9 Months Old!!!

Ethan is 9 months old today, and again, it is shocking how fast these months are flying by!  If I had to sum up the past month, I'd say it was a month of movement and teeth!  Ethan is crawling (quickly) everywhere that we will let him go, and he especially loves exploring where we'd rather him not... He is also pulling to stand very well, cruising furniture, and briefly (1-2 seconds) letting go and standing independently, although I don't think he realizes it yet.  He is also looking like he may be a climber... as he tries to crawl up onto/into the fireplace and attempts our basement steps.  He now has 4 teeth on bottom and 1 on top, with 3 other top teeth on the verge of eruption; this has made for some interesting nights, as our great sleeper isn't sleeping as much... However, despite the sleep interruption, it hasn't affected his wonderful, playful nature as you'll see in the pics below!  Today we headed out for an impromptu 9-month old photo shoot, and I had a hard time choosing just a few to share, but first a few candid shots from the past couple of weeks...

Waving or clapping, not sure, since he thinks they are the same...

YUM, this frozen bagel feels sooo good on my gums

Milli really wants to see how it makes her gums feel too...

Our lil lumberjack in his flannel and cords!

Is this really for me?

WOW, spaghetti is DELICIOUS!!

You can imagine the mess when he was finished...

Some days, my hair just seems to have a mind of it's own...

Ha! Playing in standing is so fun!

And now for the staged photos...

Here I come...

Mommy's favorite pic of the day!

This is way more fun than sitting in that gazebo!

He LOVED the swing (if you weren't sure by the crinkled nose grin)

Showing off those 4 bottom teeth

Mommy, you should really try this, it's great!

He was right!

Daddy helping him slide

Man, I love this playground thing!

OK, getting sleepy, enough with the camera!

Well, ok, 1 last smile, but that's it!

We really can't describe how much we love this little guy and the joy that he brings to each day; it's a wonderful reminder of God's perfect plan for our family!

This week

The highlight of this past week was Ethan's 1st trip to the barbershop for his first "real" haircut.  We went in with a baby and came out with a toddler, or at least that's how I felt, anyway.  I suppose it was time; the "she's so pretty" and "how old is she" comments were wearing on Daddy, and the last one came literally as Ethan was getting his haircut; the stylist next to us said, "oh, I thought that was a girl" (despite the dump truck shirt and levi jeans...)  

We ended our week with a trip to Slapout to celebrate Gam Gam's birthday. Ethan had fun visiting with the family and especially his cousin, Natalie Kate, who is 9 months older than him, but probably 5 pounds lighter at least.  She is quite a character (aka drama queen), and refers to Ethan as "dat?", as in who is that and why is he getting so much attention.  They are going to have so much fun together, and it was so fun watching them interact.  

Here are a few pics from the week; had to include some "before" haircut pics.  

One last look at my long locks...

One of my new tricks, yoga pose?

I love to stand! Will pull up on anything and everything!!

Post-haircut 

Me and NK

She knows how to ham it up for the camera too!

That NK is soo funny!

What, we weren't about to get into anything...

NK explaining how the hair washing should go

Oh, I didn't realize this wasn't for me...

Big boy in his 24-month sized outfit!!!

He is such a happy boy, despite the fact that he is in the process of getting at least 2 more teeth, in addition to the one that erupted this past week.  Ethan is definitely keeping us on our toes, but he also makes each and every day so fun!!! We love him so much!!!

A night in the life...

I know I just posted recently, but these pics from tonight were too cute not to share...  Ethan keeps us pretty busy most nights, as he is constantly exploring (i.e., looking for electrical cords or outlets or floor lamps), but tonight I managed to pull out the camera and capture some of our favorite "faces"  Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

This is my "determination face"...

But I can always ham it up for the camera

So proud of myself standing alone at the ottoman!

Determination face, again, really wanting to get Mommy's camera...

Bath time fun...

Love bath time!

Really love it when they wet my hair!!

Even though they do this to my hair...

Easily forgiven once they sit me up!

All done, time for bed!