Milestone Month (Ethan at 9 months and more)

It's been a big month for milestones and birthdays.

First of all, our Elliana turned 3 years old! I already blogged about my thoughts on that in this post.

Then, on the 27th Ethan turned 9 months old. I always feel a little sad when the 9th month passes because that's when I notice our baby starts to REALLY grow and develop quickly into a toddler.

Also, yesterday, on the 28th I turned the BIG 30!! I have so many mixed feelings about it. On one hand 30 is just a number, and really, I have so many blessings to count. I'm feeling what everyone else says about the 30's, that it's your BEST decade. You're settled into yourself as a person and what you want out of life. I know this is true for me, and I'm exactly where I'd hoped to be at this age. I have an amazing husband, 2 adorable and wonderful kids (my family lights up my life), I'm living my dream job as a stay at home mom, and I'm surrounded by loving parents, sisters, in-laws, friends and other extended family.

I guess the only weird thing for me about turning 30 is that it's an age I'd never imagined being. When I was a young child I would always dream about being in high school, or turning 21, or moving out of my parent's house, or getting married, or having children. But I never really dreamed past that. And suddenly, here I am. 30 years old. Crazy!

Last night my husband took me out to dinner and surprised me with an envelope stating that he's stealing me away next week for a 4 day, 3 night trip filled with many more surprises! He is SOOO good to me, and I can HARDLY wait!! He even said my family and his family are in on the surprises and they have chipped in for the trip too. Yes, I am one spoiled girl woman. :)



Now on to the kiddos. It's time to give my monthly update on little man.

Ethan, this is what you were like at 9 months:

~We did your well child check a week early because of the holidays and to my surprise you weren't nearly as big as I had thought. You weighed exactly 15 pounds (1st percentile) and you were 26.5 inches long (3rd percentile).

~You are still wearing size 2 diapers.

~You mostly wear 6-9 months in clothing but you are beginning to wear some 9 month clothes.

~You are doing really well with solid foods and you are beginning to want more and more table food. We gave you bread for the first time on Christmas Eve and you LOVED it! You also liked the eggs that you had on Christmas day.

~You still take a bottle first thing in the morning, right before bed, and between meals. About 4-5 bottles a day. You are completely done nursing. :(

~You have really become a great sleeper for the most part. Most nights you sleep in your crib 9-12 hours! Sometimes you'll still wake up once for a bottle in the middle of the night, but that is happening less often too.

~You are taking either two 2 hour naps, or one long 3-4 hour nap during the day. You like your sleep! When you are a tired baby, it really changes your mood.

~You are teething like CRAZY! You are constantly drooling and chewing on anything you can get your hands on. I am STILL waiting to see teeth, but every month I think it's just around the corner and every month I am wrong. I'm not too worried about it though.

~For the most part, you are a very happy baby. If you are well fed and well rested, you love to smile, laugh and giggle. You smile all the time now. Every once in a while I'll see your serious, pensive face.





~You started CRAWLING 10 days ago! You are SO happy to finally be mobile, that you never stop moving.



~You've even started pulling up on anything that will help you stand; furniture, my legs, the laundry basket, etc.



~You sit up really well without support all of the time now.

~You love to be on the floor to play.

~You are so curious about your world now. You love to reach, grab and play with anything.

~You have outgrown the exersaucer, the swing, the bouncy seat, just about everything that is for young babies. This is another sign to me that you are growing quickly now days. :(

~You and your sister are developing a great relationship. She continues to make you laugh in a way that nobody else can. You're always watching her with a big smile on your face. She loves to bring you toys when she notices you're looking for something to play with.

~Your love for baths continues to grow, it's the only thing that can make you go from completely angry and grumpy, to happy and giggling. You love to splash and play with the bath toys.

~You are not as content to sit and cuddle as you once were. I guess you're too busy to cuddle. I'll take what I can get though. You'll always sit contently in my lap when I'm giving you a bottle.



~Nicknames: Mister, Little Man, Sweet Boy, Handsome and sometimes EJ.

~Ethan we love you more than words can say. We are so thankful for you and are enjoying watching you grow and change. We can't wait to see what God has in store for you!



I'll end this post with a few pictures of Elliana's big Christmas gift from us. We got her her own tricycle and she loves it! Now it's complete with the new helmet she got from Nana and Papa for Christmas.

Caleb took Ellie to the park yesterday and she was so proud to show off her biking skills.

I almost don't recognize my own daughter in these pictures. I think she looks so grown up.







If you made it to the end of this post and you read the entire thing, then you deserve a trophy. Ha!

Happy New Year everyone! We'll be throwing a New Year's Eve/ 30th Birthday bash that night. I'm pretty excited. I hope your 2012 is filled with blessings.