Nine Months Old

Titon has grown so much this past month! It seems like he accomplished several little milestones all at once. Just in the past few weeks, he started rolling over repeatedly, sleeping on his tummy, staying awake for longer stretches, eating solid foods at three meals, and wearing 12 mo. size clothes. And, he has a second tooth! :)

Titon's favorite words right now are "Da-da" and "Mom" (melts our hearts!), and "ba-ba" for pretty much everything else! He continues to find his voice and learn to make new sounds, squeals, and grunts. It's cute when he tries to mimic us. It usually comes out sounding like a cough -- that must be what our laughter sounds like to him! :) 

One of our favorites things is that he's been extra cuddly lately. Titon likes to be close to us, and we love it too! He wraps his arms around our neck and buries his face in our shoulder when he first wakes up. He kicks his legs excitedly and pats our arms when we pick him up. Our laps are one of his favorite places to sit and play or read books. He often tries to "share" his toys by putting them up to our mouths. What a sweet boy!

He's taken a new interest in disassembling his toys, and just as soon as we can stack the blocks he likes to knock them over! He is learning new concepts like "open and close," "in and out," and rolling a ball back and forth to us. Of course, he's also intrigued by anything electronic or that has buttons... the phone, keyboard, calculator, remote controls. It's fun to watch him play and learn!

Titon is SO close to crawling!! He gets up on his hands and knees and can move forward one or two strides, or takes a big lunge forward... and then falls on his belly! But, his balance and coordination are developing each day. He is very determined! In fact, he's turning, scooting, and squirming now to get to where he wants to go! How can such a little person be so strong?! It sure is fun to wrestle with our wiggly little boy. He's already pulling up on furniture, and he LOVES standing up and "walking." He looks at us with the biggest smile... he knows he's really doing something big! :)

We've enjoyed getting outdoors this spring and taking walks in the neighborhood. Titon loves riding in the jogger and kicks his feet the entire way. If we time it just right, he gets a nap in too. :)

Play Time

Food Adventures

What an adventure meal times have been! For awhile, it seemed like we were making a "cleaner" job of feeding Titon. But, that didn't last long, especially since he's become more interested in grabbing the spoon! We're in the habit now of starting out with two spoons -- one for Titan to hold, and the other for us to feed him. Not only does Titon need a bath after dinner, but Mom and Dad do too. One evening, Mommy bent over to pick up a spoon on the floor and immediately felt two grimy little hands covered in peas grab fists full of Mom's hair! Lesson learned to keep an appropriate distance from the highchair. :) Daddy has quipped that "we need to wear rain jackets to supper!" :)

This past month, we added broccoli, zucchini, and apples to Titon's diet. He's also learning to pick up finger foods such as Chex cereal bits, smashed peas, green beans, banana slices, pear and apple slices, and hard-boiled egg yolks. Most of it ends up on the floor, in his chair, or down his shirt, but a few bites make it to his mouth. :) He LOVES apple slices!

It's all about learning, right?! We're committed to cherishing these moments with our fun little guy! Truthfully, we would be sad to miss the silly songs, goofy faces, and slap-happy giggles at the dinner table. Finding broccoli under his chin and picking up the dropped sippy cup for the 14th time are so worth it! Well,... Titon would be okay if we skipped the washing his face part afterwards. :)

Happy Easter!

Look Who's Sleeping on His Tummy!

Titon started turning over from his back to his tummy a few weeks ago. We had been anticipating him rolling, but we didn't know how much it would change his sleep routine... or diaper-changing! :) It took a week or two for Titon to settle into the new sleep position too, but he seems to like it now. It sure is fun to peek in on our sleeping boy and find him in all kinds of funny positions. I bet it won't be long, and we'll find him standing up at the rail... and trying to climb out!