Dear Hayden,
I cannot believe that in three short months (less than that, really) you will be ONE year old! You continue to amaze your Dada and me with everything you can do, your smile and super fun personality. We're so smitten with you and love being able to experience new things through your eyes.
- At your nine month check up, you weighed in at 20 lbs. 11 oz. and are 28 inches tall. This puts you right smack in the 50th percentile.
- The doctor is amazed at how strong and very happy you are!! You did cry when he poked and prodded you, which is good, since this means you show stranger danger.
- You are not a big fan of baby food any longer. You have mastered the pincher grasp (using the thumb and forefinger) and prefer to feed yourself. You like whatever we are eating. You pretty much like everything, except for "slimy" textures (grapes, noodles, etc.). Fav foods: garlic bread, waffles, pancakes, eggs, sausage, lasagna, guacamole, roast. The doctor gave us the green light to give you anything we eat, except for raw honey (babies can't have this until they are over a year).
- You put EVERYTHING in your mouth. When I pick you up at school, you immediately grab your daily report and start chewing on it. It makes me laugh and there are worse things to chew on than paper, so we don't worry about it.
- You are NOT interested in drinking your bottles. The doctor said not to worry about it since you are growing and developing fine. We started giving your formula bottles during the day and you are doing great with that. It makes it easier when we are out and about since I am modest about nursing in public.
- Both of your bottom teeth are now in. It looks so adorable when you smile! Your top two teeth should be making their appearance in the next week are so.
- As far as moving around goes, you are now interested in rolling and scooting everywhere! This makes us happy since you had stopped doing that for awhile. You are rocking back and forth on your hands and knees, so I see crawling coming soon.
- You can pull yourself up by yourself. Just this morning, you pulled the drawer out on the dresser and pulled yourself up. You then proceeded to pull out all of my clothes that were in that drawer. It was pretty cute!
- You passed your hearing test! It was NOT fun since you had to be still and quiet with tube things stuck in your ears. You did NOT enjoy that, so we waited until you fell asleep and did it since it measures sound waves.
- You LOVE music. Your favorite is country - the Zac Brown Band, track number 3 on The Foundation CD. It will calm you in an instant when you are fussy. Just yesterday, you started bobbing to the music that one of your toys was playing. You now bob to anything that sounds like music.
- Your favorite play activity is banging on anything like a drum. I put a drum app on my iPad and you love it. You also love this ABC app where you drag letters, numbers and shapes with your forefinger. SMART boy!
- You still get up once or twice a night. You like to sleep cuddling with us at home during naps. I don't mind the night visits because we get to cuddle and it won't last forever. You like to sleep on your side or your belly.
- You love the fall weather and being outside. We took you to Trax Farms and you loved the pumpkins and the petting zoo animals.
- You are still in size three diapers.
- You prefer to be barefoot and will pull your socks off.
- You just keep growing and growing! You're still in 6-12 or 9-12 month clothes.
- I changed positions and offices at work recently. I am now a LOT less stressed and really enjoy going to work again. God definitely came through in turning some things around so I can leave work at work and focus on our sweet family when we are together. I do have a longer commute, so Dada and I are debating on moving closer to my work (which would also be closer for him). You would have to change schools, but I found a nice place that will love you as much as your current teachers do.
- You are such a blessing and we love you!!
Love,
Momma
