Ethan at Nine Months

Little boy is a whopping nine months! I cannot believe we are three quarters of the way through his first year.  Here's the monthly update on our little super baby.


He can:

Stand up.  Which he does all the time.  On every single possible thing imaginable.  Even the toilet, which Mama explained is not a toy. Super, super gross. ;)

Cruise.  E will move along the couches, his crib, his pack and play, the tv stand, and most other objects that he can hold with his hands and move along.  I have to admit, it is pretty cute to watch him on the baby monitor cruising along the rim of his crib, and to see his little hands reaching out to grab onto that next object.

Walk, with his push walker, independently.  He will pull up on his walker to standing, and then push it around the living room.  He doesn't go all over the place yet, and isn't super fast, but he can definitely do it.  So far we've gotten about 15 steps or so at a time, and this is all by himself with me across the room.  He'll also push his other walker (the one he is supposed to sit in) around the kitchen, totally not using it how he's supposed to, but that's okay.  He even still beeps the little horn, ha.




















Wave.  Although it's not directly to people and not at the right times, he can do it.  He mostly chooses to wave at ceiling fans and lights, go figure.  He is getting better at waving back when we wave to him, although at this point he still doesn't wave to people when we're out and about.


Blow raspberries and bubbles like a champ.  If it were an Olympic sport, he would win gold medal, for sure.  It cracks us up to hear him in his carseat (and everywhere else!) just blowing raspberries to himself for minutes on end.


Climb stairs.  This isn't new, he could do this last month, but he's gotten good at it to the point where it is easy for him and one of his favorite things to do.

Dance.  Hilarious!  He'll bounce up and down while listening to music or if I tap out a beat.  We were rocking out to "Blurred Lines" just today! Lol.


Use his sippy cup by himself.  Love it!

He has:

Two teeth!  The bottom left tooth sprouted at the beginning of the month, and just last week the bottom right tooth popped through.  So cute!  He handled teething like a champ, too, with only a day of minimal fussing before each tooth.

Some stranger anxiety, which bums us out.  He doesn't like it when new people try to hold him (some people go better than others), and if someone he doesn't know sits in the back seat of the car with him he freaks out.  He definitely likes knowing Mike and I are nearby.

A bit of a cold, poor boy.  Full on congestion in his nose, alternating between stuffy and super runny, and a bit of a cough.

He eats:

About 12 - 20 ounces of solid food a day, supplemented with bottles.  He likes any flavor puree pouch we give him, and loves key lime flavored Greek yogurt (although he'll eat any flavor except the orange creamsicle and blueberry).  Our typical feeding schedule is bottle in the morning, a Greek yogurt for a mid-morning snack, bottle for lunch, a pouch for an afternoon snack, a bottle and 1 - 2 pouches for dinner, and then a small bottle before bed.  I can't even say what his favorite flavors are because he'll eat all of them with no problem and doesn't really show a preference.

He still does not like anything chunky in texture, although we are making progress in this area.  He will chew on orange wedges, pickles, asparagus, chicken, and cucumbers.  I'm not sure how much he's actually swallowing, although he is getting some.  He gets the most of the orange wedges, for sure - he can chew off and swallow most of the flesh.  I'm just super happy he's willing to put those things in his mouth and actually seems interested in "eating" them.  He also eats guacamole, refried beans, and some chicken and stars soup.  We're getting there, slowly but surely!

He sleeps:

Through the night, as per usual.  He goes to bed between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm (closer to 9:30 is the norm) and then sleeps until anywhere from 5:30 am to 6:30 am, wakes for a bottle, and then goes back to bed until around 8:00 am.  Last month I thought he was weaning himself from that early morning feeding since he would skip it every other night or so, but we're back on them now.  Growth spurt maybe?  We only skipped one or two of them the whole month this time.

On his belly mostly, with his butt up in the air.  He now will sometimes sleep on his side, too.

With a bib clutched in his hand and twilight turtle on.

He wears:

Size 12 month mostly, although he can still fit some size 9 month t-shirts.  He's all stocked up for the fall and winter with size 12 - 18 month clothes, which should last awhile.

He went:

To Los Angeles for a weekend!  The flight out did not go well, he was so tired and couldn't get comfortable, so he cried for about 20 minutes.  The flight home went great, he fell asleep on Mike and slept the entire way home.  He had fun crawling around and exploring the hotel room, and went all over the city.  He did great being off of his normal schedule, although really he goes with us everywhere so this wasn't too different.  Our little jet setter has already been on two flights, and we have another one coming up before his first birthday!


He plays:

With his activity table, he loves, loves, loves it.

With his push walker and his sit-in walker.  I have to mention, when he is in his sit-in walker, he actually turns the steering wheel, beeps the horn, and when he backs up, he looks behind him and puts his arm over the back, just like he is going in reverse in a real car.  I kid you not, it is hysterical to watch.

With his wooden puzzle toys.

With his play tunnel, although his favorite thing to do is go under it.


















At Gymboree every Friday.  We switched to the music class.  Of course we love it, we get to dance and sing!

Peek-a-boo with Mama and Daddy, although he is the one who lifts the blanket over his face and lowers it down, over and over.  So.stinking.cute!

With any door that will open, such as cabinet doors, buffet doors, built in doors, the doors on our media table, dresser drawers, etc.  He'll sometimes even pull things out, if anything strikes his fancy.

He loves:

Mama's keys.

The inside of the refrigerator.

Standing, cruising, climbing, and being active.

Yogurt.

Twilight turtle.

Sitting in highchairs.

Sitting in shopping cart seats.

Roughhousing with Daddy.

When Mama makes funny faces or animal noises.

Exploring.

He hates:

Getting his nose cleaned or getting his face wiped off after meals.  Nothing even compares to this, it is like pure torture for him.

Staying still.

The ice machine on our fridge, the one where you get ice from the door.  If he is in his walker he'll actually zoom away from the noise.  It totally freaks him out.

He is:

The best, sweetest, most adorable, loving, and wonderful baby a Mama and Daddy could ask for!