Carter is 9 Months!

Sweet baby Carter turned 9 months - that's already 3/4 of a year - on July 1st while we were vacationing with Philip's side of the family over the July Fourth holiday!  Our ever-growing boy had another great 9mo check-up just before we left for vacation:

• Weight = 22 lbs. 6 oz. (75-90th percentile)
• Height = 29.5" tall (90th percentile)
• Head = 46 cm. (50th percentile)

No wonder he is already wearing 18-month clothing!  What a joy he continues to be to our family!  He and Kinsley are really starting to play, smile, laugh and "talk" to each other.  Carter has also shown a time or two his not-so-happy side when Kinsley takes a toy away from him.  We are working on that one.  The other big thing?  He is saying not only dadda, but MAMA!!!  I had to wait a looong time to hear that from Miss Kins.  :)

At 9 months, Carter continues to sleep like a champ, typically putting himself to sleep by playing in his crib and "talking" to his "friends" on his mobile overhead.  He loves going to sleep snuggling with a burpcloth, of all things.  The basic white cloth-diaper ones. I guess they are so soft.   But no lovie, no paci, no thumb for him.  And he is averaging about 11.5 hours of straight sleep at night.  Amazing.  I am making about 75% of his baby food and I am also still breastfeeding him & plan to carry on until he's one year old.  It's just so easy and convenient and we both love it and it keeps him happy & healthy, so why not.  His daily schedule goes something like this (all approximate based on his wake-up time...):

• 7:00am: nurse
• 8:30am: breakfast (oatmeal and pureed fruit)
• 10:00am: nurse / bottle and nap #1
• 12:00pm: lunch (rice cereal and pureed fruit / veggie)
• 2:30/3pm: nurse / bottle and nap #2
• 4:30pm: YoBaby yogurt
• 6:00pm: dinner (cereal and pureed fruit / veggie)
• 6:45pm: bath
• 7:00/7:30pm: nurse and bedtime

These days, you can find Carter loving all of the following:

• saying "who?"... just like a little owl
• eating
• snacking on puffs or yogurt
• drinking water from a sippy cup
• smiling and laughing!
• swimming in the pool
• taking a bath with his big sis
• watching Kinsley or Hunter 
• being tickled
• bouncing in the exersaucer or doorway jumper
• chewing on anything
• playing with any toy - he has a basket in the car and I literally rotate toys back to him from the driver's seat
• rolling over and over and over (and even rolled off of our bed when I turned my back for a second...scared me to death, but he recovered quickly and taught me a big lesson), but no crawling yet...he's kind of on Kinsley's track, and she started crawling up around this time and pulling up on furniture during the tenth/eleventh month.
• pulling hair...mainly mine and Kinsley's
• necklaces, anyone who is holding him
• jewelry...he has started noticing the glimmer / sparkle of my wedding ring, watch, bracelet and earrings
• squealing - I mean downright screaming - when he is happy...or needs your attention
• kicking his feet and swinging his legs when he is happy / excited
• swinging at the park/playground

I cannot believe that he is already as old as he was living in my belly...9 months.  I am gonna blink and he will be turning one!