Life with Our Almost-Toddler (9 Months and Counting)

They all said it would happen, and it's so very true - time is positively flying. If I don't publish this hastily-written post, it will never happen, and then these adorable 9-month photos of my son will be seriously out of place by the time I get around to writing another update!

Our sweet baby Benjamin is a whopping 9 1/2 months old and I can hardly believe it. Over the past 3.5 months (since my last blog post), so much of what I love about him hasn't changed a bit, but he is now a totally different baby when we talk about developmental milestones. In fact, this little man acts more like a toddler than he does a baby - in three months, he went from a squishable, stationary itty bitty to a "look out, world, here he comes!" almost-toddler. Just after the 6 month mark, he started truly rolling over from back to stomach, sitting up solidly on his own, and started eating solids not long after that. We went pretty slowly with the solids at first because of his reflux, and he wasn't really that interested. Now, though, the kid loves the heck out of some grilled veggies (bell peppers and onions are his favorites), and his favorite purees have been in the squash family. Benjamin hates bread, though, and won't even entertain trying it; he just plays with it, which is a step up from touching it and gagging (I kid you not). We were going to start crib training him then, but as soon as we put him in the crib, he rolled over like he had been doing it for ages. Nope! We decided to wait a while longer for the sake of our sanity.

A week after turning 7 months old, he got his first two teeth. At 8.5 months, he officially started crawling... well, his version of crawling. Benjamin does a hilarious little zombie crawl where he drags himself forward with one arm while pushing one foot off the ground. He's sometimes attempting to figure out the real crawls, but he drags himself around so quickly that it's not super high on the priority list. Benjamin says Momma and Dadda (definitely said the latter first) and a whole lot of babbling, motor-boating, and his precious but deafening squeal/scream that he does when he is filled with energy and excitement. This boy LOVES to laugh and play, both on his own and interactively; he also still loves being read to and is now master of turning the pages. We read six books before bed tonight (two were read twice) and he still wanted more. His auntie Cara taught him how to wave, and he now waves at me, Patrick, and all the cars he sees. He has recently started this thing where, when he is relaxed and happy, he gives you a soft smile and blinks his eyes at you, murmuring in contentment. Picture a baby doing an "I Dream of Jeannie" blink and you're pretty much there. It's both hilarious and absolutely adorable.

We still call him baby Ben, but several have also taken to calling him Big Ben (how appropriate for these anglophiles) because he is just that - BIG. Some people call him a chunk, but it's really just because his cheeks are adorably ginormous and his thigh rolls are perfection; he's still a bit too skinny to fit the clothes he has to wear due to his length. At his 9-month appointment, Benjamin weighed in at 21 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 29 inches. That puts him right at the 76% and 75% rank for each category. That being said, he grew some in length (just like I knew he would) as soon as we got those measurements. At that point, I could still squeeze him into a small handful of 9-month clothes. No more. If it's a cotton onesie, he can just fit into a 12-month; if it's a jumper made of a non-stretchy material, he is barely fitting into an 18-month outfit. We're a pound and an inch away from having to upgrade his car seat but we aren't quite ready to bite that bullet!

We're just about to hit the 2-week mark of sleep training and, man, it has been a roller coaster. Some nights are perfect but many are really rough. This boy just wants to snuggle, mostly with momma. It will be worth it, and it will benefit Benjamin because he needs to sleep better. He slept through the night from 3-7 months, but once those teeth came in, it messed everything up. Then we bought a house and moved during the middle of an extremely busy season, and we were so exhausted that we couldn't even fathom sleep training - we just took turns waking up with him. Oy. We're still doing that now, but it's less often and for longer periods of being awake. Like I said, the boy just wants to snuggle.

Seriously, our sweet sugar baby is just such a joy. And, boy, is he CUTE. We can't go anywhere without being stopped and told how handsome he is. Ben is learning that people like him, too, and he's becoming quite a little flirt. It is so much fun to play with him, read with him, even watch him learning when we have to correct and redirect him (why do babies love cords and electrical outlets??). He is starting to learn to throw temper tantrums (his hairbrush - he HAS TO have his hair brush when he sees it, and, by golly, he wants a drink of that Topo Chico!), but even then I'm just amazed at this little human and all his spirit. Benjamin is so incredibly smart, sweet, and adorable - exactly what every parent thinks of their child, I know. But I mean, really, it's a dream come true to have this precious baby boy as a part of our family. He made me a momma, and I get to be a bit biased by definition. Can you blame me, though? Just look at that cute face! When he smiles, it's a melt-inducing smile - you have to work for it, but it's definitely worth the effort.