8 and 9 months

I had grand plans to blog about Ian around his 8 month mark and it totally passed me by. Here we are almost at 9 months so I figured I ought to get on the ball. There have been some fun things with Ian over the last couple of months that are definitely worth an entry for posterity, grandparents and anyone else diligent enough to make it through this post!

The stats at 9 months are 29 1/2 inches long and 21 lbs 14 oz, 90th and 75th percentile, respectively.

While in TX we cut his grandpa-come-over hair (you can see it hanging down on his forehead in this picture) to blend in with the other hair he had going on.


As new hair has been growing in, especially in the back it sticks straight up. It is also coming in blond. Never thought I would have blond kids!


He is fitting into 12 month clothes and has since he was 8 months old. Some of those things are already outgrown and some are hanging on by a thread.


Ian loves to stand and counts himself really lucky if he gets to do that with daddy. This closed mouth expression comes from rubbing his bottom teeth around on his upper lip, gums and upper teeth coming in. He feels around with those teeth a lot!


He has finally achieved mobility. I was starting to think it wouldn't happen until he walked. His method is one that I haven't seen before although it is similar to an army crawl. His pediatrician has dubbed it the gorilla crawl since it is a little on sided - right toes and left arm-always! Sorry this video isn't the longest or best demonstration of his abilities but it does have the distinction of having been taken on the first day that he did it.



Since he gets around more this has opened new issues with Noah's toys (did you catch that in the video? And Noah's worried gibberish?). Noah has been wonderful about the whole thing. He hasn't offered to get physical with Ian and once, after I gave him permission to reclaim his toy he couldn't seem to bring himself to do it until Ian dropped it-for the third time. I thought I would have to be breaking up more fights at this point so I feel blessed that Noah seems to be more worried than defensive. If he wants to keep his things out of Ian's hands he will have to be learning some new habits, though.

I have also greatly enjoyed and been warmed by Noah's increased interest in and concern for Ian. Just the other day, while at the pediatrician's office, Noah took it upon himself to make Ian smile and laugh. The whole thing had been a little traumatic (at least from Ian's perspective) and he cried wildly every time I set him down and while I was trying to dress him at the end. Of course, by the end I had spit up and snot on me and a mess of odds and ends to clean up before we left. I set Ian down on the floor to do it as quickly as possible. Noah proceeded to throw a book. I turned to scold him when I noticed he had squatted down to look at Ian's face and see if he was smiling. Since he was, Noah did it again. This is, in fact, a favorite method of Noah's to win Ian over. He especially prefers his matchbox cars. Too bad throwing his toys is against the rules in our house.

Ian is a trooper and seems to travel well and is happy to see and do whatever we want. The fact that he sleeps less than Noah did at this age has it's pros and cons but it's better that the second needs less sleep, right?

It took him awhile to warm up to food but now he is a real chow hound, always looking for more. Well, assuming that it's not sweet potatoes or green beens! When he gets really excited or anxious for food (or anything else he wants) his little fists go a mile a minute, opening and closing and flexing at the wrist.

Ian has also found the joy in bathing! (Not that he didn't get bathed before, but it sure wasn't joyful!) This is a great thing for mom and dad who didn't really like to be shut in the bath with all the shrill shrieks echoing loudly. It seems that his experiences in the pool in TX were the turning point but he really loves to be in the tub with Noah. This makes it a two-parent job since he has to be held onto but the flip side is everyone has fun. You can't beat that!

And last but not least, his latest developmental achievement is clapping his hands. Will waving bye-bye make and appearance soon?

I love this boy and I am so glad that he lets me borrow him from his daddy for a good snuggle sometimes! My greatest blessings are my family and love that Ian helps remind me of that everyday!