NINE Months

My baby is NINE MONTHS old.......... He is growing way too quickly. Someone needs to slow this train down!!

Ryan keeps saying "he's almost a year!" Ummm...no. Not quite. Not in MY book.

As usual, this has been quite the month. In fact, the last couple DAYS have been huge!! Let's try for a quick list....

Aiden's favorite things...

• Cell phones! Or any phone, really, but especially the cell. I keep mine next to the bed - sometimes on the bed and next to my pillow (in case I need a light suddenly in the middle of the night - with Aiden next to me, you never know). His face lights up when we call Time&Temp in the mornings and it's on speaker phone. He knows not to put it in his mouth now. He used to try, and I would say "ah!" (or "nah!"), and he would jump and stop. Then try again...repeat cycle. He finally realized what it meant and doesn't try anymore. :)
• Food. Any kind of food. And NOW - finger foods! This kid loves to eat! And just about anything you put in front of him, too. Even a new food - he won't make a face like "what's that?" - just eats it like he always has been!
• Wooden Toys. These are apparently the best to chew on. So I've heard - and so he shows us. He will put the plastic toys aside and go for the wooden ones nine times out of ten. Actually - more often, but you get the point.
• Water - as in the water you GET IN. He really likes swim time. And he loves, loves (loves!) showers! He will try to drink the water. He'll sit in the water when Mommy showers in the mornings. He thinks it's all kinds of fun. Doesn't even mind getting it in his face. (He loves the kind of water you drink, too.) He also likes taking a bath in the BIG tub - especially when Camden joins him (Camden has been waiting and waiting to do this! He loves his little brother so much!!!).
• Our faces. He loves to grab at our noses and mouths. Fun for him. Not always for us. When I say grabs - I mean grabs and pinches and twists... I think he's trying to get us back for all those times we try to clean out his snotty nose.
• Camden. Oh my how Camden can make him laugh by doing almost nothing!
• Other people. He will stare at anybody that walks by. Today, while in a card shop, I had him in the Ergo carrier on my front - he was trying to bend over backwards to look at people and was just grinning at everyone, even if they weren't looking at him! (He really could have just turned his head to see them, but apparently it was more fun to bend back as far as he could.)
• Kissing. This kid can kiss! If you say "kisses" or especially "awww..." he will lean over, mouth wide open (of course!), and give the best kiss ever. He really loves to kiss on Camden. He'll just lean towards him and kiss anywhere on his face - or shoulder or whatever else he can get to. (I'm telling you, he is crazy for his big brother!) He is the sweetest thing ever. And will kiss over and over and over. He also likes to kiss himself in the mirror.
• Teething tablets. He learned quickly that he could eat those things. And was hooked after the first few. I don't know what it is about them...
• Mom. He's just a little attached.

Watching Camden - he watches every little thing he does!

Aiden loves scratching things - like the chair in the picture here

Things Aiden does NOT like...

• Being laid on his belly - most times he doesn't like it. Exceptions are if it's on one of us while lying down or if he's ready to go to sleep. He would rather sit. Or be held. Or roll around because HE chooses to, not because you put him there.
• Mom leaving his sight. Really not a fan.
• Teething. Not when there are four at a time, at least. One...he's ok with.
• Having toys taken out of his hands (or anything he's found that he shouldn't have).
• Sunglasses on his face. He has no problem with a hat - but there will be no sunglasses. They come RIGHT off. A hat - he never tries to remove. (I wonder if he'll be like Camden, who wouldn't go anywhere without a hat until he was at least five or so... He won't wear one now, but it was the cutest thing ever!)
• Having to wait more than a couple seconds when he wants Mommy to nurse him. He knows what he wants and he wants it now.
  

As you can tell, the list of things he likes is much, much bigger than the things he doesn't like. He's a really easy and happy baby most of the time! (We do NOT take this for granted.)

New developments this past month...

• Aiden can do the sign for milk now.
• He's been pulling himself up onto his hands and knees for a while. He can push himself forward if he is lying down, too. But he can't do both at the same time yet. He'll be crawling VERY soon! Sometimes when we lie him down for a nap - if he's not ready, he'll get mad and get up on his hands and knees and rock a lot. But he isn't happy about it!
• He went from lying down on his belly to sitting today!
• Aiden is now napping better after our Naptime Boot Camp (Attachment Parenting Style) week last week.
• When we pick Aiden up, he will pat our shoulders - just like when we pat his back when he's upset or sleepy. It's very cute!
• When we go to pick him up, Aiden will lift his hands up for us.
• He learned in one day how to pick up finger foods and get them to his mouth. He tried yesterday and was struggling, but he would open his mouth and try to get it to our hands...hoping we would just put the food in. Today, he got it. As soon as he managed to get a couple pieces in there - he was sold!
• THREE teeth came in over the course of 2 days - well, probably within 24 hours, actually (two were in the middle of the night - not a very fun night). Aiden has a total of 6 teeth in so far. One tooth is still about to come through, any day now.

Weighing in....
19lbs 11oz
28 1/2 inches
We're getting ready to order Aiden's new car seat... We got an infant carrier that goes up to 30lbs and 30 inches. He's about to outgrow it with his height.
Aiden did get one shot this month - Polio. It's the only new one he's had since...well, since he was just a few months old. He cried more when I laid him down on the table than from the shot itself. As soon as I picked him up, he was smiling again.