9 Months With Eric

Y'all.  This baby?!  Those cheeks?  That smile?  His eyebrows?!  I just can't.  I have a very real sense that he is getting bigger by the minute and while I know good things are coming and each age has its own set of wonderful things, I am trying to remember and soak-up and enjoy EVERY MINUTE with this little miracle baby I longed for!

At 9 months, Eric is ONE BUSY GUY!

He is on the go and VERY CURIOUS.  Pulling all the books off the shelf is very funny!

He will basically try to stand up on anything - whether it can support his weight or not.  I can't count the number of times he has fallen face first off this piano.  Yet he is never deterred and continues to try and stand up on it.  Most recently, I placed him on the blanket in the living room and ran to the kitchen to grab my coffee.  When I came back he was half-way to the bathroom.  I brought him back and he immediately went to a chair of Olivia's which also cannot support his weight.  The chair fell on him and he fell backwards.  But never cried until I moved the chair upstairs.

The other day when I got to school to feed him at lunchtime, his teachers said "We have a picture for you mom!" and showed me this picture:

They said he was over by the bookshelf working hard to stand up and finally did it!  They were all so excited and snapped this picture.  But then...

Apparently what goes up, must come down.  He was fine - just a little scratch on his cheek.  And I'm guessing this won't be the first.  Nevertheless, his teachers were very proud of him!

Also, gone are the days of  his army crawl.  He's now mastered a regular old baby crawl like a champ.

Here he is on his way to the back door.  For some reason, he always seems to crawl there.  Not sure where he wants to go, or what he's looking for, but that's usually where he winds up (if not there, then look for him to find the one stray cord I haven't covered up yet!)

Eric is no longer content to sit on a blanket in the living room/his walker/highchair while I cook.  He would prefer to be held

But if that isn't an option,he likes to crawl around me in the kitchen.  One of his favorite activities is biting on the cabinets

If Olivia plays with him, he is happy to sit with her for as long as she will stay 

Sidenote: I was worried before he was born that the age gap between them would be too big and wondered if they would play together.  My worry was for naught...

Here Olivia is conducting a "competition" in which she turns on all of these noisy toys and Eric is supposed to crawl to the one he likes best.  In reality, Eric was completely over-stimulated by all the noise/jumping/singing/dancing and sat there staring unable to move...

Thanks to some nicer weather, we have been back outside lately at the park.  Both these babes love a good swing!

I altered my schedule at work once Olivia started Kindergarten and now I work 5 days a week from 8-3.  That gives me a chance to get Olivia and get home fairly early.  I would say most days we are home by 4ish.  The next few hours are a fast blur of dinner/baths/books/bed.  And while I find that most night Matt and I fall into bed by the time both kids are down and the house is cleaned up, I've gotta say that one of my favorite parts of the day is when Eric and I go in to get Olivia.  If we picked her up at carpool, we would wait in the car and the teachers bring her to the car.  But, because we pick her up from after-care, we get to park and walk inside.  Initially, I thought this would be a pain with Eric.  But its actually so precious.  Eric is so happy and smiley - most of the teachers/staff know his name now and he greets each one daily with a huge grin and now lots of babbling.  And as soon as he sees Olivia, his little legs start kicking and he extends his arms for her to hold him.  Its pretty cute if I do say so myself.  Here's the happy pair one Friday afternoon!

Sometimes I think Olivia thinks of Eric as her very own real life babydoll.  And, just like her babydolls, sometimes he needs to be dressed up.  He seems less than happy with her choices...

We had a little bit of set-back on food.  While initially he was eating anything I put in front of him, I guess his tastes have become a little more discerning lately.  There was about a week where he wouldn't really eat solid foods.  But just as suddenly as it began, the strike ended with some spinach & mangoes!

We have also been introducing lots of new solid foods.  Every morning he and Olivia enjoy their Cheerios together

And we introduced him to the wonder of pizza crust!

While we once called him Little Mouse because he was so quiet, that is no longer the case.  Baby Eric makes his voice heard these days.  Most often when he is done with or wants more of a certain food!

(Here I believe he was telling me to get those bananas off his tray because he wants spaghetti like his sister!)

Sleeping has been our biggest news-breaker this month.  After our dear bffs the McGuire's recommended an angel from Heaven a sleep therapist, I am happy to report that Eric is sleeping CONSIDERABLY better.  He goes to sleep around 6 pm, wakes up to eat at 10ish to eat, and then he goes back to sleep till around 6/6:30!!  I am sure some other bump in the road will pop up, but for now I'm basking in the glow of my EIGHT hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.

And, he has two little teeth on the bottom!

We love you so much Eric!  Happy 9 months!