Nine Months Old

Our little boy is nine months old today, though he's not so little anymore! At our doctor's appointment today he weighed 18 pounds 10 ounces, and he was 30 inches long. The doctor says all his motor skills look good, and he's exactly where he should be for his age. He did all his latest tricks for her: He squealed and screeched with delight, squirmed and rolled over and over, and stood tall and proud on his strongs legs. He didn't need any shots today, so it was a painless visit. She said we could start him on meats and food from our table, so he had bits of chicken tonight which he ate heartily. I'm looking forward to buying less formula and preparing less pureed baby food. He's a delightful boy who seems happy most all the time, and his little smile will melt your heart. He loves to make noises, including squeals and screams, word sounds that resemble "ma-ma" and "da-da," and big raspberries which drench himself with spit. We don't allow him to blow raspberries while he's eating, but he more than makes up for it all other times.

He grabs for everything now, and his reach is quicker and longer than I'm used to. He wouldn't just sit beside his friends this time for his photo shoot, so I resigned myself to most of his pictures having Simon in his lap.