9 Months

As I sit down to reflect on Quinn's nine month achievements and milestones, he is already over half-way through his tenth month of life! It's hard to keep track of what has been happening when because he is changing so quickly. Thank goodness I keep notes!

Stats:
Weight: 21 1/2 lbs (68th percentile)
Height: 29 1/4 in (82nd percentile)
Head Circumference: 46 cm (79th percentile)

At nine months, Quinn was still crawling all over the place and continuing to experiment with unassisted standing. My child does not like to sit still! Quinn began crawling up the stairs this month in an effort to chase our cats (his favorite animal in the house).

Quinn also began waving and clapping this month. I don't think he associates a wave with "hello" or "good-bye" so much as he likes to flap his arms around. When Quinn is particularly excited he will clap his hands. Luckily, Quinn is a pretty happy and excitable child so we've been seeing a lot of clapping and waving around here lately!

In terms of making my life easier, Quinn began feeding himself with success this past month. He can pick up a fistful of dry cereal (cheerios or puffs) and get a few pieces into his mouth at a time. He continues to practice this skill as he LOVES to eat (just like me)! With that said, I can't eat in front of Quinn without sharing with him. Our pediatrician encouraged me to share anything that I eat with Quinn as long as it's not on the list of things you can't give a baby (i.e. nut products, honey, citrus, etc...). I've been doing this and can't seem to find anything that he won't eat. So far he's been a pretty fantastic eater (well, that and I tend to eat and share delicious food... think brownies).

One quality that I am particularly fond of in Quinn is his unwillingness to give up. He can fall down countless times a day, hit his head, bruise himself, and nothing seems to stop him. So far, he never fails to get up and try again. I pray that this trait stays with him as he is faced with obstacles throughout his life.

Parenthood continues to become more and more comfortable for me, and with each passing month I find myself becoming more and more grateful for my opportunity to be at home with Quinn. Last night as Pat and I were getting ready for bed we were asking ourselves, "How did we get so lucky?" We are so in love with our little boy and are soaking up each moment of our blessed lives.