Ryan's sister is so talented. She was so sweet to take Evan's 9-month picts this week. It was kind of cold and Evan was kind of tired. That means we got about 200 pictures of grimaces, blank stares and tense uncertainty... and a couple of really really cute ones :) Thanks Joni! You did a great job.
I love this first one because it shows just how happy he was to be there.
Here's some facts about Evan at 9 months. It's mostly for my own record so sorry if it's a long:
Evan has the tendency to learn something new and do it a lot for about a week... and then quit for an entire month before slowly picking it back up again. He did it with rolling over (both ways), sitting up, and with every new noise he learned. When he learns how to crawl, don't hold your breath. It will be a while before he really starts exploring the house. P.S. That's okay with me :)
Evan is
lazy contented. He doesn't seem motivated to get moving on his own and is perfectly content to explore little things right around him instead of the things across the room. Again, that's okay with me. His contented nature means he doesn't cry much, he entertains himself well, and is easy to please. It also means it's hard to get him really excited about anything. He doesn't smile or giggle much and most of those he does give still go to dad.
Evan doesn't bash or beat or swing his toys, he examines them. He pulls one close to his face, looks at it from every angle, feels it, tastes it and maybe on ocassion will shake it a little. He's also really into faces right now. Noses, ears, mouths, teeth and tongues are fascinating and he'll examine them with the same intensity he does his toys.
Evan is also fascinated by the sound of his own voice. He still growls (which I love and also entertains the people around us to no end), gurgles, spits, jabbers and sings in a nice falsetto.
Evan sleeps so well... as long as we're home. He doesn't like to cuddle to sleep. In fact, if someone is there that he can see, he will do everything to stay awake. When I rock him for a minute before bed, he's looking around the room, reaching for toys and practically squirming out of my arms. But as soon as I lay him in his bed and give him his binky and blanket, he pulls the blankie up to his face, rolls on his side and relaxes right down. I walk out and don't hear another peep from him until it's time to wake up.
In the morning, we rarely find Evan in the same spot we left him in. He's turned 180 degrees, flipped on his belly, or shoved himself into a corner more often than not. Ryan was like that as a kid.
Bed time routine goes like this: (1) Getting tired = crying (2) bath time = excitement (3) diaper back on = crying (4) lotion and massage = excitement (5) pajamas on = crying (6) bedtime snack = excitement (7) bedime snack over = crying (8) bedtime story and song = excitement (9) in bed with blanky and binky = can finally relax. Yes, bedtime is a very emotional time.
Evan has taken well to baby food. So far, he likes vegetables a lot more than he likes fruits. His favorite are carrots and squash (which was nice because I could make it from the squash in his grandma's garden = free. Yay!) So far the only ones he's flat-out refused are applesauce, potatoes and yogurt. Unfortunately, I've taught him too well not to reach for the food as I'm feeding him. I'm now trying to get him to pick up little bits of bread and practice feeding himself but he won't touch them.
