9 Months In, 9 Months Out

Benson is now just over 9 months old!

Time has flown by extra fast and I am missing my cuddly, tiny boy.

He is growing up fast!

-He wants desperately to be able to walk and cruises around the furniture like a pro, pulling himself up to stand on just about anything. He can push his cart around the house while walking, too! I am thinking he'll be walking independently in the next month, but for now he gets around great by crawling on all fours or walking while hanging onto something.

-We were really slow to start him on solids (laziness on my part) but now he loves food--especially dinner foods.

-He was about 20 pounds at his 6 month appointment. I haven't taken him in for his 9 month appointment yet, but a rough estimate on our scale has him at about 22-23 pounds. He is thinning out because he is sooo wiggly! Thankfully he still has those amazingly chunky thighs.

-He is super mellow and continues to love Maxwell despite his rather rough attention at times.

-He typically sleeps well through the night from 8-6 or 6:30.

-He still spits up quite often, which is especially unpleasant now that he is eating lots of solid foods.

-He loves to swing at the park, plays peek-a-boo, loves being outside, and likes to be thrown in the air.

-He is experimenting a lot with talking and forming different sounds. He says "Dada" on demand, but I don't think he associates meaning with it yet.

-He lights up our world with his giant smiles, slobbery kisses, squishy cheeks, and adorable giggles!

Since I dropped off the blogging bandwagon for a while, here is a dump of Benson pictures from the last few months:

He was soo proud when he first learned to stand up! 

He wasn't too sure about cereal/applesauce the first time I fed it to him but he quickly caught on.

He used to clasp his hands like this all the time, which I found utterly darling.

Goodness! Those thighs are irresistable!

And he has the best "smize," don't you think?? (smiling with only your eyes, not your mouth)