Another month has passed and now the boy is 9 months old!
[[image:2012_0929_rafe22.jpg:Beautiful eye:center:0]]
* Mouse over the pictures for captions
Adik has continued another month of commando crawling – he’s fast too! He loves heading towards areas that he is not allowed to go, like the kitchen or the cat food area, and squeals and shrieks happily when we chase after him. So he already loves the game of tag :-). He has a bit of a callous now on the key bits of his body (i.e., his knees) which he uses to push himself forward when commando crawling. He crawls up the stage steps with no problems and is crawling down headfirst (and tumbling down). He can climb over pretty high obstacles now with no problems so we have to be very careful with him on the bed. We no longer use the changing table to change him because Adik is so strong he can actually push/pull his way and even with the restraints it is no longer safe. We change him either on the floor or on Vin’s napping chair where at least if he does fall it’s a very short fall onto carpet. Adik is learning to pull himself to a standing position at 9 months old. He can pull himself up when he can get a good handhold (e.g., in the crib, on the coffee table, on a parent, etc.). He loves standing up and crows when he succeeds in doing it. He still has trouble getting away from the standing position. Meaning, gravity wins and boom, boy takes a tumble. He’s usually pretty good about not crying unless he falls awkwardly or bangs his head.
Also, when in distress (or when he wants to nurse) he is starting to call out “Ma ma ma ma!” Ha ha!!! First word, Mama? Heeheeeheeeeee! OK I realize I am perhaps gloating a little (or even a lot), but remember, we had radio silence from Yaya until age 27 months when her first official word was “Toes”. So. I am a) happy that I didn’t have to wait over two years to hear my kid call me Mama, and b) his first word is Mama. Hehehe!!
Another new development – his two bottom incisors have come out! The boy officially has two teeth! However, we are having great difficulty getting proper photos of them. He doesn’t tend to expose them when he smiles, but they are there. So far, he has managed not to bite me when nursing either *fingers crossed*. He did go through a biting stage early on when he was starting to teeth but I kept taking what he wanted away and telling him “no” so maybe he learned that if he bites me then he does not get the good stuff! On the plus side, he has stopped drooling like a leaky faucet too. Woohoo!
Adik still loves dancing to music and now loves to play ball. He will “catch” a ball rolled or bounced to him and throw it back, usually overhand. Always a fun game to play and one that includes Yaya as well. He always squeals and giggles happily when we play ball too. Vin, as you can imagine, is ecstatic at this development. Adik looks like he uses his right hand primarily so perhaps he will become a right-hander. He also loves Lily the Kitkat, he even has a special noise just for her. We always know when Lily is in sight because he makes his Lily noise. He always wants to go over and pet her (not altogether too gently) and just loves to talk and talk and talk to that kitkat. I am not sure that Lily appreciates all the special attention at this time.
Food-wise, Adik still nurses a lot and still gets up 4-5 times a night. We no longer get up for a big night-time feed, but I get up multiple times to nurse him when he cries for me. Still no sign of sleeping through the night (I’m lucky to sleep 2 hours straight through at any point in time). But Vin is no longer part of the group of segmented sleepers. Adik doesn’t seem to miss the bottle at 5 AM especially since he gets to nurse whenever he wants. He still gets a bottle before bed (1-2 oz of breastmilk and 2 oz of formula). He is also doing very well with solids – eating solids about 4 times a day. The new foods that he has tried (and his rating of them) are as follows:
1. Applesauce – thumbs up
2. Peach flavored baby yogurt – thumbs way up
2. Beef + rice puree (+ sweet potato puree) – thumbs up
3. Chicken + rice + carrot puree (+butternut squash puree) – thumbs up
4. Black pepper (added to the above savory purees) – thumbs up
5. Peach puree – thumbs up
So far, yogurt seems to be his very favorite food – he always eats it all extra quickly! But he does love all his meal times. He is always ready with his mouth open and so excited every time he sees his feeding accoutrements. And he is not shy about asking for seconds :-).
OK, let’s move on to the pictures of how Adik spent his 9-month birthday. In the morning, he wakes up and goes downstairs to hang out with Vin and Yaya. He usually has yogurt for breakfast. Then he came up (since it was a Saturday, Mama didn’t have to work!) for his morning nap while Papa and Yaya go for soccer. When he woke up, he was displeased to be dumped in the crib while Mama brushed her teeth and had a bathroom break.
[[image:2012_0929_rafe20.jpg:Let me out, Mama…:center:0]]
We played on the bed for a little while until Papa and Yaya arrived home.
[[image:2012_0929_rafe21.jpg:Happy in Mama’s arms:center:0]]
And then we went downstairs to play with Papa and Yaya.
[[image:2012_0929_rafe01.jpg:Looking at Yaya:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe03.jpg:Another cool shot of his beautiful eyes:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe04.jpg:Innocence:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe02.jpg:Papa, you’re funny:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe05.jpg:Happy cuddly baby:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe06.jpg:Adik and Yaya playing together:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe07.jpg:I love this shot:center:0]]
Adik whiles away the afternoon, playing.
[[image:2012_0929_rafe08.jpg:Bongos and building blocks:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe09.jpg:Crawling over Mama’s lap:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe10.jpg:Starting to stand up but distracted by the label on the stinky bot:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe11.jpg:Timang tinggi-tinggi (higher Papa!):center:0]]
And then it is time for lunch!
[[image:2012_0929_rafe12.jpg:Peas porridge hot! Peas porridge cold!:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe13.jpg:Laying his head down on Papa’s leg while eating:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe14.jpg:Joyous baby!:center:0]]
And then it was time for Adik to take his afternoon nap! When we came downstairs, he was ready to get right into it again!
[[image:2012_0929_rafe23.jpg:Biting his lip and sitting confidently casual:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe24.jpg:Pressing buttons on Al(phabet) the Pal:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe25.jpg:Sitting on his haunches:center:0]]
We think he’s ready to do the four-point crawl any day now!
[[image:2012_0929_rafe15.jpg:Sunlight and shadows:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe16.jpg:Playing catch with Papa:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe17.jpg:Waiting to catch the ball:center:0]]
Unfortunately, even though I took a ton of pictures I was unable to catch him at the point of throwing the ball. When he gets it, he’s completely unpredictable. Sometimes he holds on to it for a second, sometimes he kisses it for luck before throwing it, and sometimes he barely has it in his hand before launching it again. So just take my word for it when I say that he’s throwing and catching the ball. Oh, and we do have video proof. I’m not too skilled with it to get a screen capture of the appropriate time though. 🙂
[[image:2012_0929_rafe26.jpg:Crawled all the way to the foyer chasing after the little ball:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0929_rafe18.jpg:More fun with Yaya before bathtime:center:0]]
It was another fun Saturday and a fun month. It is very exciting to see Adik’s little personality come out – we see now that how Yaya was as a baby this age is pretty much the same personality that she has now (with tweaks and developments, of course). Adik is still fairly easy going and loves to play. As a second child, he’s used to never getting his way most of the time (Vin and I can relate to that!) and being under the dictatorial eye of the sometimes tyrannical Kak Yaya. But he knows what he wants and he seems to be a go-getter – do first, talk later, no fuss, kind of kid. He is a sweet little baby and we can’t wait to see what the next month will bring. Happy 9-month birthday, baby boy! We love you! Let’s close with this picture, one of my favorites, taken after Adik’s bath and right before his bedtime.
[[image:2012_0929_rafe19.jpg:Happy in Papa’s arms, with his Tintin-esque post-bath hairstyle:center:0]]
