9 Months Baby!

Our little man is 9 months old today. Charlie will probably never, ever know how much he means to his Mommy and Daddy. He is the best little baby. We frequently are amazed at how deep our love is for this little guy.

It seems that Charlie is constantly changing and learning new things. Some memorable moments he has had in the last month include:

** Learning to move from laying on his belly to sitting up, all on his own.

** ALMOST crawling. Any day now, we keep saying. He's up on all fours now and then the little guy just collapses.

** He continues to roll around EVERYWHERE!

** If you sit and watch him playing on the floor, you can see him zero in on something across the room, then position himself in the right direction and start rolling to the intended target. He's really good at using his arms to move himself around to the position or angle he wants to be at.

** He continues to sleep a minimum of 10 hours a night.

** He is eating 3 meals a day now and taking much less formula. It's usually in the range of 20 - 28 oz. a day.

** He is really good at standing if we put in that position, but doesn't seem to have an interest in pulling to stand on his own yet.

** He frequently gets told "NO, NO!" Normally, he is taking something from the coffee table he shouldn't have, pulling on the drapes or pulling on my hair or ears. Sometimes he laughs and sometimes he cries. We think there is some level of understanding there, but it doesn't stop him from trying!

** He has already enjoyed a few stroller rides through the neighborhood this year on some delightful, warm days. Stroller rides don't seem to make him tired anymore as he is very interested in his surroundings now.

** He does alot of talking when he is comfortable around the people he is with. While he babbles alot, bababa, gagaga, dadadada are some favorites. Most of the time it means nothing, but from time to time, he associates bababa with bottle and dadadda with Kenny.

** He is GREAT at rolling trucks back and forth with you and recently has added rolling balls back and forth. A few nights ago, instead of rolling a ball to Daddy, he handed it to him and laughed and then Daddy gave it back to him and he continued to hand it back to him several times.

**He wears a range of sizes now, some 6-12 month stuff still, but mostly 9-12 months or 12-18 months. He continues to grow out of clothes length wise quickly.

** He only got one shot for this doctor's visit and a finger prick for an iron test. Both only resulted in some very minor crying in comparison to previous visits. His iron level is on the high end of normal -- good news!

** He continues to show signs of teething, but no teeth are visable yet.

** He has enjoyed several tastes or meals that include "non" baby food. Pasta with Nona's homemade sauce, cheese, pancake, mashed potatoes and a few others. We are working on a slow move towards "non" baby food.

** He has just recently figured out how to pick up a puff (or other food) from his tray and get into his mouth successfully.

** Best of all, we KNOW he loves his Mommy and Daddy as much as they love him!