Ian Turns 9 Months

Our sweet baby Ian turned 9 months on the 6th. He is like a real live boy now, it's so crazy. He is crawling all over the place, playing with all the toys (mostly finding every single thing he isn't supposed to get!) and interacting with us more and more. 
  

• He started really getting into table foods this month. He got the puffs and mum-mums (teething crackers) down, and pretty much hasn't stopped since. Carrots, bananas, cheese, bread, potatoes, peas. He loves it all!
• He is a little squirt when we try and spoon feed him now. As soon as you get the spoon in his mouth, he grabs it with both hands and will not let go. It's a serious grip! I think this means he prefers to just feed himself. 
• He is trying really hard to use a sippy cup. I think he sees Eli using one so he wants to too. 
• He weighs *around* 20.5 pounds 
• Not sure how it started, but we call him "Ian Bo" a lot
• He still doesn't have any teeth. It looks like the bottom ones are right there about to break through but we'll see!
• I think he loves cars as much as Eli does. When he's down on the ground playing, that is what he goes for over and over. I was worried about the small parts and choking, but I seriously can't keep this kid away from them. He used to put them straight into his mouth which concerned me more, but now he really is just playing with them. If Eli leaves his "garage" open, all bets are off. It's so funny!
• We have started telling him "no" lately when he goes for things that are dangerous (plugs/tv stand etc.), and he just turns around and looks at us with the sweetest little grin. It's so hard to get stern with him!
• He is sleeping great at night (unless his ears are hurting - he got another double ear infection this month), usually around 7:30/8:00pm-7:00am. We are still trying to work on a good napping schedule. 
• He is nursing 4 times a day and eating solids at the high chair 2-3 times a day. It's hard to get into the routine of making him "meals" after only nursing for so long. 
• He is still army crawling (crawling on his belly). He keeps getting up on all fours and rocking, but then just plops back down and takes off. 
• We have been swimming a few times this summer and he LOVES the water. He just kicks his little legs and splashes with his hands, it's so cute!
• He seems to be fairly independent. When we are all playing down on the ground, he always crawls off to do his own thing. It's a little early to tell if that's just because he's little and his attention span is short, or if he is just going to be one that likes doing his own thing.
• He has started getting really excited when he sees people he knows! When someone comes over and he's down on the ground playing, as soon as he sees them he will light a shuck over to them, crawling as fast as he can. 

This month was a little harder to get good pictures. Even though he had been crawling in previous months pictures, he would still just sit there and let me take several. Not so much this month! He gone!

These silly boys!