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9 months

9 months

It seems like the older Walker gets the less time I have for posting. :) Walker is now 9 months old (and will actually be 10 months in a few days!). This month has been full of exciting changes for Walker. He is 20.3 lbs (50%)and 27 1/2 (75%) inches tall. He has grown 10 inches since birth and gained 15 lbs. It's hard to believe, now, that I was so stressed about him eating enough when he was first born! And speaking of eating, this child can eat!! I have yet to find anything he doesn't like (knock on wood!) and I have had to increase his food intake quite a bit this month. We now have 3 teeth (2 on bottom and 1 on top) which make it easier for him to eat crackers and more "solid" foods now. We also introduced pasta this month and he ate a little but is still not sure about it. I think the texture is so different for him. He eats 5 bottles a day @ 6 oz. each and the occasional bottle during the night when he's going through a growth spurt. That was happening quite often for a few nights so we gradually increased his solids during the day and that has helped. But teeth have also kept us up at night some. He finally cut his tooth on the top so he has had some relief the past week. Thankfully, though, he sleeps through the night the majority of the time. He goes down about 6:30 and usually wakes up around 5:30-6. He plays in his crib until 6:30 when I get him up to get ready. He's also started sucking on his thumb in the last week or so which I am doing my best to discourage. We still have the paci and I plan on keeping it around until he's at least a year old and maybe longer... We've also started introducing a sippy cup with water or formula and he's not too crazy about it. He will play with it and bring it to his mouth with both hands but he just chews on the spout.
Walker has developed quite the personality and gets more hilarious and cute every day. He talks all the time now and has even learned to yell (or shriek). He does this fairly often, especially when he's not getting enough attention or he wants something or he doesn't like something you've done...really quite a bit. He's not upset when he does this, it's just his way of expressing his wants/needs. However, it does scare us sometimes when he does it. He also loves to imitate sounds that people make. He says da-da quite frequently and mama when he's mad or wants my attention.
In motor skills, he has started crawling and "cruising" and can pull up to stand next to anything. He loves to crawl all over anything and everything. We finally had to put up baby gates and baby proof EVERYTHING because this child is curious. However, we have started using the "N-O" word in our house and he understands what it means and will obey the majority of the time (and yes I realize I probably just jinxed myself). He is quite sneaky and if we've told him not to touch something or go somewhere he will go sit right beside said object/place and just wait for our attention to be diverted. He's also been known to throw his toy into a forbidden area just so he "has to go get it!" I'm a little nervous that he's already learning tricks at such a young age.
This month has been the most amazing month. It seems like Walker has gone from a baby to a little boy right before our eyes. In a months' time he has become so much more mobile; it makes me cry to think of how quickly the baby phase is passing us by. I just love being his mommy! He is such a happy, loving and FUN little boy!