everett's nine month update

posted by mommy

yeah, yeah, i know. this is coming waaaay late in the game this month. and i'm just gonna do another one in a few days, but this one has been sitting in the drafts for over a week. it got pushed aside for father's day. i almost trashed it and replaced it with a ten month one, but then i figured i might as well go ahead and publish for posterity sake!

1. food - ev is still somewhat of a finicky eater. some meals he will eat anything and everything, and others he seems to want nothing. he totally prefers feeding himself versus being spoonfed, so most purees have taken a backseat to frozen or fresh veggie and fruit pieces, turkey, cheese, crackers, puffs, beans...anything he can pick up and shove in his mouth! he even had his first taste recently of some of his brother's favorites - noodles and cheese, hot dog, and bunny grahams. he also finally figured out how to suck out food on his own from a pouch, which he loves to do! he still totally absolutely prefers to nurse and we do so still about 6-8 times each day/night.
2. growth - ev is still only army-crawling, so he maintains his delicious rolls, but is definitely growing.
3. development - he has recently added a little push/hop with his feet to his army crawl! it's quite the sight to see. he hasn't really tried to pull himself up on anything yet (only once on one stair). regardless of how he gets himself around, ev always makes sure he's in the middle of the action. ev's "talking" has progressed...not to consonants...but to yelling. he's loud. but he has fun.
4. sleeping - as per our new "normal", sleep is still a moving target. days are pretty dependable (except for sundays due to church, and the occasional odd day) and he still takes his two 1.5-2 hour naps. nighttime, on the other hand, changes with the tides. some nights he'll only wake once to nurse, others he still wakes twice, and occasionally three times. if only mommy could go to bed earlier, it wouldn't be so bad! unfortunately, it is the rare occurrence that he will rock/walk with daddy to go back to sleep...usually only nursing with mommy can do the trick.
5. overall demeanor - i never thought i'd say it, but as he has gotten older, i actually find myself describing ev as a pretty happy, chill baby. don't get me wrong, if momma's around (or he even hears my voice), he'll make sure you know he isn't happy until i hold him. but otherwise, he's pretty easy going. and unlike his brother, he actually does make sure to let us know when something's amiss (hungry, dirty, tired, done eating, etc)!
6. favorite things - a few of ev's newest faves are waving and clapping, and he does them alot! he also loves any of owen's cars/trucks/trains/balls (well, you get the picture!). and finally he loooooves feeding himself (but only if he's actually hungry, and only if we give him enough variety!).