happy nine months!

mckai,

I hope you can feel just how much your mom and dad love you.

Your daddy misses you so much. 

He begs momma to quit her job every single day and bring you to Philadelphia to be with him.

We love your jokester personality.

The fact that you are always happy.

Your blue eyes and that little dimple.

We feel so lucky to have the most perfect little boy to be ours.

Love you forever!

Weight: 16 pounds 15 ounces (8%)
Length: 26 inches (0.3%)
Head Circumference: 17 inches (7%)
They also checked his hemoglobin at his appointment to make sure he is getting enough iron (often exclusively breastfed babies have low iron which affects their growth) but his was 12.1 which was perfect! So looks like he's just little to be little... poor baby... but I adore my little guy!
Diaper Size: three
Clothes Size: he is slowly, piece by piece, growing out of his 3-6 month clothes (it's about time but it still makes me sad) so he mostly wears 6 month, 6-9 month and a few 6-12 month (though those seem a little too big still).

Health: He got a cold this month and it was so sad. His nose would pretty much just pour mucous constantly, kind of gross sorry. It lasted about a week but he handled it like a champ. He also has the worst seasonal allergies I've ever seen! We so much as go outside for a minute and his eyes start leaking.

Sleep: Ever since Tristan left for Philadelphia, he has been waking up at least twice a night. It practically killed me when I was working days. I'm hoping as he adjusts, things will go back to normal. He takes 2-3 naps a day. It's so cute, when he starts acting tired I put him in his bed awake and he'll just play in there until he falls asleep sometimes up to 30 minutes! He's starting to not like being swaddled, stop growing little one!

Diet: He gets 3 meals a day (baby food) and breastfeeds 4-6 times a day. He still won't eat real food, though I try every single day. But he loves pretty much any baby food. Just gobbles it up.

Likes:

• jumping - either while held or in his jumpster
• his baby buddy toothbrush
• his new nanny Miranda
• graham crackers & puffs
• spitting (especially when it makes people laugh)
• dr. browns sippy cup
• when mom sings and dances

Dislikes:

• yogurt melts
• getting his face washed after eating
• getting his nose suctioned out

Milestones: I have started to feel like his development has slowed a little bit. He is still just army crawling though it has evolved to less dragging his legs and more using his legs as well but still on his belly. He's getting closer though! He loves to do planks and stand on his hands and feet with his bum straight in the air. He fluidly goes from laying to sitting all the time now. The biggest milestone this month is that he has started to pull himself to standing! He can stand up against things solidly now but still has zero interest in walking which is fine by me :) Nothing new as far as language goes, I'm still patiently trying to teach him "mama" and "dada". As of his 9 month birthday he has 5 teeth! His left incisor popped through on April 22nd and his right one seems to be not far behind.

Things I don't want to forget:

• He learned to give open mouth kisses and it is the greatest thing in the world! All we have to do is make a kissy face with a "mmmm..." sound and opens his mouth and leans in! Then of course we finish the "muah!". His first kisses were to his daddy and whenever I would try he would push my face away. Then once daddy left, he has started giving them to me too. And on his 9 month birthday he started opening his mouth for a kiss even if I wasn't making a kissy face. Melted my heart!
• He reaches to be picked up.
• His squinty smile. 
• His shy smile (where he pushes his chin down to get a double chin and extra big cheeks!)
• The way he clasps his hands together.
• He is starting to catch on to cause and effect. It is so fun! He loves playing peek-a-boo with his blanket. And the other day I was laying on the ground and he was laying on my chest, when he would lift his head up I'd say "boo", and he repeated it probably 50 times.
• He knows there are things I don't want him to touch (i.e. the sound machine in his room) and he crawls as fast as he can to get to them before I scoop him up.
• The way he pushes balls around the room and chases them.
• He discovered the air vents and door stops.
• His planks. Seriously they are better than mine and make me laugh every time!.
• The time he tried to pull up to stand against the laundry basket and it tipped over and trapped him underneath. I know I shouldn't laugh but it was a little bit funny :)
• He finally has enough hair to get bed head! One day in particular, just a patch on the top right side of his head stood straight up.
• When he is sucking on his soothie pacifier he sticks his finger in the hole to suck on that too.
• Every time we FaceTime Tristan his face instantly lights up and he starts giggling.