Hunter Monthly: 9 months

Hunter is 9 months old! This means I only have about two months to plan his birthday party and I am still trying to decide between two themes (Superman vs. Sock Monkey). Eek!!

Hunter is trying to walk, and a few days before his 9 month birthday, he took his first independent step! He loves to stand up on something and let go, but usually the object is stationary so it is right there when he wants to hold on. This time, he stood up on daddy's knees, and when Tim walked away Hunter stood clapping for a while and when daddy moved even further away, Hunter took a step. I think the biggest problem was that Tim and I were so excited and loud that we scared/excited him and he plopped down!

He also now has 6 teeth! It is so weird to look into his mouth and see so many teeth in there! At the rate they are coming in, he will have his next set in soon, but I would not mind if they slowed down a bit. I don't know if I was expecting a perfect row of pearly whites, but the top ones are coming in kinda crazy! There is a big gap, for sure, but I am sure that is normal. I am already envisioning braces for our future!

Hunter is still loving eating, but now he enjoys snacking more than a real sit down meal. He will sit and eat half the jar and then want to go play. If you offer him bites, he will come back for a few more, then play, then a few more, then play... you get the picture. We think it is because he is having so much fun that he just can't sit still! He loves veggie flavored puffs, mandarins, and graham crackers as foods that he can feed himself,  but we still have to watch him because that poor boy just has not learned to pace himself yet! You can look over and he will have a whole mouth full of them! He can also feel himself from the squeeze pouches! It makes meal time pretty easy!

Hunter also loves ice water, and we are slowly teaching him to drink from a cup. We only pour in enough for about two sips,  but he loves it! Now, we can pour in enough for two sips and he will tip the cup and do it himself. Still messy, but you can hear him slurping it up! 

Hunter's sleep is not great. Last month when his three top teeth came in at the same time as a pretty bad cold his sleeping through the night went out the window. He was on an exactly every four hour wake up routine and we had to break him of that. Right now, at the end of the month he's been going to bed by 7:30, and will sleep for 7-8 hours before he wants a bottle. Then he'll sleep til about 7:00 or 7:30. We broke him of waking up for a bottle at 11:30 and will try to start skipping the early morning feeding in about a week or so. He's got another cold right now, so we figured we'd let him get through that!

Speaking of sleep, little man loves his blanket! He still gets so excited when he sees it out of bed, but when he's in bed he cuddles with it. He also has a scentsy monkey with a lavender insert that he literally pets while he's trying to fall asleep. Some mornings I check on him with the monitor and he's hugging it. Be still, my heart.....

He loves his blanket and monkey, but he also has other toys that he absolutely loves. He is also figuring out some of the 'harder' toys. He has a stand up/crawl through toy that looks like the front of a house because he loves to open and close doors. It also has a mailbox and he will open and close the door to the house and the mailbox over and over again. He is also trying to fit the right shapes into the correct holes. He doesn't get it very often, but it is cute watching him try because at this point he knows which toys need to get jammed into a slot, and he has also learned that he has to hold it a certain way so that his fingers don't block it. He is getting to where he really shows when he likes music as well, which is adorable!

He has one book that he really, really loves. I found it at TJMaxx, and had to get it because it is about puppies! He was also with me and started chewing on the corner and just didn't feel right putting it back on the shelf, haha! Each puppy in the picture has a spot that is textured, and he knows where each spot is even though they blend in pretty well! His favorite page has a really big and fluffy chest on the dog and he smiles when he finds that page, then 'pets' it. So cute!

Hunter love, love, loves to be outside, and now that the weather is starting to turn more 'Spring-like', we finally hung up his swing. He is in super heaven because he get to be outside, playing with mommy or daddy, and there is at least one dog to watch!

Hunter's little personality shows more and more each day. He can be goofy, but is more often a serious observer, he loves dogs, loves to eat, loves open refrigerator doors, loves his blankie, loves his mommy and daddy, loves to get what he wants (and will just take it), and absolutely loves to be independent. He is our little 'hulk', and we could not be more in love with this little boy!

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