Nine Months

Where, oh where, did the last month go? All the weeks and months are flying by but his 8th month seemed to pass at warp speed. Not cool.

These last weeks have been pretty busy for us, as evidenced by my lack of blog posts. We have a lot of things going on this Fall, which is exciting, because Carver is getting harder and harder to entertain at home all day.

Carver's 9th month update:

1) A new attitude-- Carver is giving defiance a go this month. Throwing mini-tantrums, arching his back and screaming when placed in his carseat, repeatedly going after things in the house after I have told him "No" and moved him from said object multiple times, getting hysterical every time I change his diaper or try to dress him. Fun times.

2) Carver upgraded to a big boy carseat this week. The jury is still out on whether he likes it or not.

3) Food: We've tried about every fruit and veggie at this point and he is, thankfully, not picky at all. He has his favorites (carrots, sweet potatoes, pears) and his least favorites (green beans), but in general he will eat anything I give him. I am supremely thankful for this. No meat yet...not sure when we will cross that bridge.

4) Dancing! Carver has recently started "dancing" when his toys play music. Really he just sits and bounces. It's adorable though.

5) Sleeping-- about the same. Though he did sleep through the night one day last week. I was tentatively excited only to be let down the next night when he was back to getting up at least once. He takes two 1-hour-ish naps a day.

6) His favorite thing to do is travel around the rooms, standing up at each piece of furniture. He could do this all day. He l.o.v.e.s. to stand.

7) New addition (or rather obstacle) in our household: Baby jail! Nice for me to be able to stick him in a safe, enclosed space when I need a few minutes without chasing him.

But.... this is his opinion of baby jail.

8) Teeth: still only 1 on the bottom left, but I think the one on the bottom right is trying to make its debut.

9) Childcare: Carver stays in the nursery at church when I go to MOPS every other Friday and he seems to like it. He makes no fuss when I drop him off and doesn't seem particularly excited to see me when I pick him up. That stings a little.

10) He still loves bath time, but wants to stand up in the tub. Since, hello!, this is dangerous I keep shoving him back down. Tantrum ensues.

11) We've entered the days of lots of bumps and bruises. I'm imagining that, with a boy, this is a very long phase.

12) He has favorite toys now. Currently, he loves his talking/singing mailbox and a small light-up car that Daniel gave him. His other favorite "toys" are remote controls, cell phones, cords, vacuums, etc.

13) Talking: Just "Mama" and "Dada" so far. Still seems to be no correlation between us and those words, but I assume that will come.

I love how, as the months pass, we get more and more glimpses of his personality. Some traits I hope stay-- others I hope are just a phase. Two things in particular I love. First, Carver is incredibly brave. He is scared of nothing. He takes interest in every new thing-- people, places, animals, etc. He is never scared by noises or weird situations. Second, he is incredibly social. He smiles at everyone he sees, will let anyone hold him (so far), and will crawl right over to anyone. He gets a ton of attention everywhere we go because he gives everyone attention. It's a precious trait. Since neither Daniel or I are particularly outgoing, I would love it if this character trait stayed around. It will serve him well in life.

Carver is both a joy and a handful. He is both easy to please and incredibly difficult at times. It's hard to believe that less than two years ago he didn't even exist (even in my tummy). It's now impossible to imagine a world without him. He is my biggest life's challenge as well as my greatest blessing. He has already taught me far more than I will ever teach him-- about myself, about life, about love. There isn't a moment of my day that isn't wrapped up in him in some way.

The days are hard, and sometimes impossibly long. But they are beautiful in a way that they never were before I had him.

Sometimes I think Delia dreams of breaking out of our house and the chaos baby Carver has brought to our lives. But, I hope she knows she is still overwhelmingly loved and an important member of our little family. Lea and baby Winston just go with the flow...