Cullen turned nine months old this weekend.  On the outside as long as he was on the inside, right?  Not quite, actually.  I was pregnant for a total of 286 days, and as of Saturday, Cullen has been here for 274.  But who’s counting?

Here we are just nine short weeks in…

And now nine joyous months later!  No way that is the same child.  (And I look like I haven’t slept in nine months…)

This month has been way too much fun.  His changes and milestones are coming fast right now.  It’s funny how baby development seems to come in waves.  A few weeks and months have passed where it felt like Cullen continued to learn and grow, but didn’t necessarily do anything new or noteworthy (Who am I kidding?  Everything is noteworthy in this house.).

But this month he has really been working hard.  Last month was all about climbing, and this month has been all about standing and trying to walk.  His newest trick?  Standing up in the middle of the room.  He can now go from a squat to standing – and hold it with decent balance – without pulling up or climbing on anything.  I’m amazed by how strong he is these days!

Now that he’s standing and balancing well on his feet, he’s trying to take a few steps.  I know that it can actually take quite a while between standing and walking, so I’m not expecting him to take off running down the hall just yet.  But I also want to be ready if he does.  Right now he can take one step and stay up on his feet, but then usually plops down shortly after.  He’s getting more confident each day.

One of the things I love most these days is watching him play.  He’s very good at independent play, and when he’s in the zone with his toys I usually just sit back and watch.  Although I have to watch from an arm’s length…

This little guy is fearless, and definitely knows no boundaries.  I’m working on trying to have him understand things like no, ouch, and icky but for now he thinks it’s all pretty funny.

As far as toys go, right now he’s really into blocks and puzzles.  Not doing puzzles, but eating them.  He loves to take things out of boxes, and I can entertain him for quite a while by solving a puzzle while he takes it apart over and over again.  He’s also really into making noise – banging blocks together or beating on his new drum.  Occasionally, he will be willing to read books, but only on his own terms.

I already told you all about what he’s eating right now, and all his little chompers are helping him chew and explore new textures and tastes.  I can’t believe he has so many teeth!

As far as sleeping goes, he’s still getting up once around 4:30am.  We’ve tried a variety of dropped feedings, crying it out, etc. but he just won’t budge on this early wakeup.  For now, I’m getting up and feeding him at 4:30, and then we both go back to sleep. 

He wakes up for good around 6am, and then we’re up for the day.  He’s down to two naps a day – usually around 8:30am and 2pm – and bedtime is at 6:30pm.  I pray for the day that I see more than 5-6 hours of sleep each night!

To celebrate his nine month milestone this weekend, we took him to the zoo here in Seattle.  He’s at a perfect age where he can finally interact with the world around him.  I had so much fun showing him the animals and then watching his face change as he saw them.

He finished off his big day with some bubbles in the backyard.  He makes even the most simple of things so much more fun.

Nine Month Rundown:

• New Foods:  figs, raspberries, black beans, and spinach.
• Breastfeeding:  Still nursing 5 times a day.  Planning to go to at least one year.
• Teeth:  Six, going on more.  He’s super drooley right now!
• Noises:  Bababa is still his favorite.  Also short bursts of “Ahh!”
• Weight:  Finding out on Wednesday.  I’m guessing close to 20 pounds.
• Likes:  Dancing, standing, Aunt Sarah, visiting the goat down the street, baby swings, eating books, being tickled, playing peekaboo.
• Dislikes:  Getting dressed, having his diaper changed, having his nose wiped, not being allowed to stand in the bathtub, sitting in the stroller for more than 30 minutes.

We made it past the half-way point, and so begins the journey toward one year.  Completely, totally, and utterly hard to believe.  Seven long months of joy.

Long gone are the days when snapping pictures of Cullen involved me standing above him while he kicked around on the Boppy pillow.  These days, he’s the one standing.

I don’t know how other moms do those weekly photos with the stickers, where babies lay on their backs on top of colorful fabric.  This is what happens if I try to convince Cullen to lay on his back for 0.2 seconds. 

My sweet little baby with the old man hair has turned into a shaggy little firecracker that never stops moving.  Here he is at nine weeks…

Four months…

And now seven months.  Someone pinch me. 

My mom and mother-in-law both keep hounding me to cut his hair, but I love it.  It’s shaggy, curly, and ridiculous, and it makes me smile. 

So much changed this month.  We have a whole new morning routine that involves sitting together for breakfast.  Homemade mashed banana for him, eggs and English muffin for me.  Predatory dogs always circling.  They are very aware that high chair = mess and FOOD.   

We’re working on painting his nursery this week, which is fun but challenging.  Most painting has been done in the evenings since I can’t do it and watch him at the same time.  We moved his crib down the hall temporarily, so our house is a bit of a disaster zone right now.  He tries to help when he can!

We spend a lot of our time during the days with other mom and baby friends.  It’s so fun to see how different babies are – even at the exact same age.  I am realizing that there are two types of babies – those that are relatively chilled out and calm, and those that are like Cullen. 

Everyone who meets him notices it within just a few minutes – this child never stops moving.  It makes him very fun and entertaining, but man is it also exhausting.  He doesn’t like to sit or be held, and he is constantly looking for what he’ll do next.

Climbing and standing is the latest trick, so I spend most of my day following him around and trying to help him avoid any big falls.  I do my best to let him learn how to do things himself, but he’s also in a phase where he pulls up on things and then can’t figure out how to get down.  His forehead has a lot of bruises.

He’s interested in anything that is NOT a toy.  Doorstops are the most fun and noisy!  After finding him with a tiny plastic cap in his mouth (terrifying!), I learned the hard way that all doorstops needed to be baby-proofed.  Other favorite things are strings, tags, cords, phones, and remotes.

He’s also really interested in the dogs, and they are my best babysitters.  I am a little nervous to see this relationship develop once he starts walking and really chasing them.  So far they seem to like his attention, but they can also easily get away from his crawling if needed.

Speaking of babysitters – we had our first real (not someone related to us) babysitter last week!  I was nervous because she had to actually put Cullen to bed, but it was a huge success.  He sucked down a huge bottle (!!) and went to bed easily.  Now that we’ve crossed that hurdle, I’m looking forward to doing it much more often.  Mom and dad need some date nights!

His current favorite thing is this awesome name stool.  (We got it as a baby gift, but you can find it here.)  It is the perfect height for pulling himself up, and he likes pulling out the name puzzle pieces and throwing them across the room.  He is such a boy.

Standing in the crib is also a favorite.  Unfortunately it is so fun, it makes napping seem less appealing.

He’s had two bottom teeth for several months now, and he’s currently working on two top teeth that are just breaking through.  This has led to some very cranky days, and many sleepless nights.  Now that the teeth have cracked the gums, I’m hoping we are over the hump!

As far as sleep goes, on a typical night, we still get up once – usually around 2:30am – for a feeding.  The last two weeks that has looked more like 2 or 3 times each night.  In seven long months he has not slept through the night once.  Not a single time.  Which means that I haven’t either!  He’s lucky he’s so cute!

Seven Month Rundown:

• Solid Food:  Loves sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, and pears.  Hates squash and peas.  Thinks it’s funny to spit foods that are yucky!
• Bottles:  Took one from a babysitter this weekend!  Hallelujah!
• Teeth:  Two going on four.  Ouch!
• Noises:  Dadada and a goofy growling laugh. 
• Weight:  I’m guessing around 18 pounds?  No weight check this month.
• Likes: Bath time, strings, climbing, standing, eating books, water bottles, measuring cups, banging blocks, and his reflection in the fireplace glass.
• Dislikes: Getting dressed, all of his toys, being in the stroller too long, not knowing how to walk, going down for naps by himself.

And since you haven’t already seen 4,000 photos, here’s a short video of the little 7-month monster in action!  I’m amazed at how much more he learns and changes each day. 

For more updates and baby talk, you can check out the parenting page!