Happy 9 Months Will!
When I first got these monthly stickers, I was sad that they ended at 12 months. What was I thinking??? They seriously should have stopped at 6 months. Will is 100% NOT interested in monthly picture time anymore. He preferred to practice his standing up instead.
Will's personality is getting bigger every day. And he is really turning into his own little person. When we go to the grocery store now, he sits in the seat of the cart and has a blast flirting with all the people and trying to get everyone's attention. I don't feel like running errands is as much of a hassle anymore, because he is my little buddy now and seems to enjoy running around with me. He makes the tedious things fun.
His language is developing more and more each day. He loves to hear his own voice! He now says "da-da-da-da-da" although he isn't really meaning anything yet. I do think that he knows what he means when he says "gie" though. "Gie" = Maggie or any other dog (or doggie as we have always said). When he sees a dog he gets so excited and yells out "GIE" and practically jumps out of my arms to get to it.
Food:
I definitely don't feed him as much as I should. He should be eating more baby food and starting finger foods now, but I feel like we are delayed in this. I try to give him a serving of baby food at breakfast and dinner, but it just doesn't happen consistently everyday. His main source of nutrition is still formula. He does love babyfood fruit though - apples and blueberries, peaches, strawberry banana. And he can devour some chicken and sweet potatoes! Since he loves apples so much, I decided to make my own in the Baby Bullet for him...he doesn't like them. He actually doesn't like anything that I make myself. I'm not giving up though.
Mobility:
This kid is on the move! He is now crawling, not just scooting. And he can be across the room in no time! He is trying so hard to stand up on his own and I really think he will be walking soon. I didn't really want him to walk this soon, but he is an overachiever. One of his new favorite activities is crawling up the stairs. He usually only tackles a couple of them, but he has made it all the way to the top once or twice.
He is becoming more independent and can entertain himself for a little while. This is really great! The not so great part of the past few weeks is that Will has developed separation anxiety. If there is someone around that he is not comfortable with, he will not let me or JT out of his sight without screaming. And if someone tries to hold him, he becomes absolutely inconsolable. Luckily he sees NeeNee, Gram, and Hope enough that he really could care less if we are around then. I know this is just a phase and it should be over soon, but it is heartbreaking. JT and I tried to leave him at the nursery at the gym, and they had to come find us because they couldn't calm him down. JT refers to this as "the time Will got kicked out of daycare". He is lucky that he is cute so all of these people forgive him!
Maggie is doing a good job being tolerable to Will. Will just can't seem to get enough of her, but she definitely has had enough of him! The poor dog just wants to lay on her bed and sleep, and the next thing you know Will has crawled over there and is poking her nose or pulling her ear. They do have some good playtime though. Will got a ball pit for Christmas, and he likes to take them out of the box one by one. Maggie is always there to retrieve them, but unfortunately her teeth end up destroying a few.
Will is hearing the word "NO" more often now. He always responds to it, but then resumes whatever he was doing pretty quickly. This most often comes up when he is irritating Maggie, climbing out of his Bumbo seat, or trying to play with computer cord.
Thanks for another wonderful month Will! We love watching you grow each and every day!
