Jackson's 9 Month Update

It's official: we only have a quarter of a year left before our little guy turns one (cue the tears)!

Brandon and I had fondue at The Melting Pot for his birthday on Saturday and talked about how Jax seems more like a little boy now than a baby--he is a such a smart little guy and learns more and more with each passing day. We love watching the world through his eyes and thank God everyday for giving us our boy.

Here's what we've been up to this month:

Our monthly photo shoots are getting harder and harder to do!

Weight: 17.1 lbs (apparently our bathroom scale is WAY off)

Length: 28.5 inches

Nicknames: Jax, Bubbas, Cheeks, Jacksie

Wearing: Some 12 month clothes but mostly 9 month; size 3 diapers

Sleep: Still co-sleeping; still sleeping well (9-11 hours per night, 2-3 hour nap every afternoon).

Jax likes: Elmo & Abby (Sesame Street), showing off, other little kids, feeding himself, sweets (uh-oh), going for walks, story time, socializing, MOPS, playgroup, pulling himself up onto things, moving his picture around on Facetime, naps/sleeping, crawling, clapping, singing, "smelling" candles

Jax dislikes: Being left to play in his crib for too long, when mommy & daddy take him away from dangerous situations, dirty diapers, when he rolls over and hits his head on the floor, when he slams into the wall while playing on Johnny Jump up

Food: Anything and everything! Right now his favorites are Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, bananas, avocado, sweet peas, anything sweet (he's had bites of ice cream, birthday cake, whipped cream, and birthday donuts), Gerbers Puffs & Melts, and veggie pasta. His main food source is still nursing but I'm going to start pushing more foods and hopefully have him weaned at a year.

Mom & Dad's Favorite Things: How outgoing and social he is, his smiles, and how hammy he's become!

Teeth: WE HAVE A TOOTH!!! Two Saturdays ago during nap time, Jax woke up literally screaming and crying--I tried to calm him down but he continued to sob and scream, which isn't like him at all. After a good 5 minutes, I was finally able to get him to calm back down and nurse him back to sleep. Later that night, he was laying in bed with Brandon and me, grabbed my finger, and began to chew on it.. that's when I felt it. It's still just a little stub of a bottom tooth, but it's definitely there and I'm guessing that's what was causing his nap time meltdown that afternoon (poor baby!).

Happenings: We bought a house (much more about that later); having to put Bitsy to sleep :(; first airplane ride; visiting Grandpa, Gramma, & Great Grandpa in Tennessee; first trip to an aquarium; second haircut; road trip to Hays for the KVDM banquet; Christmas shopping w/Uncle Joey; first time playing (or trying to play) at the park; bought 1st Halloween costume; 1st MOPS meeting; Daddy's 28th birthday; hanging out with Grammy, Grandpa, Great Aunt Nancy & Uncle Rolf, and Uncle Joey while mommy & daddy went on a birthday date.

~As I mentioned before, we traveled to Tennessee over Labor Day weekend to visit Brandon's dad, step-mom, and grandpa (who flew down to Tennessee from North Dakota just to see us) and had a wonderful time! Jackson loved playing with and showing off to new people and getting to see new places like the Ripley's Aquarium, Sunsphere, and Gramma & Grandpas fun house! He did pretty well on the flight there (we kept him up during his morning nap so he'd sleep on the plane) but had a rough time on the flight home and refused to sleep or sit still.. Oh well. Better luck next time (I hope)!

~As you all know, we had to put our sweet Bitsy to sleep at the end of August. When we returned home from her appointment, Jax got the biggest smile and started looking around the apartment for her. My. heart. broke. Bitsy was the sweetest, most patient kitty and Jax just adored her. He looked around for her for a few days but started to forget soon after.. I sure miss that girl!

~This boy makes the world a better place--he will literally smile at anyone and loves to jabber to anybody who will listen. How could you not feel happy after being smiled at by a sweet baby?!

~We've been all sorts of busy this month and can now stand (while holding onto something), sit up, pull self up onto different toys/furniture, wave, and give high fives & kisses on command. He still hasn't fully mastered regular crawling but boy is he good at the army crawl (this kid is fast).

~Jax is a HUGE flirt and loves to smile and stare at girls. When we were at the KVDM banquet in Hays, I heard a group of college aged girls giggling behind us, looked back to see what was going on, and noticed they were looking at/waving at Jax, who had the biggest grin on his face and was talking/smiling/showing off for them. We're going to need to keep a close eye on him when he's older..