Mattox's 9th Month

{Taken Friday, December 4, 2015}

{Taken Tuesday, November 10, 2015}

{Taken Tuesday, November 17, 2015}

{Taken Tuesday, November 24, 2015}

{Taken Tuesday, December 1, 2015}

Nine months!  I do not know how you are already nine months old!  As of this week, you will have been out in the world as long as you were in the womb.  These nine months have definitely gone faster than those first nine months.  I really have to get on the ball and start planning your first birthday celebration.  You are moving all over the floor doing the army crawl and will get up into a full crawl position and make some good forward motions although you still prefer to be on your belly.  Once you figure out how much faster you can move on your knees, nothing will stop you.  You still want to grab and touch everything you see.  You haven't really messed with the Christmas tree much yet, but you have fallen asleep under it a few times.  

Size:  We went to your nine month well-check on your actual nine month birthday so we were right on schedule.  You weighed exactly 18 lbs. (21st percentile) and were 28.25 inches long (44th percentile).  Your head size remains large at 18.66 in. (97th percentile).  That head size has caused a few bumps and bruises as you get it stuck when you try to squeeze into tight spots.  Ha!  You have still been wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 9 to 12 month sizes.  

Developmental Accomplishments:  You are army crawling all over the place, and you just have to figure out that you can crawl much more efficiently on your knees than your belly.   You can also stand holding onto furniture for a good little while when we stand you up.  You haven't pulled up fully by yourself yet, but you do get onto your knees.  You can hold your own bottle.  You still love your big brothers and laugh and "talk" a lot now.   You grasp and bang your toys together and pick up small treats with your fingers.  You just don't always put them in your mouth.  You will feed yourself teething crackers though.  You have four teeth at the moment with two on the bottom and two on the top. Separation anxiety and stranger anxiety has really been increasing too.  You didn't want to be put on Santa's lap so we all had to get in the picture with Mommy holding you.  You hate being left alone in a room and will try to crawl after us and get mad when you get stuck.  Mommy and your big brothers love being home with you this month, and we hope Daddy will get to join us more too. 

Sleeping:  You still sleep very well through the night and only occasionally wake up once to get more milk.  You wet out of your diaper almost every night because you like to turn yourself onto your tummy.  You do still sleep in the bassinet in our room, and I am just waiting until you are really pulling yourself up and trying to stand to move you to your crib. 

Eating:  You have still been doing well eating, and we are still chugging away at breast feeding which I am thankful for.  If you would consistently take 7 oz. at each feeding, we could probably go with just four feedings a day, but you still need at least 5 feedings a day getting between 5 and 7 oz. each.  You have been getting just the one 6 to 7 oz. bottle of formula with cereal in the afternoon this month because you want to nurse more.  That has been okay with me although your new teeth did cause a little trouble.  You still really love eating solids and have really been doing well with every food you have tried.  You eat more mixed combination meals with a fruit and oatmeal combination for breakfast, a vegetable combination for lunch, and a meat and vegetable combination for dinner.  You have now tried avocados, peas, squash, apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches, zucchini, green beans, broccoli, white potatoes, mangoes and kale.   You like white potatoes mixed with a green vegetable like peas, green beans, broccoli, or kale.  You eat a chicken puree mixed with an orange vegetable like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or carrots. You also love pieces of whole fruit like cantaloupe or mango in your little mesh feeder.  We just tried a little fruit and yogurt combination this week, and you love it!   You also ate some grits with a little cheese and butter that we ate one night for dinner.  

Nicknames:  Mattox Pattox (Mommy's nicknames for your brothers are Evan Pevin and Brody Pody so yours goes with theirs); Matt Matt; Matt Patt; Matty Patty.  Also, we call you "Squealie Pig" because you love to shriek and squeal really loud, sometimes happily and sometimes when you want to get our attention.  I love my little squealie pig!  

And of course, more cute pictures from the month:

I just cannot resist that little hand reaching out for me. 

I don't always like using his sleepers for our weekly photo sessions, but I just loved the colors of this little sleeper.  I also loved that it has a train on it, but it is hard to see in pictures.  

Those sweet faces!

He's been working on the railroad...with his little hammer.

Although we haven't had his baptism/dedication yet, I really wanted a picture of him wearing this little white outfit that Brody wore for his dedication. It is just the cutest and softest little sweater one-piece. 

So sweet. 

I love the face he made when he put the little ribbon from his giraffe in his mouth.   He needed the giraffe to comfort him after a long photo shoot. 

Mattox needed some new cold weather clothes because I had given many of Evan's and Brody's away.  I found this little dinosaur set at Target on the clearance rack.  Evan really loved it.  We decided he needed some pictures with Evan's stuffed Rex (from Toy Story). 

Then, it was Evan's idea for them all to have a picture with their favorite stuffed friends.  Brody's favorite teddy bear is missing though so it is mostly Evan's stuffed friends. 

I know I had this outfit from Evan's first Christmas, but I cannot believe I do not have a picture of him in it.  I loved this shirt from Janie & Jack because it says "Forest Rangers" on it.  The St. Bernard's were cute too.  Evan and his cousin Lanny both had these shirts. 

Evan and I both thought he was practicing his karate during this photo shoot.  Our little Karate Kid! 

Then, he got really silly! 

Because big brother Brody was making him laugh.  He was laughing so hard here at Brody dragging my camera lens cover across the floor.  

And big sister Cocoa had to get in these pictures too since they were on the floor.  She loves her baby.  He wasn't so sure about those kisses though.  

This is the best comparison I have for the month.  I had hoped to have a shot of all three wearing the "Forest Rangers" shirt.  Sigh.