I can't seem to get my act together to post these on the correct date. Here we are 3 days away from Thanksgiving -- a mere 11 days away from Nick's 10 month birthday -- and I'm just now posting. Had I posted this recap on his actual 9 month birthday, or somewhere in that time frame, this post probably would've been entirely different, as the 9th month of Nick's life has been full of milestones...so, here we go...
How Old is Nick: Well, now he's 9 and 3/4 months old. That's less than 3 months shy of 1 year. Which is practically school aged. Which means soon he'll be graduating college, getting a job, getting married, and declaring his love for another woman - that's NOT me. My heart can't take it right now. He is growing up WAY too fast.
Stats: head circumference: 18" (61%) height: 28" (38%) weight: 21lbs, 9oz (65%) This basically means he's still a chubby little bobble head. Doc said he is perfectly healthy, and considering at one point in his life he was in the 3rd percentile for most of his measurements, he is growing beautifully. This is probably due to the accidental formula overload we've been giving him the past 8 months. (more on that later). He's wearing size 4 diapers, mostly 12 month clothes (occasionally some 9 month stuff still fits...if we stretch it...), 12 month jammies, though he could probably get away with 12-18 month, and still 6-12 month socks (which are snug around his ankles because homeboy has some serious cankles and the chubbiest feet I've ever seen). He is up to 6 teeth (four on the bottom, two on top) with two more coming in.
Sleep: Sleep was going beautifully. And then the top two teeth started to push through. And all bets were off. It was a miserable few days (for all of us, though I'm sure Nick was in more pain...we were just tired). And then, just like that, the teeth were through. And Nick went back to his fabulous sleep habits. For a couple nights, at least.
Now we're fighting with the next two top teeth pushing through. With these two, he'll at least sleep for a good chunk of the night, before waking up in pain somewhere between 2-4am. I have a whole 'nother post written in my head about his sleep habits, which I'll post later. But let's just say he is the least predictable sleeper. EVER. You never know what you're gonna get after little dude goes to bed...
Milestones: At the beginning of his 9th month, Nick was getting into the crawling position, and rocking on all fours back and forth, but couldn't quite make the connection between moving hands and knees at the same time. Well, after some practice with his Great Aunt Lauri, and watching a little video of his girlfriend Addison (who is about 5 or 6 weeks older) crawling, Nick took off. At first he struggled with going lengthy distances (usually only made it about 5 feet before flopping to his belly)...and forget about the hardwood floors...he just couldn't figure out the traction. But in no time he figured it all out, and now he cruises. He's even attempting the one step from the living room to the dining room (though he can't figure out how to swing his leg over the step), and he navigates the hardwood floors like a pro. The other day he crawled over to the stairs, pulled up on the first step, and started to go for the second before I panicked and yanked him back. Naturally, as soon as he figured out crawling, he decided he'd prefer standing and has started to pull himself up on anything he can grab hold of -- the ottoman, the couch, people, and now his crib. So we had to drop it down for fear of him taking a nose dive out the side. Nick is working on clapping, and knows his hands are supposed to be flat (not balled into fists) when we "clap" them together. Last night when he was in the bathtub, he made an attempt at clapping, but was quickly distracted by a toy, so it was short lived. I have a feeling we're only days away from clapping. As for waving "bye-bye", he watches intently if you say "bye-bye Nick!" and wave at him, and he'll wiggle his fingers, but hasn't quite figured out the full waving motion.
Food/Appetite: Nick is eating like a champ! The doctor said at his 9 month check-up, that he could really be eating anything now. He said incorporate new foods slowly, but there were no exceptions to what he could eat. We started slowly with yogurt and cheese, but he's also had spaghetti with turkey meat sauce, mac & cheese, cheerios in milk, rice and beans, Mexican rice, scrambled eggs, and even sampled a McDonald's french fry. He has mastered feeding himself harder, crunchy items (such as puffs, cheerios, and crunchies), but still struggles with the softer finger foods like cheese, cooked apple or carrot, and banana. Anything mushy ends up smushed between his little fingers.
We've been working with a sippy cup, which he is great at, but still prefers it be held for him. Lazy! 
He has slowed down his formula intake immensely, which worried me until the doctor said it was normal -- especially as they start eating more solid foods. He said at this age, Nick needs about 16 ounces (at least) of formula per day. Right now, he's getting just about that much, only wanting to eat about 3-4 ounces of formula per bottle. Although his last bottle of the night, he'll usually finish all 6 ounces.Speaking of bottles, we had an epiphany a couple weeks ago, in which we realized the Target brand bottle liners that we were using in our Playtex drop in bottles, were not the expandable kind...but that the measurements on the bottle were for the expandable drop-in liners. So while we were measuring water up to the 8oz line on the bottle, it was really only 6oz on the liner. Meaning we were giving him an extra scoop of formula. No wonder he's a chunk! We've since re-measured. Maybe that's why he is drinking less...he thinks he's gone from whole milk to skim!
Nick also got to enjoy his very first Pumpkin Patch and Halloween! We dressed him up, but only took him to the house next door, where they fawned over him for a full hour, before we had to head home for bed time.
Now we're gearing up for Nick's first Thanksgiving and first Christmas. I'm as giddy as a little kid, thinking about taking him to see Santa, and watching him tear open presents just to play with the paper and bows.
Our little guy is getting bigger (and seriously cuter) every single day. His hair seems to change from blond to red, depending on his outfit, and his blue eyes seem to sparkle a little more every time he looks at us. My heart melts at how excited he gets to see me or his daddy. And the snuggles, hugs and kisses he gives out are the absolute best. He has yet to meet a stranger, and graces everyone he meets with a big (now toothy!) smile. His laugh is my favorite sound in the world -- especially when it's brought on by my dad tickling Nick's ribs. I can barely remember what my life was like before Nick was in it, and I can't even fathom the thought of not having him here. This year, at Thanksgiving, and every day of the year, I'm so thankful for my healthy, happy, beautiful little boy -- because he has truly opened my eyes to what life, and love is all about. He is the light of my life -- truly the best gift I've ever received, and I fall more in love with our little miracle every single day.
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