9 Months

 

The time with my baby is going much too fast. Nine months always seems like another big milestone to me, but I suppose every month is a milestone. Ethan is continuing to move and explore. He is much more curious and bold in is exploration and in going farther away from me. He knows how to crawl hands and knees but will still mostly army crawl, mostly out of habit I think. Ethan is also pulling himself up to standing, which means another transition keeping things out of reach and teaching him what he can and cannot touch. He weighs 17 lbs. 7 oz. (13%), and is 28.5" tall (55%), pretty typical for our babies. Also typical for our babies is how happy they are. Ethan is quick to smile and when he gets really happy and excited he starts kicking both his legs and moving his body. It is so cute, it's like he is so happy he can't contain it in. Which of course means we can't contain our smiles either. I wish I could pause time to soak in these baby days.

 

8 Months

They just keep growing don't they?! Here we are another month gone by. Our sweet boy is as happy as ever. He typically cries only when he is tired, which happens suddenly. He will be fine and the he hits a wall and melt down ensues. Other than that he is always full of big gummy smiles. Ethan has also become quite a talker and a loud talker, especially during times when we are more quite like meal time or praying. His development as continued to advance as he is now able to get from floor to sitting. He is still army crawling but will get up on hands and knees and rock. I love watching him crawl toward me when he wants to be close to me. It is one of the best things! He is still so ticklish and has now started to push my hand away when I am tickling him. Ethan seems to enjoy being outside, anytime a door is open he will head that direction. We are at the point where we need to be keenly aware of what is on the ground, Ethan will put just about anything in his mouth. The particular toys he plays with the most are wooden blocks and a foam book. Both of which are in his mouth a lot, the blocks he will bang together to make noise. Anything he can make noise with is fun for him. Even though he loves to explore he still loves snuggles with me and I will take that as long as he wants. Holding my babies is one of my favorite things. How blessed we are by this boy!

All three at 8 months.

Imagination

Micah's imagination amazes me and excites me. It also makes me laugh. Here are a few pictures of a few of his costumes he came up with. I only wish I would have written down what each of these were in his mind. I wonder where his imagination will take him through his life because it goes beyond dress up and into every aspect of his life.

7 Months

 

Another month of growth for Ethan. This month is marked the most by his continued development of army crawling. His mobility has brought curiosity and he is much more interested in exploring than playing with toys, or at least playing with baby toys. Ethan has become a stable sitter and has figured out how to get from sitting to the floor. So much for the wonderful stage of them sitting and staying put. He is such a happy baby and despite all his spitting up. We keep the carpet cleaning close by as there are many spots to clean throughout the day. Ethan loves his siblings and they love him. He always smiles when they come near to greet him.

Ethan is still nursing four times a day, and napping twice a day. He is also eating lunch and dinner now. The foods he is eating is increasing little by little as I like to wait a few days in between each introduction of a new food. These months are sure flying by. I strive daily to take in and remember these moments with my sweet baby boy.

Since the monthly comparison seemed so enjoyable here they are again all at seven months. Last month I accidentally did Micah at seven, so it is the same picture here. I did update Ethan's 6 month post with an accurate one of Micah.

6 Months

 How has half a year gone by already!?! Nevertheless it has and Ethan has been so fun and enjoyable. I just love kissing those cheeks! He is very happy and smiles easily. He is also quite ticklish. He enjoys playing with toys and especially likes tags. Ethan is a mover, he rolls around easily and is army crawling. Though he is not a stable sitter yet. He prefers to be on his tummy and will spend most of this playing time that way.

 

 

When I'm working in the kitchen or we are at the table he is in the highchair and seems to enjoy looking around. At meals he will get quite chatty. We are feeding him lunch now, so far he has had rice cereal and oatmeal. Ethan is also a tummy sleeper and thumb sucker, the first of our kids. We just had his checkup and Ethan weighs15lbs 4.5oz (10%), he is  27.5" long (85%), and his head is 17.75" (91% our kids have big heads). His schedule typically goes like this, up at 7:30/8, nurses when he wakes up, nap around 9:30, up and nurse at 11, lunch, nap 1:00/1:30, up and nurse at 4, about 7:30 nurse and bed. We are so enjoying and loving this sweet guy.

Comparison of the kids at 6 months

We Do Have Other Kids

Micah is growing and maturing physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He is really into pretend play. Most of the play and scenarios he comes up with are from things he has observed or been involved with, especially if it involves his dad or anything guy related. So there is lots of cars, trucks, hunting, chopping, building, and repairing happening with him. He will also do some cooking with pom poms and fort building with Jane. They are starting to play more and more together which is fun to see their relationship grow and for them to enjoy each other. Their relationship is something I pray for that it will continue to strengthen and remain through their lives. Micah is also so in love with Ethan. He will stop in the middle of whatever he is doing to say hi to him. Micah is very eager to help in anyway with Ethan. Micah will also hold his hand anytime they are near. Whether we are sitting together reading a book or they are in their carseats Micah is almost always holding his hand. Micah really enjoys reading, he will also stop in the middle of whatever he is doing if you offer to read to him and he will sit there as long as you are willing to read. As Micah is getting older he is getting to be more responsible and helpful. He is still a little boy and I love my snuggles with him.

Jane is at the age where what she says and they way she speaks are just the cutest things. Like the way she will often tilt her head and almost squint her eyes when she speaks. Or her pronunciation of words like, Efin (Ethan), Mitah (Micah), tib (crib), puzz (fuzz) and many more. Or that she calls cold cereal breakfast and if we have something else for breakfast she doesn't think she has eaten breakfast. Or how they both call a meat and cheese sandwich a "pickle samich". She will also continue to repeat what she has said until you acknowledge her. Ever time I tuck her in for nap she will tell my "my tummy hurts and my eye", to which I say "Okay, go to sleep and you will feel better." and that's it, she then goes to sleep. You will never find Jane far from her blanket (she calls it her poka ought diedent) and her baby doll Mindy. Jane is eager to help me in the kitchen and with the laundry, that will be great when she actually is helpful. She too is in love with Ethan and wants to help with  him. Jane will usually try help him feel better when he is crying. Jane is a sweet girl and we often say she can't get any cuter.

5 Months

 

 

Ethan is finally beaten the cold he has seemed to have had for a good portion of his life. But the poor baby woke up with pink eye a week ago. I feel so bad for him, hopefully soon he will get to experience life healthy. Right now it is so hard not to kiss those sweet cheeks. It doesn't seem to bother him, he is still a very happy baby. Ethan has become very good at rolling and seems to prefer to play on his tummy. He has also discovered how fun a toy his toes are especially in the mouth, always so cute. He has found tags or ribbons on toys to be fun to play with too. He is growing well, now weighing 15 pounds. He is napping three times a day, nurses five times a day and sleeps through the night. Ethan seems to enjoy his siblings as much as they enjoy him. But I still get most of his attention and I will take it!