9 months in, 9 months out!

Little J is 9 months old today! Clearly I am not on the ball in sharing details of my little people as they develop, but I thought I'd throw out a token blog post to appease the guilt within me.

First of all. This kid is cute. Enough said.

LIKES:
Mommy (more than anyone else)
Daddy (loves playing when he comes home from work)
Big brother L (giggles and gives excited kicks more for L than for anyone else)
Baths with L
Peek-a-boo
Being outside
Gnawing on my chin (less pleasant now that he has four teeth)
Gnawing on anything else that isn't a toy
Most food he can hold in his hand and feed himself - no pincher grasp yet
Drinking water from a grown-up's glass
Smoothies - the only food he'll take on a spoon
Singing
Watching life happen from his perch on my hip
Playing chasing games with Mommy and L
Playful kisses under his chin
Hanging upside down
Scooting around on his tummy
Licking water off his high chair tray

DISLIKES:
Baby food (won't eat pureed peaches, but will gnaw on a broccoli floret)
Actually, he dislikes being served anything that the big people aren't eating. He loves to share!
Napping
Diaper and changes
Being held by anyone else when Mommy enters the room
Being set down on the floor
Being squirted in the face by his playful bathtime buddy
Coming inside
THE CARSEAT
Sleeping through the night - he hasn't tried it yet, but he's pretty sure he'll hate it!

J is a sweet, sweet baby! No one else cares, but for my own records, he got his first tooth (a top one!) on April 23rd, followed by the second top on May 5th, a bottom one on the 8th, and the second bottom one on the 12th. L is impervious to pain, and I never knew he was teething until a tooth appeared. Not so for J! He's a sad, sad kid when he's working on a tooth!

He had his first ear infection on April 30th - the very day we had plane tickets for a nighttime flight to the west coast! I was nervous, but he (and L) were amazing on the plane. Easily the best behaved children on the flight - which is obviously not always the case, so I was definitely counting my blessings!

At that doctors appointment, he weighed 19 lbs. 9 oz. so he's holding steady right around 20 lbs. But, I swear he's gained a pound or two in the last couple of weeks because my arm just kills some days! :)

He is SO CLOSE to crawling. He began doing a tiny bit of tummy scooting about three weeks ago, and he's now able to move several feet pretty quickly. He's now lifting himself up to hands and knees and rocking back and forth. Won't be long! He surprised me in the bathtub tonight and pulled himself up to his knees on the side of the tub, and then to his feet while holding my fingers. Then he refused to sit, and the rest of the bath was a little hazardous!

Happy 9 months, J! We love you!