Will loves his Uncle Chuck!

Will's Uncle Chuck is incredibly funny and Will seems to realize this already. Will really enjoys when Chuck plays with him - check out these smiles!

9 Month Stats

Will had his 9 month check up today and here are his stats:

- 21.1 lbs (75%)

- 29.25 inches tall (80%)

He got a clean bill of health. Our new pediatrician, Dr Somer Cutis, who we think is fantastic, noticed that he is still slightly favoring one side. His head stays cocked to the left. I hadn't noticed it at all, but now that she pointed it out, I see it. We are going to try to work on this, but it will be tough with a mobile kiddo. Hopefully it will work itself out over time.

She mentioned that we need to get him outside everyday, even if it is chilly, so that he gets his vitamin D fix. I hope the weather improves so we can stick to this new plan.

In the next 3 months, we have to move Will from drinking 24-32oz of milk a day down to just 16-20oz by increasing his solids. We took our first step in this direction today by feeding him more real food, including a healthy serving of banana pancakes. I am going to try to feed him what we are eating as much as I can to get him used to new textures, etc.

Lastly, it is time to move this kiddo out of an infant car seat. We hope to have that in place by the time the 5th tooth shows up!

Baby Love

Will loves crawling up and down our long hallway. He now does it with quite a bit of speed and narration (or what assume is narration). This is a picture of his happy, smiling face as he was on his way to greet me. Is it possible to fall more in love with him? Just when I think you cannot possibly love him more... I do.

Italy 2010

Tonight Chad told Will about our plans for an Italy 2010 trip... without him. He seemed to take the news well. He is going to have an A-team of caretakers including both sets of grandparents and his Aunt Leen and Uncle Chuck. Chad and I are just starting to plan for our late April adventure!

Will is 9 months old!

Will is 9 months old! He is crawling quickly, pulling up on everything, and keeping us on our toes. This month he:

* Got 3 teeth. Two lower, and one, huge, almost adult size, upper tooth.

* Started making a fish face. Neither Chad or I taught him this, so I guess he just figured it out on his own. It's cute.

* Learned to wave. He doesn't always do it when we do, but he definitely waved in response to being waved to, and he did it a fair number of times. I am calling it an accomplishment.

* Now has added "BaBa" to his list of words he likes to repeat. It's not as popular as "DaDa" and we still have only heard "MaMa" a few times. Sigh.

* Said DaDa a few times in relationship to Chad. Chad was playing with him and walked away, and Will looked around and said "Dada". He has done this more than once. He knows who his Dad is.

* Loves to crawl over to you and put his arms up to be held. This is new and we LOVE this.

* Really enjoys books now. He will sit through multiple books (preferably ones that he can touch and feel - like "Thats not my monkey" or flip the flaps "Where is baby's belly button?").

We have no idea how long he is or how much he weighs, but we will find out in less than 2 weeks!