9 MONTHS

Phin is now 9 months old...the last nine months with him have been quite a bit more enjoyable than the 9 months he was growing in my belly.  We visited in the pediatrician this week and it was one of the rare appointments where he didn't need to get any shots...as a result neither one of us left the office in tears.  

Phin now weighs 22 pounds 1 ounce and is 30 inches long.  That puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and the 94th percentile for height.  I also wanted to mention that his head is 18.3 inches in circumference which puts him in the 83rd percentile in that category...which makes getting him dressed so much fun...I have pretty much given up on pull-over sweatshirts unless they are a size or two bigger.  He is wearing mostly 12 month clothing but wears some 18 month pants.

I said we would be moving to size 4 diapers...but we have kept him in size 3...mostly because they are cheaper...but the size of his girth won't allow us to be cheap for much longer. Phin still had no teeth at the 9 month mark.  Everytime he has been fussy we have said "Oh he must be teething"...we are now starting to realize that no he is not teething...he is just being fussy.  Phin is not crawling which really doesn't bother me much...he rolls very well and can maneuver anywhere he needs to that way...although he always seems to roll into a corner of his pack and play and whimpers until I come to save him. He is staring to wave and often waves both hands...he could really give some lessons to the pageant girls.

Phin continues to be a little chatterbox.  I love when he wakes up making happy noises.  He babbles with /m/, /b/, and /d/ phonemes.  He says "hi" and says it frequently when his Dad comes home from work.  He squeals and has done a few raspberries.  Sometimes he talks while he is eating which makes it much harder to get the food to stay in his mouth.  Seth has pretty much taken over feeding Phin solids...he is very patient and lets Phin take his time.  Phin really just figured out solids in the week before he hit the 9 month mark.  He now opens his mouth when the food is coming...big improvement.  When the doctor said he should be eating 3 meals a day...I omitted the truth that we are lucky to get one solid food feeding in a day.

Phin took his first official family trip this month.  We had a king size bed in our room which allowed Phin plenty of room to roll around.  He loved watching other guests in the breakfast room.  

He also enjoyed our hiking backpack for the most part.  He tends to fight the backpack at first but as soon as he is up and moving he calms down.  He is a little funny with hats...somehow knows when he really needs a hat and will keep it on...but if you put it on when he doesn't need it...he pulls it right off.

Phin had his first driving lessons on our trip.

He also spent quite a bit of time with this view as we drove between our sites.  I occasionally sat next to him to give him a little company...and to feed him.  

Phin loved being outside on the trip...he is my little outdoor boy.  Whenever he is fussy all I have to do is step outside and then he forgets what he was fussing about.

Phin has a pretty special relationship with his Dad.  There is just a way that he looks at Seth that makes my heart skip a beat...Seth says Phin looks at me that way too...but I'm not so sure.

Phin is starting to enjoy games like peek-a-boo and patty cake.  He also loves to have books read to him...

but would really just prefer to rip the book apart.  I have started to save magazines for him to rip apart...cheap entertainment.

He took his last official bath in the sink...mostly because we ended up with more water outside of the sink. Seth also sticks his tongue out when he is concentrating...doesn't Michael Jordan do the same thing.

Phin was invited to his first friend birthday party.  My best friend Amy's daughter Zoey turned one on Valentines so we dressed Phin up to impress.

Zoey was kind enough to send us home with a balloon...Phin was entertained for hours with that one.

Phin, my mom and I also took a trip up to Pocatello to visit Sarah, Joe and Kate.  Phin enjoyed their nightly dance party.

While I went to a speech conference one day, Phin and Kate got to play.  Phin loved all of Kate's toys.

Phin apparently showed off some take-down moves...Kate didn't seem to be phased at all from them.  I think she didn't mind because she is now crawling and will be able to escape any future take down moves.

One Saturday we were quite bored and decided to load Phin up and walk around the local Mall.

He loved the fountains and the lights.

Phin has learned to share this month and doesn't mind wiping his nose all over my shoulder...so kind.