9 Months (and 2 days)

Warning: CUTE PICTURES AT BOTTOM!

In case any of you were wondering, Max is 9 months old and almost crawling! He really can scoot/army crawl across the floor to get just about whatever he wants. He had been diving forward from a sitting position and then rrreeeaaaccchhhiiinnngg really far to try to get things for a while. Now he has started the scoot. I think he'll be full on crawling soon! Watch out, Mommy! I am loving to put things in my mouth now!

Other Max stats
2 Teeth (bottom middle)
One Cute Smile
Pinchable Cheeks
Rolly legs

Sounds:
-Max can wave bye-bye, and we've heard him say "ba-ba" a couple times when waving bye!! So, I think bye-bye is his first word!! (Canaan said uh-oh first, at 7.5 months.)

-I have also heard him say "na-na"when I put him to bed a few times. I always tell him, "Night, night." When I put him down, I lay him in my arms and sing Jesus Loves Me to him. When he is really tired, he leans over and tries to roll from my arms and into his crib. He, like Canaan, likes his bed when he is tired! We've also given him a little blanket, like Canaan has. The blanket for Canaan was a mistake, but really worked out well. With all the traveling we've done since Canaan has been born (both in the States and internationally), Canaan is often out of his "normal" bed and routine. But, his blanket travels with him and is a sign that it is bed time (good for on planes and switching time zones). We've bought several to have them on hand when we loose one or need to wash one. It has worked great for us and I recommend blankets for kids, especially if you will travel a bit! Of course, Canaan just turned 3 years old and still sleeps with his sheep; we haven't figured out how to break him of that, but are thinking he is getting old en

ough to let it go. If you have any suggestions, let us know!

-Max has been saying Da-Da a lot too, but not always purposefully. Today, Dougle walked into the house and Canaan yelled "Daddy!" Max stopped eating (I was nursing), leaned over to look and said "Da-Da!" Pretty purposeful!

-Max has been saying MaMa-MaMa for over a month. However, he doesn't seem to say it purposely, for me, yet.

-Max also likes to gab. He baby-talks a lot.

Imitation
Max has been watching Canaan since the day he was born. Now Max is mimicking him! Instead of only chewing on cars (he chews on EVERYTHING), he has started to "drive" them in front of him, back and forth on the ground! I am amazed! He will be copying Canaan the rest of his life, I think! (Though I am hoping he will learn from Canaan's mistakes and not make them!!) Max even prefers to play with Canaan's toys, r

ather than his own.

Night Time and Sleeping
Max sleeps from about 9pm-6am (9 hours- for the non-math whizes!). He then wakes up to eat, and goes right back to sleep until 9 or 10am. Yes, I am blessed! God knew I couldn't survive without good sleepers! Canaan was the same. He slept 11-12 hours a night from the age of 3 months on. The only time we have problems with getting off schedule and mid-night feedings is when we are traveling.
Max takes about 2 naps a day that are about 1-1.5 hours. He sometimes takes a 45 minute nap right before bed time.

Food and Eating

Max LOVES to eat! I am still nursing Max several times a day. However, around 5.5 months, he started eating oatmeal and other pureed foods. Now, he can even pick up little bits of food I put on a tray and put them into his mouth, though this does take quite a bit of concentration and effort, as well as make a mess! He eats chicken and meat pieces that I cook, bananas, peas, corn, broccoli, carrots, bread, potatoes, etc. Pretty much

, he eats a little bit of whatever I am eating. When he sees us sit at the table, he knows what is going on and wants a part of it! We can't get away with not feeding him! So, whatever we eat, he eats some too!

Pooping

So, I don't know if many of you remember, but Max has never been a daily pooper. In fact, for the first 8 months of his life, he only pooped once every 5-7 days on average. Well, I say only 8 months because for the past few weeks, he has been getting off schedule. We ask ourselves, "Who is this baby and what is wrong with him?" I guess we should be wondering what is RIGHT!? He started pooping every 3 days and then every day. The every day thing has come with some restless sleeping and extra fussing and drooling, which I am attributing to new teeth coming in (thought I haven't seen them yet). But, now that I think about it, I think it has been 2 days since the last dirty diaper. Did I mention that they smell?! They smell like buttered movie pop-corn! Weird, isn't it?!

Random Stuff

--Many people here tell me Max looks like a baby doll!

--Max is still pretty laid back, but has definitely started fussing when he doesn't get his way (I tell him not to touch things and follow through), or when Canaan takes something from him that he wants. So, not totally perfect, but pretty clo

se!! :)

--Max can walk in his walker a bit now- mainly backward and to the side. He really doesn't ever go forward. Otherwise, he is not interested in standing at all (total opposite of Canaan).

--Sometimes we will all be in the living room and then one at a time will leave. Then we will all be in the kitchen and one of us will look around and say, "Where is Max?" We just forgot about him and left him in the living room by himself. So, Canaan has heard us say this a few times, and if he thinks I am leaving Max out of something I shouldn't, he will say, "Oh, you forgot about Max!" or "Don't forget Max, Mommy!"

--Max loves to look at himself in mirrors. Do all babies?