9 months

9 months

To Olen Ray, 

Well, it just keeps happening. YOU. KEEP. GROWING.  With each month, you learn new skills and sounds to share with us.  With each month, we try to learn a little more about being the parents God wants us to be for you.  With each month, our love for you grows and you tighten the grip you have on our hearts.  Now, it is time to share a little about this month!

Here are your stats from your 9 month appointment on 11/29:
Height: 28 inches  31%
Weight: 22 lbs 9 ozs  91%
Head Circumference: 47 cm 93%
Looks like you are going to be pretty smart based on the size of that head little boy!

Your motor skills are still on fast forward as you will cruise between chairs, people, or objects. Maybe it is appropriate that the song "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line is also played on a the radio least twenty times day. (Good thing your mommy likes the song!) The funniest thing this month was watching you learn to crawl under something. I had the dryer door open downstairs and a laundry hamper beside it. You wanted to crawl under the door to get to the clothes in the dryer.  You would get flat on your belly with your head down, kick you legs and wiggle your arms.  Nothing would happen. Repeat same motion while I giggled a loud. You did this about five times before you realized you had to stay on your knees a little to maintain the ability to move forward.  Now you crawl under everything; kitchen chairs, daddy's legs, tables, and even attempt to go under the bed (it doesn't work for you).  You like to crawl between things too, even things that you can't fit between. It is kinda funny to watch this, until you get frustrated!  Standing is  very fun for you and you like to play with your toys up on the table or couch.  You haven't shown much interest in push toys yet though, so we will see if that changes.  

Your speech sounds seem to be picking up a bit more this month. There is a definate "mama" and "dada"; both of these words you imitate. I have heard "da" for dog a few more times and even a "maw" for the cat's meow. Not sure how consistant those are though at this point.  You will hum or "sing" along to songs on the radio, music toys, and even my singing (which we all know is not very good).  A little chatter box at dinner time I must say and we LOVE all the wrods you have to contribue to our discussions.  You will smack your lips together, stick out your tongue and make a fish face when playing "funny faces" with mommy.

Let's see, you helped pick out your first Christmas tree. Well, that was the plan, but you were so tired after church that morning that you just slept through the whole experience which was a bit surprising since you normally wake up as soon as the car stops moving (note to self - don't use blog posts to show you examples of appropriate sentence length when teaching you English in a few years).  It was great fun to decorate for Christmas with you around. You  love to look at the lights on the tree, play with a Santa's sleigh, squoosh the holiday stuffed animals Mimi brought from the farm, and listen to the reindeer sing songs.  

Bathe time is still number one on your fun time list I think.  When it is time to take a bathe, I just say the word and into the bathroom you crawl!  It is rather cute to wash your naked little bottom shake and jiggle as you bounce up and down outside the bathtub while I get the water ready.  You kick and kick and kick for a few minutes before pulling on your toy bag asking for your toys to join in with the fun. Riding on daddy's shoulders will turn your fussiness off in a heartbeat!  As soon as daddy gets home from work you want him to chase your around the house too. It is fun to watch and makes  my heart smile. 

Your play skills are getting a lot more intentional as well as you are learning to put things "in".  Ms. Patti gave you a dump truck with a boulder that goes in the back for Christmas and you LOVE to put the boulder in and out.  You have been taking things out for a while (maybe since 7 months),  but putting in adds a whole new element to play time.  Cars go in and out of cups, balls go in and out of bowls, and your fingers go in and out of holes in your blocks. 

We can still get you to sit through church service, which I love, but I do realize this time may come to an end soon. You LOVE the music and bright colors on the screen, that part isn't a problem at all.  I usually  have to take you out for about 10 minutes during the sermon to nurse you, but otherwise you sit in my lap and plunder through a bag of toys and snacks I have packed for you each week.  It's fun to share church time together as a family.

Still on two naps a day, although if you take a long nap in the morning, you will fight the second nap like crazy. I have started to nurse you to sleep for both naps and bedtime again. It seems to help with resting so you don't fight it so much.  You can still fall asleep on your own though if I leave you in there long enough with some toys for entertainment.  Yes, they all still get thrown from your crib on a regular basis.  On December 20, you spent the day at Ms. Patti's so I could make up some sessions before the holidays and that night you slept from 7:30 to 7:30 without waking up at all!  Nope, it wasn't the start of sleeping that way every night, but it gives us hope that one day you will :-) Right now we just do the best we can to get your rest in (and ours too) each night.  

I have only caught a smile after your nursing is complete as you fall asleep a few times this month. I think this is going to be over soon and it makes me sad. Some days I even hold you  just a little longer before putting you in your crib to see if you will smile.  I read a blog post once that we are very good at documenting "firsts" but frequently forget to document "lasts", so I am trying to make a few notes on your "lasts" when I can.  Even though you don't smile much in your sleep, you make up for it during the day though. You are still a happy baby boy that  we are so in love with.  We pray that God continues to show us how to parent you and that you continue to stay strong and healthy.

Love, Mama and Dada