nathan james: nine months

Well, folks, things just got real!  The above picture basically exemplifies life with Nathan lately.  He is one busy body, getting into everything, moving non-stop, drooling like crazy.  Let's just say that trying to take his monthly pictures poses as one very hard challenge by myself.  While holding him with one hand I snapped with the other, leaving me with a million pictures where only 5 were useable.  Don't forget about the fact that he started eating his monthly sticker while trying to take pictures as well.  

Growing// Our little man is 22lbs 2.7oz, and 27.5 inches tall.  His weight hasn't increased greatly, but that is mostly due to his activity level.  Poor guy is quite the shorty though.  Each night we highly encourage his legs to grow and take his pot belly with them.  He is growing like a weed in his gross motor development.  This month he has mastered this crawling and is rolling much more less.  He's also able to sit up on his own, and this weekend he showed us his latest trick...pulling himself up onto his feet!  Oh my goodness, we are in trouble!  He is moving all over the house and we've already rearranged quite a few things, but definitely need to baby proof a few areas he is highly intent on getting into.  Right now toys are far less interesting than everything else in the house.  Currently he prefers chewing on whatever shoes he can find lying around, eating Daddy's belts, and getting into the book shelf.  Daniel and I are still a bit dazed and confused on how quickly he became mobile.  

Eating & Sleeping// Nathan is now eating "table foods" like a champ.  Some new things introduced this month were yogurt, quinoa, peas, strawberries, chicken, and salmon.  We also started giving his oatmeal again in the mornings.  I know there are so many things he is able to have, but want to also be very mindful of feeding him whole foods from real ingredients.  His pincer grip is quite sophisticated, and he loves feeding himself veggie puffs anytime of the day.  The one item that is completely not allowed is eggs.  We tried scrambled egg yolk, and the poor babe's face turned very red.  

Sleeping is slowly starting to get better.  We went through a rough spout where he would scream at the top of his lungs when getting transferred to the crib.  He also continues to fight going to sleep so badly.  We are at the point where he has to go to bed by 6:30pm or he gets way too over tired and screams.  He is napping twice a day.  His morning nap is only 30-45 minutes long and his afternoon nap ranges from 1-3 hours.  We would love for him to get a bit more sleep during the day so going down at night is easier, but the question is how do we get him to actually go to sleep?!?!  He sleeps 12 hours at night, waking up once for a feeding.  I'm still nursing him at night, and very much enjoy that time with him, but also worry greatly that I'm creating a bad habit.  

Loving// Nathan loves to be active!  He loves climbing up mommy and daddy when they are sitting on the floor, trying to find new places in the house to get into, and testing his limits.  Bath time is the bomb dot com and his baby laughs just melt me.  When getting his diaper changed he has started covering his face with his pants and initiating "peek-a-boy".  It's basically the cutest thing in the whole wide world.  He loves clapping his hands together, singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", and his legs are always in motion.  

Loathing// Other than falling asleep, there's not much he doesn't like.  Car rides that are past his bed time are the worst, so we have to be very mindful of his schedule.  He also does not like to be left alone for a split second while I change over the laundry.