Nine Months

At Eli's 9-month doctor's appointment, he weighed in at 24 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 30 inches, placing him in the 92nd percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height.  He is still enjoying eating his pureed baby food 3 times a day and is taking 26 total ounces of formula each day.  He also really likes trying out different kinds of table food on occasion.  

This past month, he set a new record for nighttime sleep; 14 hours!  Most nights, though, he sleeps 12 hours from 7:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning.  He has actually been napping longer now during the day for a total of 4 hours; 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon.  He rarely sleeps on his back anymore, even though that is always the way I put him in his crib before he falls asleep.  He can sometimes be found sleeping on his side, but most of the time he rolls over onto his stomach which is the way he prefers to sleep now.  

I found a series of books at the library that truly captures his interest!  He loves to read the Baby Faces book series by Margaret Miller.  All the books in this series feature only 1 word on each page with life-size pictures of baby faces.  Eli squeals in delight with each turn of the page as he sees the next baby face with a different expression.  He also really enjoys being around other kids and will instantly smile and try to get their attention.  We have discovered his fascination with animals from Grandma Mary's cat Uno to AJ's dog Millie, which is a big golden retriever.  When the weather allows, we go to the park where he loves to swing.  Even just a stroller ride around the block will do to keep him entertained as well.  Eli likes to play with his toys outside on a blanket too.  

The biggest milestone this month has been the arrival of 2 new teeth!  Just when I was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to come in, one day I felt the first one had poked through.  It wasn't long before the one next to it made its appearance.  Eli hasn't even really been that fussy during this first part of the teething phase.  He just seems to sleep more.  He also has started to pull himself up on anything he can grab onto including his crib and furniture in the living room.  While he can push himself up on his hands and knees, he has yet to set his little limbs in motion by crawling.  He seems content for now to get from one place to another by rolling or scooting.  It has also been exciting to hear him babble with actual sounds now instead of just noises.  The most common consonant-vowel combination he says is da-da but without any meaning behind it yet.  

There has been quite a bit of progress made on the house over the past month.  We are still hoping to be able to host Eli's first birthday party there at the end of June, but there is still a lot of work yet to be done.  Eli had his 9-month pictures taken this week, too.  Stay tuned for a sneak peek and link to the online gallery coming soon.  Only 3 more months away until the big O-N-E!

Future Farmer?

Eli enjoyed checking out Ian's brand new sprayer from work. He stopped by to surprise us on his way from picking it up before he went back to work. Since it hasn't been used yet, it was still chemical-free, so Eli was able to check it out himself.

Eli's Babbles

Last night, Eli started to truly babble (versus the normal noises like his squeals of delight and of course the whine). I have been waiting for this since around the 6-month mark when my What to Expect the First Year book mentioned that babies may "possibly be able to" combine vowel and consonant sounds like ma-ma and da-da. I know there is still no meaning attached to the sounds yet, but it is exciting to hear him experiment with different sounds that will one day blend together to form words! I have also noticed he has been much more attentive to watching my mouth when I talk, just like the book said they would do.

I had previously been checking for teeth on a daily basis, figuring it has to be any day now one will be popping through. Sure enough, this morning I felt the tiniest top of a tooth just starting to make its entrance.

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A Visit to the Park

Today was probably the warmest day of the year so far, and we took advantage by going to the park within walking distance from our house. Now that the park in town is back open for the spring, we have been taking daily walks there. Eli really enjoys swinging, and he LOVES to be outside. I foresee many hours spent outside this summer with him. (P.S. Jamie: Maybe the chalk sticks will be adding a shade of color...lol.)



Ever since Eli was born, he has enjoyed the outdoors. During his first few months, I remember stepping outside with him just for a minute when he was the slightest bit fussy, and he would calm down right away. Maybe it is because he is a summer baby.

Today, our walk must have really worn him out as he was zonked out before we arrived back home.