Tales of a Teacher Wannabe.: 9 months old!

When you are pregnant one thing that you will hear from absolutely everyone (and their second-cousin third removed) is that "it will go by so fast." This is one of those times where I must admit that I kind of rolled my eyes and thought "yeah, sure it does." It has always amazed me that certain times of the year can just race by. Specifically I find that once the school year begins that its over in what seems to be the blink of an eye. One day you are preparing for the first day of school and before you realize what has happened its summer again. I have found this same phenomenon to be true in parenting I'm sad to say. Honestly I simply cannot believe that my child has now been an "outside baby" longer than he was an "inside baby." I have now experienced something that every parent will at some point. The strange mix of joy and deep sadness at watching your child grow. With every new development your heart leaps, while at the same time you long for a time when they were smaller, and more dependent on you. While he was small I fervently wished and dreamed of the days when he was more active, and interested in things. And now I remember with longing the days when all he wanted to do was nap on my chest. When I could slip him into my arms with such ease, and when it was so easy to figure out what he needed (food, sleep, a change). He has become this vocal, opinionated, and amazing creature in such a wink of time. Sorry for the sappy overload. I find that the closer he gets to one (three months!!) I more melancholy I get.
He had his 9 month checkup today. His stats are as follows:

Birth 8lbs 2oz and 21 inches long
4 days old 6lbs 9oz 21 inches long
6 days old 7lbs 4oz
11 days old 7lbs 4oz 21 inches long
25 days old 8lbs 5oz 22.5 inches long
32 days old 10lbs 5oz
39 days old 11lbs 5oz
46 days old 12lbs 5oz 23.3 inches long
58 days old 13lbs 7oz
138 days old 16lbs 10oz (96%) and 25.5 inches long (89%)
6 months old 19lbs 9oz (92%) and 28.3 inches long (98%)
9 months old 21lbs 9oz (76%) and 30.1 inches long (96%)

So he has gotten longer and leaner. He only put on an ounce since he was at the doctors for an ear infection almost one month ago. Though the doctor wasnt concerned she advised that we feed him overnight if he desires since he hasnt gained much. The lack of weight gain isnt terribly surprising since most babies slow down their growth rate once they become mobile. His face is slimming down and he is loosing the chubby baby rolls. ::sobs:: He is beginning to look more and more like a little man. He can now pull up on things (although he doesnt do it at home often), army crawl with the best of them, and get himself to a sitting position with ease. He has really gotten much better at feeding himself solid foods. We do a combination of Baby Led Solids and the typical purees. I try to include some type of food for him to feed himself at each meal, but I also finish up the meal with some purees. He eats three times a day and gets all kinds of foods. Often we find that he will put lots of food in his mouth and "chew" it but that he doesnt swallow much. I gave him some whole wheat toast with a tiny bit of almond butter on top today and he devoured it. Literally there was nearly nothing left to clean up! So we are making progress.

His sleep is still crap. I moved the twin mattress to the floor and put a mesh bedrail next to it to make a "floor bed." To put him to sleep for naps/night we lay down with him. And before I moved the mattress we were having to wait until he was really asleep to move him to his crib. So now we just lay down with him and leave him on the mattress. I think he sleeps a smidge better there than in his crib.

He enjoyed his first Christmas and got lots of wonderful gifts from family and friends. He also enjoyed the yummy food he got to eat like mashed potatoes, vegetarian stuffing, roasted brussel sprouts, and more. Here are his 9 month pictures and some other random pictures I have taken throughout the month.