Jack is NINE months old today! It seems like each month that passes brings with it more and more changes. Pretty soon I'll be writing about Jack's first birthday. That is a weird thought.
I had a profound moment last night while rocking Jack to sleep... I though, "this is the only time I will ever get to have Jack as a nine month old...". I know you are probably thinking "DUH!", right? I know it's a pretty obvious statement, but it really helped me put things into perspective. It helped me remember that, although putting him down for naps can be trying to my patience, he won't let me cuddle and rock with him forever. It reminded me that even though my dinner is practically always cold (because Jack finally decides he wants to eat when we eat) that he won't always need my help with little things like getting his spoon when he throws it to the floor (which he does every .5 seconds). Anyway, the thought just helped me to remember to enjoy the journey, even though this stage can be difficult, because I only get one shot at doing it right.
Anyway, onto the fun stuff...
Jack has a few loves in his life these days. The first is hair. Weird, I know, but apparently Gordy love hair as a baby too. Maybe it's a sensation thing... but the kid can not get enough of hair. Ever since he was 5 months old and could open and close his hands intentionally he has had a fist full of my hair. When I walk around with him, he holds onto my hair like its reigns or a handle or something. When I'm giving him a bottle he reaches for my bangs and pulls on my hair until it's touching his face. Sometimes he gets it in his mouth and he LOVES it. I don't even want to think about how much of my hair he has pulled out. But now that his arms are a little longer and he has a little more hair he has started playing with his own hair while falling asleep.
Second love: brooms, mops, floor lamps, anything that is in the general shape of an upright pole. He goes nuts when he see them. He thinks that they are for climbing I guess...
Third love: his stuffed rocking horse. It's actually a lion so I guess his rocking lion. It plays music and he loves rocking to the music. He also loves for us to tip it on its side so that he can stand and lean on it.
Fourth love: dogs. He loves dogs. When he sees them in a book or in real life he gets really excited and makes a hard "g" sound.
Fifth love: Signing Time. Holy cow. Thank you Gordy's sisters for telling us about Signing Time. It is the single greatest discovery. Not only does it captivate Jack's attention for more than one minute at a time, it also distracts Jack enough so that we can stuff some food in his mouth while he is watching. Seriously. It's so great! I can actually get some things done around the house while Jack watches.
AND.... he has learned some things from Signing Time too. He can do the sign for milk. He hasn't quite figured out that it means milk yet. At first he started doing it just when he wanted something, but now he does it when he wants a drink. Still pretty impressive.
Sixth love: swimming. Enough said.
Seventh love: any kind of cord or cable that plugs in. If he had to choose between any toy and a cord, the cord would win every time.
This month, Jack learned to clap. He can do it on command and it is the dang cutest thing.
Jack also started shaking his head "no" this month. That has been relatively helpful while feeding him to know if he's fussing for more food or for a drink.
He says Mum and Dadadad all the time.
He recognizes his granparents on skype and their voices on the phone.
Jack is all over the place. He is still army crawling, but he's into everything, and he's pretty fast. We've had to baby proof the house...
He's also pulling himself up to stand on furniture, on our legs, on his toys, and pretty much anything else he can get his hands on to. And he isn't content with just standing, he LETS GO! He doesn't have nearly the balance he needs to stand on his own yet. This means we have had lots of falls, bumps, and bruises... more to come I'm sure.
Jack cut his first two teeth this month. Finally. His two bottom teeth came through! He bit Gordy's hand the other day and we noticed the impression that they left was a little crooked. So cute.
Jack learned how to scream. Not so cute. It's not a "I'm in pain scream" it's more of a "I dropped my toy" or "I want you to pay attention to me" scream. We think it's a combination of learning a new noise that gets attention and teething. He was doing it ALL THE TIME, until we found a secret weapon... his binki.
Jack decided on his own that he wanted to quit using his binki. I was really excited that he wanted to give it up on his own. He wouldn't open his mouth for it for two weeks, then he cut his teeth and he decided he wants it back. Gordy thinks that the sucking helps relieve the pressure in his mouth. He's probably right. Maybe when these teeth are all the way in he'll decided to give it up again.
Jack learned how to use a sippy cup.
Sometimes, when Jack is eating, we'll give him a spoon and he'll pretend to feed us by putting the spoon in our mouths when we give him a bite. I think he is going to be a good sharer.
Jack, without fail, sleeps curled up into a little ball on his knees. It looks kind of like he was praying and he fell asleep. He is such a doll.
Best news: we've finally been able to cut Jack's blood pressure medicine down to one dose a day. By the 23rd of this month we should be able to stop giving it to him completely. This has been a long time coming for us since he has been having multiple doses of blood pressure meds everyday since he was 2 months old.
