I don't think I'll have any time to write next week, seeing as it's Labor Day weekend and my court calendar is jam-packed, so in light of the fact that Jack reached his nine month milestone today, I thought I'd write just a little note...
Anyways, I mentioned earlier this week that Jack has been changing so fast - you'll blink and miss something new. I went to pick Jack up from school yesterday and when I walked into his room, he was behind this bus/walker thing, pushing it around the room. Just like it was no big deal. I watched him for a minute, then called his name. He looked up at me, smiled, and let go of the bus. He just stood there for a few seconds, realized what he was doing - namely standing unassisted - and freaked out. He sat down quite quickly and it looked as though he was going to cry until the entire room burst into applause. He realized that the clapping and cheering was for him, so he started smiling and then crawled his way over to me for a hug.
I tried to get him to replicate the walking/standing at home, but it didn't really work out too well. I have a lot of video of him standing behind his walker, but I couldn't get him to push the thing and every time I tried to get him to stand on his own, he'd grab onto my leg. Oh well. It's not like he's never going to do it again! Anyways, I think he "worked out" pretty hard because he eventually got a little whiny and wanted to sit down and play...and then, of course, he wanted supper. So, I gave him some Cheerios, turkey, and cheese on his tray and he started scooping everything up and popping it into his mouth. I'm pleased to report that the refusal to pick anything up off his tray was just a brief phase. He learned how to "feed" himself. I use that term lightly though because I went into the kitchen to get his veggies and when I turned around, he had turkey covering his face and Maverick was obviously getting most of what was on the tray. Still, Jack gets what he's supposed to do. The honing of fine motor skills will come later.
So, I heated up some squash and a pea/pear mixture I concocted and also helped Jack with the stuff on his tray...anyways, after we'd finished the veggies and had some squash, Jack started to look disinterested and a little tired, so I signed to him, "all done or more" and he looked at me, and lifted his hands up and signed "all done." I freaked him out again because I was squealing so loudly.
There are so many other small developments as well. He can pick out and recognize a favorite toy (read: he can find Elmo anywhere I hide him), he engages and tries to play peek-a-boo with me, he "helps" when I get him dressed in the morning, and is getting the hang of "cause and effect." He really only demonstrates this when he's in his Pack 'n Play in the morning and realizes that, if he throws toys out of the playpen, Mommy will pick them up and give them back to him. This obviously is great fun.
So, at nine months, Jack still loves Maverick. He loves his big bottles, loves exploring and pulling himself up on everything. He loves other kids. My favorite part of the day is coming home. Every day, I pull into the driveway and all the neighborhood kids come running to see us. They all crowd around in the garage (seriously) while I unstrap "Baby Jack" from his carseat. All the kids can't wait to see us, give Baby Jack a hug, get him to smile, and tell us all about their days. I had always dreamed of living in a neighborhood like this...like I said, coming home is really the best part of my day.
Anyways, Jack loves mealtimes. He likes to eat sweet potatoes, bananas, peas, pears, applesauce, turkey, cheese, yogurt, and Cheerios. Every time I pull the Cheerios box out of the cupboard, he starts grunting like a little piglet...it's pretty funny. He really likes the fact that he's mobile now. He likes his walker and moving around the house. He loves his mommy. He loves his daddy and he really likes it when Daddy does his Cookie Monster voice. He loves his belly being tickled. He loves to get kisses.
He's also got a few things he doesn't like. For example, he does not like to have his diaper changed. This is mainly because he cannot sit still long enough for me to get him clean and put a new diaper on him. He's kind of a pill about getting dressed as well. Bed time is questionable, but over the past few days, he's been going down for the night without incident. He does not like avocados. Squash has been met with some resistance too. He does not like to have his fingernails clipped and doesn't like it when his ears are cleaned. He does not like to sit still, which makes it impossible to read him stories.
Finally, in light of the fact that Jeff has been out of town this week, I decided to enter Jack in Nightime Boot Camp. I'll be the first to admit that we have been less than firm when dealing with his nighttime antics. Usually when he wakes up, we just give him a bottle because that's what he wants, and its the easiest way to get him to go back to sleep. Don't judge - it's an easy choice to make when your kid is screaming at the top of his lungs at 3:00 in the morning. But, I can sleep through the cries better than Jeff can, so it's usually Jeff that gets up with Jack. But, the past two nights have been pretty good so far...we had a minor incident last night and I went into Jack's room and he'd gotten himself into an unusual sleeping position and couldn't get comfortable, so I laid him down in the middle of his crib, made some clucking noises, turned on his mobile and went back to bed. He cried for a few more minutes, but eventually went back to sleep. The kid is nine months old and should be sleeping through most nights. We'll get there, we just need to stick to it!
So, here he is at nine months...this picture took about a half-hour to get because he wouldn't sit still. Big surprise.
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