nine months

 My baby turned nine months on December 15th. I've been able to get to know, love and snuggle this guy for as long as he was in my belly! At nine months James:

• crawls all over the place, but face plants when he is too excited or going to fast
• pulls up to kneeling and sometimes standing. I found him standing up in his crib so we had to move his mattress down that night
• has two teeth on the bottom
• still bald
• loves other people, especially kids and babies and he is a big flirt with the ladies
• is very attached to his parents and won't let other people hold him unless he can't see mom and dad
• claps his hands when he gets excited or when other people around him are clapping
• bounces to music sometimes
• sings when other people are singing. He actually just makes long, drawn out, monotone noises. He did it at my extended family Christmas party during Silent Night for the whole song. Hysterical.
• still flaps his arms a lot when he is excited or mad
• likes to walk with help--he gets going very fast and he is good at stepping up onto things
• likes to sleep on his stomach in his crib and won't take naps with his mom anymore--if she is there he just wants to play
• can go from crawling to sitting and back very easily. He always sits up in his crib when I put him down and yells loudly
• loves Cheerios and the sacrament bread but will only eat a few bites of other foods before he calls it quits. We are working on this
• takes food out of his mouth to look at it before he will eat it. Oh it gets so annoying. He also likes to roll it between his fingers and wipe it on his head. Mealtimes are getting very messy.
• is getting so smart! He is so aware and watches everything we do. He can find things if we hide them. He watched me eat with a fork one time and as soon as I was done he picked up the fork and did just what I was doing. He touched the fork to the plate and then to his mouth. Smart little man. We are going to have to start watching ourselves around him.
• is good at using his fingers to grab little things
• likes to put things in his mouth and then crawl around with them sticking out
• likes to bite furniture and his parents (he takes after his mother)

He is too much fun. I love being his momma.