9 Months in, 9 Months out!

I have to say that having a 9 month old is too much fun! I am loving the personality and humor my little guy is developing! He is learning new things everyday right before my eyes and I am so very blessed to be able to stay home to witness it! We have had an exciting month by getting out of the house more, going out to eat, and a trip to Chicago this past weekend. We went to Chicago for Gradma's annual St. Patty's party! we drove  on Friday night and left at Jude's bedtime so he slept most of the way which was nice! He woke up when we got there and got to see grandma for a little bit before going back to bed. The next day was the party and we got to see our bff's the Mansavages and Justin! Andy, Erica, and Aila came early so Jude and Aila could play! They are just adorable and will make a very happy couple someday :). The party was a great time and it was good to catch up with all of the Chicago peeps we see every year! They all couldn't belive how big Jude is getting, and to be honest, neither can I! We had delicious corne beef and cabbage for dinner and indulged in a couple of beers too! Jude was a bit fussy and wanted to be held alot by me while we were there, but has been a peach since we've been home so thats good!

So here are the detail of this month:
sleep- has been going ok for most of the month, with Jude going to bed around 6 and waking up around 6 with one night feeding around 1am. Could be worse, but could be better. Then the time changed and suddenly Jude doesnt want to go to bed at 6 anymore, and who can blame him as it is still really bright at that point! So he has been staying up until about 7:30, which is actually really nice bc it is allowing us to be able to do more in the evenings and it gives Doug a little more time with "taco" after work! The past two nights Jude has even slept through the night! I have been loving that!! He naps okay, but still prefers to nap in our bed, which I am trying to break that habit. Here's my conundrum though, when he naps in crib its 20 -30 min tops. When he naps in my bed its 1-2 hours. But maybe if I get consistent with it the crib naps will get longer?! who knows!

food- this kid loves to eat! Everything... including grass, leaves, and woodchips! You have been trying so many new things and loving all of it, Jude! Some of your latest feasts have included scrambled eggs and cheese, black beans, quinoua, chicken, rye bread, and corned beef! You will still eat some purees, but prefer to feed yourself pieces of finger food! We are working on just putting one piece of food in the mouth at a time! Still nursing like a champ too and enjoys having a sippy cup of water and drinking from a glass of water also!

teeth- STILL just those two bottom toofers! Teeth confuse me, so I am not even going to try to predict them anymore :)
talking- says "mama" and "baba" and on the verge of "dada" and "hi"! From here on out he is just going to keep learning and learning!

motor skills- (fine) he has mastered his pincer grasp to feed himself and continues to pick up small objects! If he can find something on the carpet he will pick it up!
(large) he is still pulling himself up on everything and moving from object to object. Still waiting on walking, but to tell you the truth, I am not quite ready for that so he can totally take his time on that one! He got a little car to ride over the weekend and he likes to scoot around on that (and when daddy put him on it *naked* before bath last night he showed us that he likes to pee on it too! HAHA!

personality- this kid kills me with his sweetness and humor! He is my little sweetie and loves to lay his head on my shoulder and give hugs and kisses! I love it! He has the *BEST* laugh in the whole entire world and smile too! He is fearless and I am worried that will one day get us in trouble, but we'll see! He will still go to anyone, but prefers to keep me in his line of vision. He plays shy when someone new comes into the room by putting his head down to avoid eye contact. Then he peeks his head up, gives a big smile, and puts head down again. Then he repeats about 15 times! It's really quite cute! He loves to actually play peek-a-boo too! With blankets and with us when we hide around corners. He anticipates where we are going to pop out next! Smart cookie I tell ya!

I really can't believe that I will have a one year old soon! This has just gone way too fast and so sad to think that this is probably the last of the baby times I will experience. That means that I just need to soak up as much as I can now! We are going on vacation to NC in May and I am sooo excited! I can't wait to see his little baby toes in the sand!