Our little guy is celebrating his 3/4 Birthday today. Can't believe he is 9 months old already.
The last month has been quite busy for JJ. He has finally got a couple of teeth (bottom front) and that didn't go too badly. He was a bit fussier than usual and up more a few nights but overall not as bad as I expected. Of course he hasn't gone through molars coming in yet... Teeth seem to be another sign that he is growing up right before our eyes. When I catch a glimpse of them when he smiles it makes you realise he is well on his way to being a little boy and no longer a baby.
Bubba also got to experience his first Hallowe'en (which I still hold out as not being a Holiday, we don't get the day off to go scare people). We had fun dressing him up as a Pumpkin and handing out candy in our new neighbourhood, lots of little kids came round trick or treating and I made sure to get some pumpkins (one for each of us with our initial carved into it). We also went to a fun party at a friends house where there were 5 adorable babies all in costume (and a couple of the parents, way to go!). I think we had a Pumpkin, a Dragon, two Chickens and a Cheeseburger (with matching condiments).
We've also got to experience the fun of time changes with a baby. Funnily enough JJ didn't seem to get that he could sleep for an extra hour last weekend. We're slowly adjusting him back to his usual bedtime and breakfast time but the early wake ups are a killer. E and I are both done by 8pm at the moment! (that might have something to do with our evening glass of wine too...) I don't think we woke our Toronto hosts too early on Sunday morning but if we did, sorry! Speaking of which, Bubba had his best long trip in the car last weekend (and so did we thanks to the extra space in our new car). His naps nicely coincided with Service Centres and we didn't have any crying at all. Plus, the trip to Toronto seemed like a breeze after our trip to London back in September.
JJ is also starting to get a bit more mobile. He is still reluctant to crawl but he can kind of shuffle about and turn around on the floor/his tummy. His new trick is trying to pull himself up and once he's up he does a good job of standing with support. E thinks he'll just skip crawling and go straight to walking and I have to agree. We also think we'll get his first word before his first step. He is full of little noises and sounds (not all of them related to pooping or seeing the cats). He's definitely getting some vowel sounds and he recognises some phrases that we commonly use. He's also really getting into a few of his books, some in particular bring out his excited side (particularly Happy Baby 123, Baby Tiger's Jungle Adventure and My Peekaboo Book).
Bubba continues to eat really well and he's now started on cow's milk, cheese and yogurt which he really seems to enjoy. New food favourites are baked cheesy pasta with maple glazed chicken (who came blame him for that), blueberries, chicken meatballs and Anna Olsen's Canadian Minestrone Soup. He also loved a friend's home made guacamole and gluten free pancakes... I'm so happy that JJ eats so well and meal time with him is so much fun. Hopefully he'll grow up to be a fantastic cook just like his Mama!
Our latest development is getting Jack into Day Care. He starts in January and thanks to some good benefits at work I'm taking the first three weeks of 2012 as Parental Leave so I can be home with him before he transitions to 5 days a week at Day Care. It is going to be a huge adjustment for E and I (and more so for E as she will be dealing with going back to work too) and weird that someone else will be looking after Bubba so much of the time. I'm really excited for my time at home with him but not so much for the few week weeks after that... At least we'll have his first Birthday and his Aunt-equivalent's arrival from Belgium to look forward to. We've also got Christmas and his Uncle's move back home to keep us busy and I'm sure time will continue to fly by so before I know it I'll be blogging about his proper Birthday!
