Oliver - Nine Months

Wow.  Oliver has now pretty much spent as much time on Earth as he did in my belly!  Crazy how the time flies.  If I thought my pregnancy went by fast, the next nine months went even faster!  I've been really working on just enjoying every single moment and I would have to say we had another fabulous month. Here are some of Ollie's stats as we enter month nine!

Weight - We honestly haven't tried to check this in quite awhile.  If I had to guess I'd say maybe 22 pounds, maybe as much as 23?  We have a checkup with his pediatrician next week so we'll finally have some official stats then.

Length - Also haven't checked in awhile, he's still a bit short for the highest setting on his jumperoo, so I'm going with between 27 and 28 inches.

Nicknames - Ollie, Ollie-boy, Little Man, Monkey, Monster, Munchkin, Kiddo, Pretzel Boy, Squirmy Worm, The Boss, Buddy, Bud, Goofy

Sleep - Well, we still have one wake up over night but I think for the first month of his life I can finally say we're consistent!!  He goes down every night between 6:30 and 7:00 pm, gets a dream feed when I go to bed around 10 pm and then wakes up around 2:00 am usually and is up for the day between 6:30 and 7:00 am.  I know at this age he is very capable of sleeping through the night, but I honestly don't mind our schedule.  I am also happy he's been on a nice predictable nap schedule.  He takes an hour to hour and a half nap in the mornings and close to two hours in the afternoon, around the same time each day.  This makes scheduling things, especially on the weekends, SO MUCH easier.

Eating - Lots more veggies!  He seems to dig his veggies, his favorites have been cauliflower, sweet potato, squash and green beans.  We must be teaching him well, he turns up his nose at french fries!  We did attempt yogurt for breakfast but then he broke out around his mouth in a tiny rash, so we're waiting to ask the doctor on that one.  We've also tried some oatmeal, but we are not a fan.  Over the next month we're working on trying to get him up to three meals a day of solid food.  He still LOVES his nursing though and mommy doesn't mind that at all.

Diapers - Size threes during the day a lot and we've moved into size fours at night.  Both sizes seem to work fine, I notice there is a bit of overlap in the weight recommended on each size so that may be why.

Clothes - Still rocking mostly 12-18 month.  Some of the size 12 month stuff is starting to get a little small, but much of it still works well.

Mood - He's a pretty happy little guy!  He has his bad teething days here and there but even those days we get smiles, especially if we go outside.  He is ACTIVE.  He still can't quite figure out the crawling, but he is a busy boy, always playing, exploring, grabbing for things, wanting to be standing or moving.  He's all boy, that's for sure!

Loves - Mommy, Daddy, his grandparents, Taylor cat (we've regressed a bit on our friendship with Pippin a little bit), being outside, puppies, walks, sitting at the table like a big boy, banging on the table like a drum, giving kisses, playing with the kitty's toys, balls, bath time, swimming, swinging on a swing, sitting in the cart at Target or other stores

Dislikes - Teething, being strapped down for too long in his high chair, carseat or even stroller sometimes, car rides longer than 10-15 minutes (sigh), rainy days, not being able to just get down and walk

Milestones/What I want to remember - He now has four teeth and may have six pretty soon!  We had fun showing his St. Louis relatives around some Minnesota things, we visited the Minnesota State Fair, we celebrated our buddy Benny's first birthday.  He sits very well now and is working on standing.  He started giving kisses this month - cutest thing ever.  He is getting good at the "pincher" grasp and pretty much grabs at everything now, I'm almost thankful he's hasn't quite figured out this crawling thing yet because once he does and can start pulling himself up on things, I'm going to be in trouble!  He helped brew his first batch of beer with mommy and daddy - well OK, he watched us while we did it.  We visited the zoo again, I think it was his fourth trip now!  We made the most of as many fun summer days as we could!

Dear Oliver,

Well baby, you've been with us now for as long as mommy was pregnant with you!  How is that even possible?  We sure had a lot of fun this month didn't we?  You loved the State Fair so much, especially riding that merry go round!  You bring such joy to everyone we meet - every time we go to the coffee shop or a restaurant or store people tell us how cute you are! We'll have to be careful not to let that go to your head, but you seriously are the cutest.  We had a great summer but I'm also excited to show you all the best things about mommy's favorite season - Fall.  We have apple orchard visits to look forward to and next month we will teach you all about Halloween!  For now, we will keep enjoying these beautiful days while we can!  I love you to the moon and back little man!

Love,
Mama