Elijah at 9 1/2 months

Elijah is almost 9 1/2 months old now and has come a LONG way since my last post about him when he was 7 1/2 months! I've been horrible about filling his baby book with details so I'm sorta using this post for something I can refer to for when I DO get around to writing in his book, so forgive me if some of this is boring.

He can now crawl with dexterity and speed, even sometimes somehow holding himself up horizontally with just his hands (don't ask me how!!) for a brief moment. Constantly pulling himself up on chairs, tables and just about anything, this boy will be making his own strides fairly soon, I predict. He sometimes likes to walk and take steps with the walker (right).

At just over 23 pounds now, he is quite solid and a tank. He's rambunctious and extra energetic after an evening bath (which I think I have to stop doing at that time of day since it makes it hard for him to settle down to sleep for the night), and maybe that's because he just LOVES to be naked? Some other notables:

Helping Mommy with the dishes

One of his favorite things to do is to "help" his Mommy with the dishes by playing with the open dishwasher. He loves to open and close the rack and bang on any pot bottoms that happen to be in there. He's getting the hang of opening the cupboards and drawers as well as emptying out the linen drawer.

Emptying the kitchen towel drawer

I pretty much spend all day cleaning up after his messes. Along with putting the linens and towels back in the drawer, I have to put the books and DVDs back on the shelves, put the trash (all paper) back in bin and roll the toilet paper back up (though now I keep the bathroom doors closed).

Although not a picky eater, he's picky about how he's fed - in other words, he prefers to feed himself. His diet has extended to tomatoes, blended raw soups, goji berries, grapes, nectarines/peaches and wakame seaweed.

He's still not eating consistently, which is fine as he's still experimenting with food and gets most of his nutrition from my breastmilk.

When he wakes up from a nap, he likes to stand up in the crib holding onto the side rail while jumping.

He has GORGEOUS spiky blond hair that has grown in since losing all of his dark brown baby hair. It appears that he has a mix of my and Gabe's hair, but definitely has Gabe's hairline.

After a bath he loves to crawl on the bed naked

Is starting to say "Mama" now. He's very selective about when he says it, and it's always when he wants me and my attention. I start teaching him what to call me from an early age. I would tap on his chest and say, "Elijah", and then tap on my chest and say, "Mama", over and over. Just started clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth as if making a loud "tha" sound with his tongue.

Bath times are pretty much the highlight of his day I think. I can count on him crawling to the bathroom as fast as he can when he hears me turn on the water in the tub. He eagerly pulls himself up on the tub and squeals with delight, looking at the rushing water from the spout while waiting for me to take his diaper off (while he's standing) and put him in the water. He gnaws furiously on the rubber ducky and eventually crawls all over the tub.

He sleep habits are still pretty irregular. Some nights he'll sleep for as long as 7-8 hours without waking up, but most nights he wakes up several times throughout the night, which requires me nursing him back down. And sometimes it can take as long as two hours for him to go back to sleep, much to my chagrin. I still swaddle him, which has become a cue for him to go to sleep, but he always gets out of it by the time he wakes up. I'm looking forward to not having to swaddle him anymore, but am not sure how to make the transition without there being too much of a change for him. He's a light sleeper, so I tend to do whatever it takes to get him to sleep and stay asleep.

He's very detail-oriented and I'm not sure this is a normal thing for a baby his age or not. He's a proficient user of his pointer finger on small items, buttons, lips and specks of God-knows-what on the ground. He's also very in tune with his surroundings, and will follow a bird flying through the air. He's got a great pincer grasp and is mastering the art of feeding himself.

Along with "Mama", he's making lots of "FFFF" sounds and "DaDaDa" words. He'll occasionally scream when he wants attention, and does lots of grunting when I nurse him down to sleep. But mostly he babbles, which I love hearing. I love his sweet little voice.

He now has eight teeth and it appears that his first molar is bulging through. His bottom teeth first appeared at 4 1/2 months.

Every day brings new changes and developments and love seeing each and every one of them!