9 Months!

This month Shad has learned how to walking while holding onto something and standing for 5-10 seconds at a time!








He's been able to walk with our hands for a long time, but this month he learned how to push the walker toy at my parents house, and since then, he's been pushing laundry baskets, his Bumbo, etc all around the house.  He loves it and gets frustrated when he runs into something and stops. 

What's ironic is that box that he's pushing around in that video is the walker my parents got him for Christmas.  He also climbed on it and started playing with it while still in the box before we put it under the tree, ha ha.  We were tempted to just open it early...

He got his two top teeth while we were in Boise at the end of November, and now he's getting his next two bottom teeth!  One of them is in I think, and the other is close.  I can't believe he'll have 6 teeth here in the next few days!  He's had a runny nose and been pretty ornery with these bottom teeth so I'll be very happy when they're in. He also likes to grind his new little teeth which drives us crazy, especially Jeff.  (Nails on the chalk board kind of crazy...)

He is recognizing more and more words.  He learned what "puppy" was while in Boise and would look for my parents dog.  He knows bottle, food, hungry, fishes (goldfish), more, come here or come on, and a few others I'm sure I'm forgetting.  But of course he doesn't know how to really communicate back to us.  We just know that he knows what they mean. 

He is getting much more confident and balanced.  He climbs on everything, including us.  Even when he slips or falls off, he keeps right on going.  We've been impressed how well he's been able to catch himself sometimes.

 (His right leg is blurry cause he had it up in the air a few seconds before... crazy kid...)

 (Trying to climb over the road block I created...)

He is doing high fives and has learned how to clap.  He loves clapping, and will any time we say "Yay" or "Hooray."  Even if he's in the middle of something, he'll stop, sit up so he can use his hands, and clap.  (He starts clapping at the end of this next video...)

He's also doing very well with stairs.  He'd already mastered going up, but this month he has learned how to go down, and even backwards, the right way!  We showed him multiple times and finally he has starting turning around to go down.  He always puts his left foot down first, it's funny.  Sometimes he still tries to go head first, and is often able to control himself as he lands on each individual stair.  It's pretty acrobatic and hilarious to watch.

He now knows how to open cupboards and drawers, and will any chance he gets.  He also likes to empty out those cupboards and drawers, as well as laundry baskets, etc.  Every once in a while he'll put a few things back in, but usually we're the ones who end up having to... 

He is making a wider variety of sounds, and you can tell when he's trying to say something.  I really wish we could understand him!  I can't wait to hear what he has to say...

Whenever he hears a beep or sound he doesn't know, he stops and opens his mouth and curiously listens, and then makes this sound, which I'm pretty sure means, "what was that!?"

He's just recently started tucking and curling his legs up when we pick him up.  I don't know why but I love it.

Few other favorites:

Extra happy for some reason at Joann's:

Caught trying to unroll the toilet paper:

Sporting Dad's hat:

Chasing an ornament around like a dog.  If only it would entertain him longer...

Here's to being three quarters of a year old Shad!  We love you more than you know.