Month 9 in Pictures

Not sure where the time is going. Figured I needed to get something up here for Jonah's 9th month before he hits another month. I absolutely cannot believe tomorrow is December! Ahhh! It is our crazy time of year, and all I can do is take it one day at a time.

Jonah is at one of my favorite stages. Super cute. Super cuddly. And doing all sorts of cool firsts. I truly love this age! It is all about discovery.

He is gaining control of those hands more and more each day. He started clapping and pointing. He is obsessed with pointing at everything…especially his brothers. He is giving high fives, waving at me during diaper changes, and kinda signing milk. I love watching him watch his hands as he practices and begins to master each of these things. 

Jonah has the whole sleep thing DOWN. I finally have a baby who sleeps….and he figured it out all by himself! No sleep training necessary. Woo. Hoo! He sleeps all night long and puts himself to sleep at for naps and at night by sucking his thumb and cuddling his blanket. It is too precious. 

The sweet little peanut is still struggling to gain weight, only gaining 4 ounces last month. He is up to 17 pounds….that is about 1 pound in the past 5 months. Yay for growth, but it is still not enough to keep us from worrying. Mommy is having to figure out formulas and supplements to try to get Jonah to grow a little more. This month looks a little more promising as he is beginning to get too long for his 3-6 month sleepers. He is finally wearing 6-9 month clothes a little better, but is still in a size 2 diaper. 

Despite struggling to gain weight, the boy loves to eat. He really will eat just about anything I give him, but so far despises avocado and asparagus. He is currently shifting from pureed food to finger foods. Again….I love this stage. 

Yucky asparagus! Shudder. Gag. 

Jonah is busy, busy, busy, but only if Mama is right there to watch him go. He is very attached to me these days. I try hard not to be bitter that I don't get much "me" time…it is not hard when my "ball and chain" is so darned cute. 

And he has the sweetest (and most distinct) cry. He starts out with a pitiful little hum. Totally bearable. When he gets going, he buzzes his lips and blows raspberries while crying. Don't get me wrong, he can squeal, but it isn't often. Is it wrong that I think he is cute when he cries?

Other firsts include:  his first ride in a grocery cart, his first time in our high chair, and his first Halloween.

Jonah is such a happy boy. We keep falling more and more in love with our precious and incredibly edible little boy….drool and all.

Climbing the Ranks

Eli worked incredibly hard the past two months to catch up with the rest of the class to be able to test for his blue belt this weekend. All of his hard work, practice, focus, and discipline paid off. He looked great out there doing his forms and techniques.  

Proud of you, Eli!

Love how that blue belt looks on you. You are becoming quite the karate kid!

20 Questions with Jude

I did Jude's first round of 20 questions. He answered them all himself. I did have to clarify a few of the questions and offered choices on others. #5 still cracks me up.

Come One, Come All!

We got to celebrate Jude's 3rd birthday again over the weekend with precious family and friends. We had a carnival party, complete with a caterpillar bounce house (Jude's special request) and some Mommy-made games.

We had lots of yummy carnival food and little carnival touches here and there.

The kids seemed to have fun playing the games over and over again. And the bounce house was, of course, so much fun.

One of my favorite moments was when all of the kids were down the hill playing and climbing trees while the bounce house sat empty. Nature wins!

It was a joy to have Pap Pap, Gramma Lil, and Aunt Ann in town to help us celebrate. We are so glad you came!! (And thank you for all of your last minute help, Ann!)

Time to sing "Happy Birthday!"

I think this was right about the time that the cake plate dipped, the cake slid off, and landed PLOP on the ground. Ahhhhh! Thankfully, it landed right-side-up and it was on a plate, so even though it looked a mess, we were able to salvage it and serve it. It tasted fine....minus the few bits of gravel here and there. Haha!

But even a dropped cake couldn't ruin the fun. It was a beautiful day, and we were surrounded by love. 

Jude loved every bit of it and was overheard declaring, "This is the best day EVER!!" while running and jumping into the bounce house. 

We couldn't ask for a better stamp of approval. Happy 3rd Birthday, Jude!