Zeke's 9 Month Check Up

Zeke had his 9 month check up on February 25th. That was our moving day too, so things were a little crazy that day. :)

The big 3 went to Papaw and Mamaw's that morning (SO HELPFUL!), then Zeke and I went to the pediatrician for his check up. This was his first visit without shots, so we were both happy. :)

Zeke weighed 20 lb even (54th percentile) and was 28.5 inches long (51st percentile). His head circumference was 17.72 inches (47th percentile), so he's a pretty proportionate baby!

He was all over the place while we were waiting and he was tired, so he kept me busy, but it was really nice to be there with ONE kid instead of FOUR. :)

Everything checked out perfectly and he is developing well.

So thankful for a healthy 9 month old!

*Mae's 9 month check up

Zeke is 9 months old

NINE months old! How in the world????

• I feel like I could just link to Mae's 9 month post and say "he's doing ALL the same stuff" because he pretty much is! He has so much more hair than any of the other kids did at this age.

• Zeke's 9 month check up is next week, but I am guessing he's easily over 20 lbs....maybe 22? 
• He's in a size 4 diaper and 12 mo clothes.

• His naps are almost always 1.5 hours long now, which is great. He is up around 7, but sometimes I have to wake him up by 7:30. He naps around 9 until 10:30, then again at 1:30-3. He may fuss a few minutes before going to sleep, but it's pretty much easy now (YAY!). Bedtime is around 7 and he almost always falls asleep nursing still. 
• Night sleep was pretty good for the last month. He would wake once around 3-4, but the last few nights he woke around midnight and again early morning. I'm sure some sleep training would fix that, but with moving soon, I think that will disrupt anyway, so I'm just not going to put any effort into it now. I can feed him for 10-15 minutes and be back in bed and asleep quickly.
• He continues to nurse well in the morning, after naps, and at bedtime, then when he wakes at night. 

• Zeke still LOVES to eat. I have added breakfast here and there and hope to get it added daily in the next month. His favorite food is probably bananas. He starts kicking and squealing when I'm peeling it and lunges after it if I'm too slow. He also likes chicken, roast, chili, green beans, black beans, diced grapes, diced blueberries, bits of cheese, crackers, and much more. Here's a video of Zeke eating (and playing). 
• Zeke still doesn't have any teeth! Arabelle and Bo cut their first teeth in their 6th month and Mae was in her 10th month, so he should get some teeth soon. 
• He started bathing in our bathtub without the infant seat and is doing okay with that. Of course, he keeps trying to stand up or pull the drain plug, so he is also learning what "no" means. :)

• Zeke is such a busy boy! He is all over the place, eating anything he finds on the floor, pulling up, letting go and standing alone for a few seconds, cruising along the furniture....just all over! Here he is showing some of his skills. 
• He is doing really well with independent playtime in the play pen. He still fusses for about 5 seconds when I put him in and leave the room, then he's fine. He likes to throw the toys out now. Ha! 
• Zeke woke up from a nap recently and I found him like this....one arm out. Ha! He seemed so confused. A couple of days later, he did it again. 

• He has learned to clap, bounce up and down to music, and will wave bye-bye. He is such a squealer too! 
• I have always said that 9-12 mo is my favorite baby stage and I know why now! Zeke is SO fun! He will mimic what we do. We had company over one afternoon and the other mom was holding Mae upside down. I was holding Zeke and he starts leaning over to the side for me to flip him over. When I did, he laughed and giggled so much!
• Arabelle thinks Zeke is her little toy doll sometimes. 

Zeke is such a fun and easy going baby......we love him so much! 

Splish Splash, Mae's Taking a Bath!

Mae LOVES bath time these days! She plays with her rubber duck and a cup and has the best time. She will splash on demand and look for her duck when I ask her where it is. 

I just know she's going to love the pool this summer! 

Not sure what this look was about!

This is her signature grin these days. :)

Oooh, those teeth are about to pop through!

Mae's First Steps

Mae has been letting go and standing alone for several weeks now and has been cruising around furniture, etc. really quickly. This week she started taking a step or two, then lunging to my arms. I can't believe she'll be walking so soon! 

You can tell she's got some good cheerleaders! 

Mae's 9 month check-up

Mae had her 9 month check up today and did well! There are no shots at this one, so it was a breeze.

She weighed 17lb 10oz (25th percentile) and was 28.5 inches long (75th percentile). She's growing right along the same percentiles and is healthy as can be!

*For comparison, Arabelle was off the chart for height and 50% for weight, so bigger than Mae, but about the same proportions. Mae still seems so tiny to me!

And a bonus funny picture of Mae: 

She ended up gnawing on it's head after she had the staring contest with it. 

Mae is 9 months old!

I can't believe Mae is already 9 months old! That's awfully close to planning a first birthday. She is changing and growing so much each month!

• Mae is still on the same routine/schedule as last month. She's waking up around 7 (+/- 15 min), napping around 9am and 1:30 for about 1-1.5 hours and going to bed around 6:45-7:00. She's started crying for a few minutes before her naps in the last week, but goes to bed without a peep still. 
• She's nursing 4x/day still too....morning, after naps, and bedtime. She does get distracted, so Mae and I hide out for those after nap nursing sessions. 
• Her night sleep is pretty consistent these days. She wakes up around 3-4 am, nurses off one side, and goes back down easily. Sometimes she'll sit up when I put her back in the crib, but she almost always just lays down and sucks her thumb and goes to sleep.
• I did leave her for an afternoon/evening for the consignment sale and left some pumped milk in a sippy cup for her, but she wouldn't drink it. She did go to bed fine for Jared though, so it's nice to know I can be away if I need to be!

• Arabelle and Bo can't get enough of Mae's sugar. :)

• Mae is a great eater! She's having 3 meals a day now. I feel like she's ALWAYS eating, between her 3 table meals and nursing 4 times a day. 
• She has liked almost anything I've given her. She loves diced up grapes, banana, chili, grilled cheese, garbanzo beans, scrambled eggs, yogurt and much more!
• The only things she doesn't like so far is steamed broccoli and avocado. 
• She's eating all this food with no teeth!

• She is on the go! She crawls super fast, pulls up one handed, gets up on one knee/foot, and sometimes lets go and stand alone for several seconds. Arabelle always starts clapping and cheering for her when she does it! 
• Last Sunday morning, she was playing with this beach ball while I was fixing breakfast and I looked over to see her standing up holding it. I think she had pushed herself up with it, then picked it up. I was surprised!

• She's been sticking her tongue out a lot too when she smiles. It's so cute! 
• She has started walking behind the push car outside and will push the laundry basket around the house.

• She loves to babble and giggle. Still no "mama", but lots of "dada" and "baba" still. She also does something that sounds like "dra" for Drake the dog. She is very interested in him!
• She finally is enjoying the bathtub. She hasn't ever cried through it, but hasn't wanted to SIT and get a bath. Now she'll splash and play with toys. She definitely NEEDS a bath every night! 
• Here she is giggling in the car a couple of weeks ago:

• I still think Mae favors Arabelle more than Bo, even though everyone tells me she favors Bo! Here is Arabelle at 8.5 mo. and Mae at 9 mo. 

• All 3 at 9 months old. 

This year is going by too fast! We are loving this time with baby Mae. :)