Living the Life and Loving It!: 8/9 Months Old!!

Okay, yes, I am kind of cheating and combining his 8 months and 9 months posts together, but with all the packing, moving, resettling, and general mayhem that was going on during those two months, I barely had time to take pictures or mark any major milestones. :( Maybe that makes me a terrible mother, but we all made it to Arkansas in one piece, with everything with needed for the next three months, so I think everything worked out alright.

So, for his 8th and 9th month of life, nothing terribly exciting was going on. Mommy was so busy packing and cleaning that Barrett was not able to do much except play and eat. We didn't even have the chance to take his pictures in his monthly onsies - we've been busy!

Here are his nine months stats:

Weight: 20 lbs, 15 oz

Length: 30 inches

Head Circumference: 18 inches

Compared to his six month stats:

Weight: 17 lbs, 6 oz

Length: 27.7 inches

Head Circumference: 17.5 inches

Things he's been doing by 9 months:

Eating solids...

He's getting really good at feeding himself, and he is able to eat a lot of solid foods now! He is pretty good at picking up little pieces of food and chewing them before he swallows. His favorite foods to feed himself are cherries, black beans, lima beans, banana, peas, and black-eyed peas. He will also devour pieces of chicken and broccoli if you put it in front of him! He is also still eating the pureed baby food I am making for him. He is eating butternut squash, acorn squash, zucchini, strawberries, apples, pears, kiwi, eggplant, and carrots on a regular basis! Peaches make him break out in a rash, so we stay away from those. Otherwise, he can eat just about anything! He has four 6oz bottles a day, along with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and one (or two) snacks (depending on nap times). He usually takes one 2 - 2.5 hour nap a day, usually around 11am. On the days when he gets up earlier than 7am, he will most likely take two naps or just be REALLY cranky towards the end of the day!

Getting more independent...

He wants to feed himself and gets upset when he can't. We are starting to teach him how to use a spoon by himself, as he seems interested in trying! We are also starting to use cups and straws a little more often, just for practice, so when we need to wean off the bottles in a few months, it won't be TOO traumatic.

Getting pretty good at holding his own bottle...

Getting into just about EVERYTHING...

That army crawl can really get him places now!! And he can get into anything in just about a second. Here, he was pulling all the silverware out of the dishwasher...

He also found all of the outlets. Time for some serious baby proofing!!

I am still not sure how he did this...

...or this...

It's really funny when he crawls into things and then gets stuck. He kind of whimpers and cries a bit, indicating to whoever's listening that he is stuck and he doesn't like it, but then he wiggles around and bangs his head on the bar/chair/whatever he's stuck on a few times until it moves or it hurts too much to do it anymore. With a little coaxing and direction, he can usually get out on his own.

Barrett was SO helpful when I was cleaning out closets and getting stuff ready for the movers and packers. I was standing up on the stool, organizing some stuff on the shelves above, and I looked down to find this mess. He had ripped that wrapping paper into pieces and was banging the cardboard around on the floor and walls. This throughly entertained him for over 30 minutes, so I just let him play and cleaned it up afterwards.

Exploring Florida...

Barrett took his first trip in an airplane for our first house-hunting excursion to Florida! He did great and is literally the best traveller ever. He was quiet for 98% of the trip and was just an angel through the hustle and bustle of the airport. We had a delay on our first flight out of Del Rio and didn't arrive in Florida until 11pm. Then, we had to rent a car and drive another 30 minutes to our hotel. He melted down about 11:45pm (totally understandable!!), but until then, he was just as sweet as can be! He smiled and laughed at other passengers on the plane, and when we went through a rough patch of turbulence, he just giggled and squealed and thought it was the funniest thing he had ever experienced. Later that week, he went to the beach for the first time and just loved playing in the sand and letting the water wash up on him. He's going to love living there!!

Waving to just about anyone or anything...

He will almost do the wave on command, and it's more of a whole arm wiggle than just a wave, but he is really starting to get it!!

Pulling himself to standing...

He is REALLY good at getting up off the floor and standing on his legs. Sometimes, he will even let go with one hand and just balance with only one hand on the couch!

Slowly outgrowing his crib...

After coming in to find him hanging almost completely out of his crib after a nap, it was time to lower the mattress as far as it would go!

And outgrowing pretty much all of his baby things!!

He still loves to play in his bouncer, but he has outgrown his infant car seat, all his infant seats, the bumbo, and his swing. He is wearing 6-12 month clothing, but it starting to creep up into the 18 month clothing as well. He's still wearing size three diapers.

More cuteness from 8 and 9 months: