts and is on Disney Junior. Will also seems to enjoy this show. Whenever it comes on he instantly starts flapping his arms around or clapping and squealing with delight. There is this one song that ends every episode called "The Creature Report". If he hears this, but can not see it, he drops whatever he is doing or getting into and starts frantically crawling towards the TV, so he can sit up and clap. It is hysterical! We rewind and replay "The Creature Report" over and over just to see his reaction. 

Our newest challenge has been separation anxiety. I know that this is the perfect age for it to set in, and I am sure that my watching Will 100% of the time does not help the matter. The past few weeks we have been going to the Y in the morning so that I can work out. I have been leaving Jack and Will in the nursery. At first, Will cried the whole time I was working out. Now he gets a little pouty when he sees me leaving, but Phyllis, the "teacher" knows just how to distract him and then he is fine. It was really hard for me at first to see him crying when I left and when I returned, but I know he is OK and I know that I am better after I get away for a little bit and blow off some steam. All in all he is adjusting well and I hope that after this week, I can extend my time to an hour so that I can take one of the classes that the Y offers. 

And here are some more pictures of our sweet little Will!

'Look Ma, No hands!'

Orange smile!