Jude at 9 Months

Jude turned 9 months while we were home in the States. I made sure to bring his "6" so we could document the day (no Mr. Bear to sit besides though- too big for the luggage!). It is hard to believe he has been "out" and long as he was "in." It had been 4 months since his Opa and Oma had seen him and 7 weeks since Nana and Pops had seen him. While we see him every day and therefore his changes seem gradual, it was fun to see his growth and development through the eyes of his adoring grandparents.

In the past week Jude has learned to clap and it is adorable. It is not necessarily to music or when he is excited, he just does it at random times, which might be even better. His "ya, ya, yas" has progressed to "ba, ba, bas" and hopefully soon "ma, ma, mas"??

The attachment phase is definitely here and we had to be more careful introducing him to new people while home. He will occasionally get shy and nuzzle into our necks. It is as close to cuddly as he's ever been, so we'll take it!

He still sits like a champ and hates to be on his belly as he hasn't figured crawling out. He's gotten to sitting from his back a few times and will last a few seconds on his hands and knees with occasional rocking, but mostly just raises his arms to the air, indicating that he wants us to pick him up so he can "walk." He loves to hold onto our hands and walk all over the place. I was hesitant at first because of things I've read about hip damage when babies try walking too early, but it is what the boy likes to do, so we do it!

While I was recovering from the flu in Miami, Pete and Nana taught Jude the oh so lovely trick to drink water from a cup and then squawk as loud as can be! Thanks, guys!

He's eating three square meals a day- oatmeal or yogurt with fruit in the morning, whole wheat bread with some spread and fruit for lunch (he loves oranges and apples) and jarred baby food of some meat/grain/veggie combo for dinner.

Sleeping- oh how I wish I had better news to report! He is still up at least once at night (between 7-7 when he generally sleeps). On our trip home, this regressed into 2 wake-ups and where we normally would have let him cry/soothe himself back to sleep for the first wake-up, we were in close quarters sharing a room with him and walls with relatives, so we tried to quickly get him back to sleep. Not great for our overall sleep training routine, but I'm hopeful that things will get better now that we are home!

As soon as we put the number anywhere near him, he grabs it and eats it, so we tricked him for the first few shots.

"Up!" 

Happy baby