9 months old

9 months old... wow, what a treat. Nathan has changed so much in the last month and it has all happened before our eyes.

I admit, I cheated. I wrote this post on Thursday night, anticipating that we wouldn't have internet in the new house until next week sometime. Therefore, I'll post a huge update on life in the new house once we're in and have internet... in the mean time, here's where we are and what he's doing...

Food: Nathan still loves to eat and still eats just about anything. He's really enjoying finger foods and feeds himself quite well. He eats cubed butternut squash, tomato pieces, avocado, peaches, banana, blueberries, crackers, breads, and the staple... cheerios. He has a hard time with foods that squish in his hand, like tofu, because it breaks all up when he squeezes it. He has this cute method of grabbing it with his right palm and then squeezing it up so that it comes up between his thumb and first finger. Then he eats it. Too cute. He's recently tried black beans, pickles, sticky rice, broccoli, and edemame. He enjoyed the black beans and pickles, but the sticky rice was a little tough as a finger food. The edemame would have been great had it been cooked more. It was a little hard for him to chew. Pureed broccoli is just nasty and since he's doing so well with chewing, we'll try some overcooked broccoli instead of the nasty purred kind. At the moment, his favorite foods are salmon (the kind I cook and then give him as opposed to pureed), tofu, peaches, sweet potatoes, avocado, blueberries, bananas, yogurt, and cheerios. Another new favorite: frozen bluberry eggo waffles cut into long strips. They are so good for teething! Nathan drinks water and pure carrot juice. He's not a big fan of apple juice or pear juice, but that's okay with me. He's drinking well out of a sippy cup too!

Growth: I'll have Nathan's official weights on Tuesday after the doctors appointment... but in the mean time, any guesses on height and weight?

Language: Nathan's first official word (according to our family's definition of a "word") is "bye bye" and he says it a lot. He also says ball, more, mama, and has said dada in the past, although he's certainly not aware of who mama and dada are. He is signing "more" independently (although sometimes he needs verbal or physical prompting) and we are working on milk, Bailey, all done, eat, please, and ball. Nathan will look toward both Bailey and the ball when asked to find them. He is also waving bye bye to everyone on command and sometimes just out of the blue. He's very interested in what we are saying and studies our mouths when we talk.

Movement: We are officially crawling these days too. Nathan has been army crawling for some time now, but in the last week, he's started crawling on all fours. When he wants to go somewhere fast, he just army crawls, but he is able to crawl on all fours and does is often. Sometimes he crawls on two hands, a knee and a foot. Kinda cute! Nathan pulls up on everything he can find: people, containers, appliances, stairs, boxes, crib rails, dressers, cabinets, Bailey... anything. He has developed better balance in the last month too. He can stand while holding onto an object with just one hand and on one occasion, has let go with both hands and stood there for about a second. When you hold his hands, he will walk as well. He can easily climb over objects and seems to have the concept of crawling up stairs (however he is not at all safe when doing this... we'll see how well he does at the new house). He kneels to play often as well. He's also very fast and changes direction on a dime. He loves the house because there's so much room!

Swimming: Many have joked that Nathan might be the next Michael Phelps... and that wouldn't be too bad huh? No pressure little man! Nathan has no fear in the water and is eager to be in it. He has no problem with being splashed in the face, going under, or accidentally toppling over. He still swallows some water sometime, but laughs as he coughs. He can "float" underwater and grab the step and pull his head above water and crawl up on to it. He floats well between adults when under water. A week ago, he was sitting on the side of the pool and leaned in, went under and floated to me... and didn't even swallow any water. We're working on turning to an adult or a step for safety while underwater, and this will take some time to master. He does well so far though. This kid is a natural in the water and I'm so thankful for this! He is beginning to pull up on our t-shirts when he's under the water, or reach out for our hands.

Temperament: Mr. Social! Nathan loves to flirt with people and shows very little shyness around strangers. He'll go to anyone and has no problem when we leave him with a babysitter or when he's passed between us. In general, he is happy and even tempered... unless he's tired or wants what he can't have (which happens often). We're learning the meaning of the word "no" and the consequences of touching what is off limits. Discipline is not easy, but the training is so necessary! He's rarely ever still yet enjoys sitting in a stroller, shopping cart, high chair, or the baby bjorn for extended amounts of time. He loves to observe the world around him and doesn't miss much!

Sleeping: Nathan is pretty consistent these days. He sleeps until 7am ish and then plays in his crib until 730am (unless he wakes up early due to an overly wet diaper). He naps from 10-12 and 3-5 (give or take 15 minutes). He goes to bed at 730pm. While consistent, he's also amazingly flexible and easily adapts to changes in his schedule (especially his bed time and morning nap time). Nathan goes down for naps and to bed pretty easy, although sometimes he tries to communicate that he wants mom and dad by throwing his paci out of the bed, standing at the rail and screaming. If we come in the room, he reaches for us and looks for the paci. We go into his room at 5, 10, and 15 minute intervals if he has trouble going to sleep, but rarely ever pick him up out of the crib once he's in it. He loves to snuggle with his blankie and sleeps on his tummy with his little butt up in the air! Precious!

Favorite things: zippers, strings, straps, books, small balls, Bailey, going for walks, cords (no no), paper, cloth bags, tupperware

Here are some recent pics...

Climbing and playing with a box and ball


Loving time with Granny ShaSha. She and Grandpa are here for a week (pics of Grandpa to come) and he's loving the time with them!


Eating some favorite foods



Playdate with Colton (who's now crawling and has two teeth!)