Jackson is 9 Months Old!!

*Quick Disclaimer: these pictures are not his best by far. He has decided crawling away from the camera is fun, so I just have tons of him trying to get away:).

Oh my goodness, this last month has been a big one for our "little" guy! He has become a moving machine and can get ANYwhere in this house! He still army crawls on his belly most places, but is also able to crawl up on his hands and knees. He does a lot of grunting and vocalizing when he crawls, so you can always hear where he is, it's quite amusing!! He also can pull up on anything and can even bridge distances between, say, an ottoman and a coffee table. He can cruise along furniture and he has let go a couple of times and stood there for a few seconds before falling down. This child can remember where every electrical cord, drawer or TV remote is and bee lines for them any chance he gets. He also finds the slider door track fascinating, which is greasy and disgusting of course. Such a boy. We spend a great deal of time and energy telling him "no" (which he just laughs at) and moving him away from things. He could care less about his toys. So, we have invested in a "pen" for him (thank you, K, from AYWH for the recommendation!) to contain him in one area so that we can do other things with Addison or around the house, knowing he is safe. Wow, I just cannot believe how far this boy has come in a couple of months. He took forever to just roll over, but once he started that, it was all over! Jackson still babbles a lot and loves to play with his voice. He doesn't yet have words that mean anything - he says mama and baba a lot, but not to mean anything yet. Oh, and I just noticed yesterday that he has his top right front tooth and the left one is about to pop through any day now!

Jackson still will eat anything we put in his mouth. When we have healthy, appropriate foods for meals, he eats the same thing we eat. Otherwise, he eats stage 2 fruits and oatmeal in the morning and stage 3 veggies for lunch and a stage 3 meat/meal for dinner. Jackson now weighs 22lbs 4.5oz, which is in the 77th percentile. He is 29.5 inches long, which is in the 87th percentile. Jackson has successfully been weaned off of his hypoallergenic formula and ALL of his reflux meds! He is a healthy baby boy! Jackson still sleeps like a champ, taking 2 naps a day and then sleeping about 12-13 hours a night. It's funny, I used to wonder if he'd ever sleep anywhere other than in my arms or the swing, and now he won't sleep anywhere other than his crib! How quickly things change for our little ones.

Jackson is an incredibly happy baby. People continue to ask us, "Is he always this happy?" He has become clingy in the last couple of months and so he can be very fussy when he isn't getting what he wants. My guess is he has had a difficult time with another baby being in the home. We love on him as much as we can and reassure him that we adore him. Jackson's stranger anxiety seems to have eased up and he again is able to smile and enjoy people who say hello to him (and of course tell him how adorable he is). He is a perfect angel when we take him on errands and loves to just sit in the cart and watch his surroundings and play with his toys. I often wondered when he was small if I'd ever get to go on a stress free errand with him - and he is such a joy now to take with me! When we had some people over to our house that he'd never met, he clung to me and even hid his head in my chest and shyly peaked out at them. My heart just soared. Being this little boy's mom is one of the greatest honors and joys of my life.

*I had to strap him in to get a still picture:)

Jackson is my dream come true. He represents the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. Every time I look at him, squeeze him, and kiss him, I am reminded of all of my blessings. He is living proof for me that life is good, that dreams can and do come true. I love my little man with every ounce of my being. Happy 9 months, big boy!