Charlie's 8th and 9th... ahem and 10th month have been a busy, busy couple of months around here.
I was directing my second show of the year, which took up every evening, and Greg was holding down the fort here at the Moad residence while I was away.
And though it was busy and seemed like we would never know what it was like to not be pulled in 100 directions, we have finally slowed down a bit - and we find that in that time, Charlie has grown up and is probably going to be driving any minute now.
funny how that happens.
Needless to say, it's time for a Charlie Baby Update :)
I didn't take 8 month photos, but I did take 9 and 10 month ones so... I'll just mix those in, and then of course dump adorable photos of this squishy cuteness from the last 3 months of his little life!
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| 9 month photo |
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| 10 month photo |
STATS
He's bigger and taller.
I don't have the details, but he sure is growing.
I think it's quite possible that his cheeks are growing faster than any other part of him though.
And I'm not upset about it because he has the most kissable cheeks ever!
Much of my day has been filled up with kissing those sweet cheekers.
He is wearing 9 month tops and 12 month bottoms. The length of his legs could put him in 18 month pants but not the size of his waste... which brings me to a pet peeve I have of baby-clothing proveyors:
SETS!
WHY do they make SETS: like shirts and pants that you must buy together. How many babies out there are really exactly te right size top and bottom? Are there many? Is it just my kids that are out of whack in their sizing. I found this great outfit for Charlie: super cool green pants and a collared shirt - however I would have had to buy TWO sets in order to dress him in it. So frustrating. Separates are the way to go. Someone pass that along to the powers that be.
Okay, end rant.
Let's move on, shall we?
Eating
We have FINALLY gotten into a rhythm with solids!
YAY
He is eating solids now three times a day.
He is still not a master - as his top lip is struggling to do what it is supposed to with eating, so mama is still doing much of the work with spoon feeding, but it's progress.
He is also not feeding himself in any form. He has not quite figured out that he can pick something up off of his tray and put it in his mouth, nor has he realized he can lift his bottle and hold it in his mouth. This is all part of his fine motor skill delay, for which we are in therapy. I mean, I'm okay with the delay, as long as it doesn't mean anything serious - but in all honesty, if he could feed himself it would be SO convenient... that's my selfish I-want-to-get-things-done self talking... but, I also know time goes fast so I will enjoy these sweet moments of feeding him while I have them :)
His favorite foods include: avocado, apple, pumpkin, black beans, banana.
He is still nursing 4 times a day, though that evening feed around 4:30 is starting to go. He is less and less interested and really it's just a pre-dinner snack at this point. He gets solids in between nursing and nap time, so it looks a little something like this:
8:00 nurse
9:00 breakfast
12:30 nurse
1:00/1:30 lunch
4:30 nurse
5:30 dinner
7:00 nurse
ACTIVITY
At Nine months Charlie started to push up on all fours and rock back and forth. You could tell he so wanted to crawl... but just couldn't quite figure it out. He flopped down to his belly a lot, poor guy. But he mastered his reach! We joked that he has go-go-gadget arms because if he wants something he will reach and reach and reach until he got it!
or until his fussy whine was too much for us to take and we handed it to him... one of those two things.
In his 10th month is when something finally clicked and we now have a crawler! He's not going to win any races, but... he's moving! Each day he seems to progress more and more and I know any day now I'll be chasing after his cute little crawling bum.
One of my favorite of his moves is his straddle!! He is the most flexible little guy I've seen - to get from a seated straddle position to his belly that boy will just move forward and let his legs stretch to the max! Seriously... we used to do these types of things in ballet stretches so... naturally I'm think he's a ballet-dancer in the making, naturally.
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| It hurts just to look at it! |
He has some firsts in the last 3 months, beyond those baby milestones: He went out of state for the first time and flew on an airplane for the first time! I'll have to blog about that trip here soon because, whew - I'm not sure I want to take a 9 month old and a 3 year old on an airplane again anytime soon! Yikes.
But we survived, thank the Lord!
Other fun activities include lots of laughing and smiling. He loves peek-a-boo and will gladly take the blanket from you and try and play it himself - which is just the cutest thing ever!
He also loves to be tickled! He is so so ticklish I can't help but torture the poor kid with lots of tickles!!
Baths are one of his most favorite things! He loves to sit and splash and slide all over the place. He goes head-first into the water at least 5 times every time and just laughs with excitement. He is much cleaner than he really needs to be because I love to watch him play in the water. I'm really hopeful this love will transfer to fun times at the water park and in the pool this summer!
And he is doing some chatting and babbling... of course "Da-Da" is the main sound... no "ma-ma" but... I'm blaming that on a lack of upper-lip development. He WANTS to say "ma ma" he just can't. It's okay son, I know I'm your favorite.
I'm not. He LOVES his dad. LOVES HIM. Can't really blame him!
Another common activity is going after his sister, whom he loves to pieces!
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| Lucy's favorite part of these photo sessions is the month-stickers. Girl loves her stickers! |
Getting a photo of the two of them, however... is not always the easiest thing. One or both are itching to to move around or play around... anything but sit still and smile for mama's camera! :)
I am greatly looking forward to when they are able to really play together - I can't wait for Lucy to dress him up like a princess! Although - I am getting a small taste of that sibling bickering I've
heard so much about. Lucy just cannot abide when Charlie does certain things, and she makes it known LOUD and clear! Praying for patience and strength not only for the present but also in extra measure for the future!!!
SLEEP
Not too much change here except I can tell he is starting to need less daytime sleep, which makes mommy cry! If I let him he'll take 2 long 2 hour naps... however I usually pay for that early in the morning when he is inevitably up earlier than normal that next day. If I shorten his first nap and let the second one be long he does better. So we are shooting for 3 hours of daytime sleep and not the 4-5 we were doing - I love this boy but... nap times are sweet, sweet times!
So sleep looks like this these days:
8:00 wake up (sometimes 7:30 so I can get him fed before I get Lucy up)
10:00 first nap
1:30 second nap (up by 4)
7:30/8:00 bedtime.
WHAT'S NEW OVERVIEW
- crawling
- eating regularly
- one tooth popped through and another pushing
- lots of laughing and smiling
- talking/babbling
- toy-banging and some clapping once in awhile
- first time on an airplane and in the state of Arkansas... and Texas.
- Loves baths and doesn't seem to have any fear of water.
- Much more mobile and curious making keeping him still to eat / change a diaper / take a picture / etc. quite the task!
P H O T O D U M P
M O N T H S
8 - 10
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| He is NOT a fan of the swing. He prefers to just sit there, and not move! |
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| Making our own Chocolate Bar at Chocolate World. |
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| The helpiest helper there ever was. |
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| A morning at Occupational Therapy |
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| Teaching the tongue to accept food! |
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| At the airport, heading to Arkansas! |
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| As wiggly as he was... and despite NO sleep, he was a huge hit with the passengers around us! |
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| Right as we landed. figures. |
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| THIS is one of my favorite looks he does! The gummy smile! |
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| A morning at Physical Therapy |
Thanks for visiting!
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