Out almost as long as he was in... Almost.

At first when I realized it was Hamilton's Nine Month "Birthday", I thought "He's been out of me as long as he was in!" And then I remembered... vividly... that pregnancy is TEN months, and my darling stayed in for as long as he possibly could: 41 weeks and three days to be exact. So he hasn't quite reached that milestone. Still, it's hard to believe nine months have already passed since he came into our lives!

 

The above pose reminds me of a ladies man pose. I can almost hear Joey's catch phrase, "How you doin'?" or even the Fonz "Heeeeey!" His nine month pictures were harder than ever as we worked to keep him from eating the sticker, look at the camera, not lunge at us and wrestle, and keep leaves out of his mouth. But still, we got some gems! I can't believe how much like a BOY he looks, rather than a baby. His legs are getting super chunky, and I'm slightly worried about shoes/socks this fall and winter, as his calves or so big and his feet so fat, all shoes and socks dig into his skin and leave marks. The perils of cankles! 

Hamilton is obsessed with driving. Mostly his new trucks, but really anything he can get his hands on. I noticed when I picked him up from daycare, he always had one in his hands, so I bought him a couple, and he's crazy about them. He drives them across the floor, over the couches, up the walls, and over our legs. While he's doing it, he makes a great sound by trilling his tongue.

Like I said, baby boy loves to wrestle. He leaps for us and will wrestle and tangle until he's all worn out. I just hope he doesn't start doing this with the babies at daycare or with Cedar. :P

Picture time was nearing the end... managed to get in one with Mama.

But poor dad wasn't as lucky.

He still weighs 20 pounds according to our scale at home, which surprised me! But I guess with as much as he's moving around, it evens out the HUGE amounts of foods he's eating. He seems to be constantly hungry... less and less bottle and more and more "real" food - even moving away from purees. He would much rather feed himself, and will eat pretty much anything we put in front of him. As a matter of fact, I can't think of a food he's refused!

Our little boy is doing great at daycare, though there may be some separation anxiety starting. He still hasn't cried yet (thank God!), but he is more hesitant to leap into Miss Lori's arms when I drop him off. Lori says it's pretty much like clockwork... starts at nine months, but he'll be fine. He plays pretty hard all day and is totally wiped when I pick him up.

He's got four teeth on top, two on the bottom and is still a fountain of drool, so I think more are on the way. We've been very lucky when it comes to teething, as he's been very pleasant and we didn't see much fussiness or change in sleep patterns. He's also learning to stand on his own, and will take a few steps, but nothing we can really call walking. Mostly it's just a leap onto whoever is closest. He's close though!

Ham's appointment is on Thursday, and I'm excited to show off his new little boy look to the doctor's and nurses (who are also Seth's co-workers). Every night as I put him down for bed, I just thank God for the perfect baby he gave us, and revel in how healthy and happy he is and how very very lucky we are!