

My Boy's Becoming a Boy – Caleb's Nine Month Update
I don’t even know what to say about this little boy. He is the most precious little guy. Daily he becomes more and more like a little boy and less and less like a little baby. This month I cried for the very first time about him growing up. I’m excited about the boy he’s becoming but I miss the baby he was.
Weight: 23 lb 7 oz – 94% (Up from 20 lb 15 oz at 6 months)
Height: 29.75 inches – 95% (Up from 28 inches at 6 months)
Sleep: I wrote a whole blog post about his sleep and how amazing it’s becoming. After writing that post, though, Caleb learned how to stand up in his crib. That’s become a whole new issue since he doesn’t know how to sit down yet. For a few nights Caleb thought standing up was the best but, as soon as he remembered that he actually wanted to be sleeping he started crying. Those were long nights but, thankfully, the novelty of standing has worn off a little.
Likes: Crawling, Standing up, Someone helping him walk, Chewing on cords, Trying to stick his hand in the fan, Looking at himself in the mirror, Brushing his teeth, Eating everything, Being attacked with kisses by mommy and daddy, Playing with his toys, Pulling people hair, Mama’s boobs, Daddy, His cousins, going for walks in his stroller, Bath time, Swimming, “Talking,” Wrestling
Dislikes: Being Tired, Mama and daddy trying to help him eat, Being told he can’t chew on cords/put his fingers in the fan, Laying himself back down in his crib
Clothes: Caleb is still in size 4 diapers and has stuck with wearing both 9 month and 12 month clothes
Milestones: Caleb is developing by leaps and bounds! It seems as though every day he’s learning something new. This month he perfected the art of crawling. He made friends with our friend’s dog and decided that crawling got him to the dog quicker! I was kind of afraid that my little monster would injure the chihuahua. Caleb’s really not the most gentle kid. Beyond chasing dogs, Caleb also loves his three month old cousins. His love is very aggressive so we have to protect the babies from him. Someday they’ll all be able to wrestle together but, until then, we trying to teach Caleb to love a little more gently. We took Caleb swimming for the first time this month and he ADORED it! He kicked and splashed all by himself and even got to the point where he was dunking his own head under the water. I think we need to take him swimming more often! Toward the end of the month Caleb learned how to pull himself up into a standing position. He now does that all the time, especially in his crib. He hasn’t quite learned how to let himself down gently so he’ll either fall down or cry until we help him down. It’s cute… Except when it’s 2 in the morning. Caleb loves mimicking us and having us mimic him. He enjoys us copying him when he shakes his head back and forth (as if he’s saying “no”) and when he makes sounds like “ma-ma-ma” and “la-la-la.” I like to pretend that he knows what he’s saying when he says “ma-ma.” This month Caleb cut four more teeth! It was grumpyville at our house but, once he was done, he got so much more happy! Nate was gone for five days this month and, once he got home, Caleb began showing us just who his favorite person is. Every time Nate even leaves the room Caleb is in he starts fussing and crawls after his daddy. It doesn’t matter if I’m right there, he still wants his dad. I really am chopped liver in Caleb’s eyes. I think he has PTSD from having his dad gone for so long.