9 months: Object Permanence and Cruising Along

Owen had his 9 month check up this morning. Here are our "big" boy's stats:

Height: 29 inches (75%)

Weight: 18 lb 4.5oz (10-25%)

Head: 17.2 inches (5-7%)

Hemoglobin: 12.7 (perfect)

Flu Vaccine: One

Teeth: Zero

Love: Lots 

Once again, there is slight concern about his extremely small head and continued decline on the weight growth chart. Developmentally he's right on track, though, so we aren't concerned that the head size is indicative of something more serious going on. The weight issue will likely be a stressor to me for a long time. She recommended bumping up the solid feedings to 5-6 x/day. We are also starting yogurt today and meat soon, so the fat content of his diet should increase soon, too.

Most of the pictures this month will highlight his 'on the move' state. It amazes me the places he crawls into.

I had to get creative about how to get a picture with him NOT eating the sign! (Check out his finger foods.. he's doing so well!)

"Mom, really, are you going to make me do this again?" (ps.. I love the way he looks in red).

Update of the Owen and Amity portfolio.

Studious Amity perfects the "Wheels on the Bus" while center-of-attention Owen smiles for the camera

(Oskee is just glad they've stopped crawling after her!)

Our Husky in the book shelf. We can entertain him for 10-20 minutes putting his books back on the shelf while he pulls them back out. In fact, he loves to pull anything out of anywhere. Books off the shelf, toys out of the box, Tupperware out of the drawer. At what developmental age do they put things back IN? =)

He loves his books. Actually, he will now, on occasion, actually listen to a book.

Posing in front of the washing machine. He loves to pull up and stick his head into  the washing machine while babbling. The echo must sound so cool.

Under the table

On the dishwasher

In the Tupperware drawer

I love the reflection in this picture. He chews on anything he can!

Owen and his sweet friend, Camille (13mo). Don't you just love her hair!?

Owen actually experiencing what it's like to be the 'Big Kid'. Baby Sam looks a little nervous.

He LOVES daddy's hats. He LOVES his daddy. like crazy. It's awesome.

Saturday football gear + a not so stylish hat. I don't know why Mike and I think this is hilarious.

A sneak peak at his Mizzou's 100th Homecoming outfit and Halloween Costume.

 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Climbing INTO the basket and going for daddy's books.

This picture also highlights the current state of the back of his head. We decided against the helmet therapy. At our follow up appointment in early September, the NP said it had a 75% chance of continuing to round out. The bottom of his skull has popped out nicely. Though the crown of his skull is still relatively flat, she thinks this is actually genetic and unlikely to improve with helmet therapy. Mike puts it best: "This is the way God made him". Flat head and all =)

Many other reasons we LOVE this baby:

- His giggles have reached an all time high. I thought we had already achieved our max giggle potential, but I was wrong indeed. He giggles across the room at whatever he is crawling toward. He giggles at my show choir moves (You were right, Chelsea, show choir was great mommy prep). He giggles at songs that he recognizes. Wheels on the Bus, Spoonful of sugar, Jesus loves me, and several other songs that I make up.
- He can pull to stand and get back down (we've been working on the getting back down all month). It interfered with nap time for quite a while!
- Once he pulls up on the coffee table, he can cruise around the coffee table (holding on) to reach his desired object. He often gets (too) brave and decides to not hold on to the coffee table. This is usually in an effort to pet the dog who is trying to assess whether or not he has food. He promptly falls, and she gets startled. It's quite the scene.
- He can reach a sitting position from crawling, lying, standing, etc. So cool!
- He does not want to be restrained at any time. The exersaucer is no longer fun because he can't move around in it. This means I need to watch him constantly, and we go everywhere together. Even the bathroom. We've also had lots of opportunity to work on the word 'no'.
- He loves.to.swing
- He has graduated to being in the 'big' tub without using the infant tub. He kept crawling out of the infant tub, so we decided it was much more safe to have him in a few inches of water in the big tub.
- He babbles frequently. Most commonly saying 'Dada'. We still have 'Ba', 'Ma', and 'Ga', but not many others. Interestingly he always whispers 'di di di di'. It's too sweet.
- He sticks his tongue out when concentrating. I can assuredly say that this comes from his Papa Cooper.
- He has no pincher grasp, but he is quite good at feeding himself small bites of food. (He will even eat bite sized green beans!)
- He is fascinated by other peoples' mouths. He's always watching Mike and me talk, and he constantly has his hands in my mouth.
- Object permanence is in full force. His new favorite game is to throw something off of the changing table and look for it. He'll also look for toys that we hide under blankets. Likewise he now cries when you take him away from something he should not be playing with, and he fusses when we leave his line of vision. Stranger anxiety is likely right around the corner, but so far he is OK with me leaving him in the nursery at church or at the gym.
- He mostly loves to play with anything that is not a toy.. but if he does play with a toy, he likes balls the best. Mike is teaching him to play 'catch' which he does fairly well with a tennis ball. He may even prefer the left hand when playing catch... only time will tell.
- In the last month we have added plums (LOVE), spinach (will eat when combined with carrots), white potatoes (not as good as sweet potatoes!), grapes, and beans.
- Sleeping, I am SO happy to report, is wonderful. He sleeps from 1930-0530 every night! He wakes up on the dot at 5:30, so much so, that Mike doesn't even need an alarm anymore. I feed him, and then he goes back to bed until around 0700 or 0730! Naps are usually twice a day for 40-50 minutes each.

We love him oh so much, and we appreciate your willingness to read these long, longmonthly posts.