Porter House: 9 Months

Preston is now a 9 month old baby who loves to melt the hearts of his mommy and daddy with his luminous smile, explore everything that falls in his line of sight and voice his enthusiasm with his high pitched squeals and maturing baby sounds. My baby is becoming less of a baby and more independent as each day passes. I try to saver every moment I can where he allows me to kiss all over him, tickle his tummy and hold him as tightly as I want to. Preston is full of energy and has the kindest and most gentle heart.

This month, Preston has learned how to walk using his walker at school and the one at home. At the beginning of the month, we would have to stabilize the walker because he would push it forward faster than he could move his legs with it but by the end of the month he was putting one leg in front of the other fairly quickly and he didn’t need us to assist him anymore. He hasn’t learned the concept of turning the walker yet but he will get there.

Preston officially cut his first tooth this month and more are already on their way. He has done really well with teething and he looks so much older with his new teeth shining through.

We have been working with Preston to hold his own bottle and he is getting there but so far all he can do is hold his bottle when he is laying on his back when getting his diaper changed. He hasn’t yet master holding his bottle while sitting up just yet.

Preston has gotten super good at crawling and he can move very quickly. Its soo cute to watch him zoom across the floor when he sees something he wants or see how excited he gets to follow mommy from room to room.

Preston has also learned how to scream when he isn’t happy about something. We are trying to nip that in the bud right now.

Special Moment:

As everyone knows, I live for the holidays and I was more than ecstatic when October 1st rolled around because that meant Halloween was just around the corner. I decorated the house, planned lots of family events during the month and waited for Oct 31st to finally arrive so I could celebrate the holiday with Preston for the very first time. I thought our special moment this month would be when we went trick-or-treating for the very first time but to my surprise our special moment happened later that night. Although trick-or-treating with him was incredibly special, our special moment happened when we were in the car traveling to another trick-or-treating spot. While I was holding him in my lap his front facing my front, he wrapped his arms around my waist and laid his head against my chest and stayed there until we had to move to get out of the car. I know this isn’t a huge moment or anything but I knew he felt save in my arms and I will never forget how that made me feel as his momma.

Preston’s Likes:
At school, Preston along with all the other babies loves to pull the handles on the cabinet doors. The only difference between the ones at school and the ones at home are that ours don’t lock and he can pull them open. He has bumped his head a couple of times on the doors but his curiosity keeps him coming back for more.

We discovered that Preston loves to bang and crunch on empty water bottles. So, now we keep an empty water bottle in his play area so he can bang it on the couch, near the bathtub so he can play with it during bath time and next to our bed so he can crunch on it when we are putting his diaper and clothes on after his bath.

Preston reacts positively to music and he especially likes the song “If your happy and you know it”.

Preston’s Dislikes:
Preston has gotten better about getting his diaper and clothing changed although I’m not sure if he is getting better with it or if we have gotten smarter about it. I always have a toy or his pacifier handy when it’s time to change his diaper or get his clothes on. That boy doesn’t want to stay still long enough for me to get him changed. He is ready to go 24-7.

Preston now understands the phase “no no” and doesn’t like to hear it. He will get pretty upset when he’s not allowed to have or explore something but we just redirect him and he is all good.

Preston hasn’t really shown any amounts of fear beside sudden loud noises so it took me by surprise when he didn’t take very well to the new bath toys we bought him. He loves bubbles so I figured he would love the bubble machine but boy was I wrong. When I turned it on, he heard the buzzing noise and almost leaped completely out of the bath tub. I was not prepared for that and it stunned me to see him react so negatively to something so quickly.

It took a while for him to feel comfortable in the bath again but just as he was I screwed it up when I put another new toy in the bath tub with him. This time it was a pink star that made a little water fountain and lit up. Again he ran for the hills when he saw the lights come on and the water start flowing out. I couldn’t believe it. He cried and cried until he no longer saw the star.

Then to my amazement, he got scared for a third time by the green frog I bought to place over the tub facet. He took one look at it, then at me and then cried for me to get him out of the tub. I quickly removed the frog and he was better after a few minutes.

So now, all there is in the bath is his trusty water bottle. I still haven’t figured out why all these toys scared him but they surely did.

Just starting this month, Preston no longer likes his veggies straight from the container. The only way I can get him to eat his veggies is to disguise them by mixing them with his oatmeal flakes. He will eat the fruits from the container but not the veggies. He will also eat level 3 fruits but will not get level 3 veggies. I think the level 3 veggies have too powerful of a smell and he will turn his nose each time.

Happy 9 Months Preston!!