Cooper-9 months

Cooper's 9 month official stats:

Height:  27.5 in. (10-25%)

Weight:  17lbs 8oz (10-25%)

Head:  18 in.  (75%)

So, as you can see at 9 months, Cooper remains just a little peanut!  He's growing at a steady rate on his curve, but he's still on the smaller side for other babies his age.  We are just on the verge of outgrowing his 6 month clothes, and the size 2 diapers are still working for now.  We are hitting the new size right at the change of seasons, and we are matching up with Cousin Chase's & friend Graham's handmedowns perfectly!  (Sorry to cousin Parker!)

Cooper is so active these days it's crazy!  I cannot for the life of me remember Delaney being this active!  He's all over the place crawling up a storm, and starting to pull up on things and stand.  His favorite "toys" are the houseplants, dog bowls, and bathroom cabinets!  He's all boy...  He is starting to play with the Little People Farm and Princess Castle (sorry Daddy!) that were Delaney's.  I think we may have some more boyish Little People toys on our upcoming birthday & Christmas lists!  He is also a fan of the stacking cups and the foam numbers and letters!  (I had to pick those up because the crazy kid is obsessed with flip flops!)

Coop is trying new foods all the time.  I think we could be on all table foods by 10 months, but we'll see.  Some days are better than others!  His "real food" favorites so far are Cheerios, grapes, bananas, and peas.  He's starting that stage where he wants to eat whenever anyone else is.  The addition of more solids has made him a bit of a lazy eater when it comes to nursing and bottles.  We are getting by, and I'm hoping we can stretch it just a couple more months to avoid formula!  Our pediatrician said that if we can make it to 11 months on breast milk, we can start whole cow's milk vs. introducing formula for just one month...so that's the goal!

I discovered last week that I was starving my poor kid at bedtime, and that's why he wasn't sleeping very well.  After making a full adjustments to make sure he gets around 6-7oz. of milk at bedtime, he has sleep all night for a week (knock on wood!)!  This is a huge improvement!  I feel very guilty that it look me so long to figure it out, and I still think teething has contributed to his poor sleeping, but I'm happy to find something that works!  We still only have 2 teeth on the bottom, but the 4 on top could pop through any day!  

Cooper is quite the character these days!  There's a lot of personality in that tiny little body!  He is full of smiles and laughs, and he is starting to babble all the time!  Da-da is a favorite!  He also has a bit of an ornery streak.  He still doesn't know what "NO" means, but he's hearing it enough these days he'll figure it out soon!  He will take his cup and hold it over the edge of the highchair and just look at you with a sly little grin until he drops it!  Little stinker!  He still adores his big sister, although he's been very "hands-on" with him lately.  She is a nervous-nelly, helicopter sister!  She is so worried he's going to fall or get into something that she will manhandle him at the slightest opportunity!  

Cooper brings our family so much joy and he just fits in so perfectly!  It's hard to remember what life was like without our little man!  

Look! I can crawl!

D got a cold for Christmas

Delaney got a nasty cold/virus this week! It has been no fun whatsoever! When I picked her up after work on Tuesday, Holly said that her cold had kicked in full blown. She wasn't kidding! Delaney has been pretty miserable since. I stayed home with her yesterday, and Craig is home with her today. Poor little baby! We had her 9 month check-up yesterday, but the doctor said that it's just a virus and there isn't much we can do for her. We just have to ride it out for a couple weeks.

We did find out that she's a pretty big girl. She's weighing in at 21.3 pounds (84 percentile) and is 29 inches long (92 percentile). She's had quite a grown spurt in the last month. No wonder all of her clothes are suddenly too short! Good thing Christmas is almost here...

Well, we're hoping for a big recovery, so she isn't so miserable for her first Christmas! We shall see...

9 Months

Delaney celebrated her 9 month birthday on Sunday. These pictures were taken Sunday night right before bed. She is such a happy little girl! We have our official 9 month checkup with the pediatrician on Wednesday, so I'll save the specifics until after that. I can tell you that she seems to be growing like a weed and getting so busy! Delaney had some more firsts this month. She took her first trip to Kansas City, met her first celebrity-Mike Rowe, celebrated her first Thanksgiving, and saw her first Christmas tree!
Delaney's little personality is so funny. She's a happy-go-lucky girl, but she definitely has an ornery streak. She loves to smile and laugh! She also loves to play. She's not much into the snuggling these days. She'd rather be up and moving. In fact, she is so close to crawling it's scary. She gets pretty frustrated when she can't figure it out. She rolls all over the place now, and has figured out how to roll to get to something or somewhere. (By the way, the baby gate is firmly installed!)
Delaney is a great little eater. She has two "meals" a day that consist of oatmeal cereal, fruit, and veggie. She still seems to be more of a veggie lover than a fruit girl. She loves to feed herself puffs. In fact, she's even started squatting my hand away sometimes because she wants to do it herself. She still has 4 bottles a day, but she seems to be maybe phasing one of those out. I'm sure her diet will be changing a little after our doctors appointment. I think the 9 months make starts some new things for her to try!
She is wearing mainly 9 month size clothes, but I think we'll be in 12 months before too long. She is already wearing 12 months in one-piece outfits, like PJs. She still seems to be pretty long. I'm anxious to see where she falls on the charts this time. She is wearing size 3 diapers, which I think we'll be in a for a little while yet.
Her hair has really came in all of a sudden. She didn't stay bald for too long at all. It seems to be a sandy brown color, but I still see some reddish tones--especially when it's wet. It is definitely lighter than when she was born. It doesn't seem to have much curl yet, but it's still pretty short. She's very anti-bow these days. If I try, they last about 10 seconds before she rips it off is and is chewing on it. Such a little stinker!
Delaney is so fun these days. She loves to bounce, dance, and watch her puppy. Izzy completely mesmerizes Delaney...it's so fun to watch. Delaney really loves music. Her favorite song right now is the Transiberian Orchestra version of the Christmas Canon. If she's fussing in the car, I turn that song on and turn it up and she stops. It's crazy! I may have to leave that CD in all year long! We also introduced her to the Rockabye Baby CDs recently, she has the U2 and Bob Marley versions. We all enjoy them!
She is getting quite vocal these days. She will say "da, da, da, da, da" repeatedly all the time now. We're still working on "ma ma". She also likes to talk to Izzy. She scolded her puppy (for no particular reason) the other night. It was funny! She seems to be a screamer, and hits some octaves that I think Mariah Carey would have trouble with! Sometimes she gets going, and I swear she's singing.
It's been yet another fun month with little Miss D! I think the countdown to her birthday can officially begin! I am so excited for that day!
BREAKING NEWS...DELANEY HAS FINALLY CUT HER FIRST TOOTH AFTER LITERALLY 5 MONTHS OF WORK! THIS IS A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR OUR LITTLE PEANUT!