Tate Lately // 9 Month Update

 

Tate, you are one busy little guy!  There is no waking moment when you sit still and aren’t moving and exploring.  Whether you are crawling, pulling yourself up to anything that stands still, cruising along the furniture or wall, raising your arms over your head and shaking them while in the high chair eating – you are always in motion!

You are such a funny little boy.  You love playing peek-a-boo, even right now as I type this you are standing behind the laptop and poking your head around with a big cheesy smile waiting for me to say “peek!”, then you quickly move your face back behind the laptop to do it again.  You love to wrestle with anyone who is laying on the floor and growl with glee as you ‘conquer’ them.  You have an obsession with pulling yourself up to the lamp stand then stretching your arm as far as you can trying to grab the remotes we push clear to the back out of your reach.  You disappear quite often – I either find you back in the hallway wishing you could get in the boys’ room to dig through all their toys or back in the laundry/mud room where you are playing with the shoes or trying to pull down Brennan’s back pack that he left laying on the bench.

You eat 3 meals a day.  For breakfast it’s either baby oatmeal or whatever soft thing I have made for the family (waffles, toast, pancakes).  Lunch and supper are a baby food veggie and fruit unless I have made something ‘baby friendly’ for that meal.  Last week we discovered that you love Tater Tot Casserole!  That’s fitting, isn’t it?  You take a bottle after each meal, one in the afternoon after your nap and one before bedtime. All are usually 6oz. and you like to drive Daddy nuts by consistently leaving just under an ounce in every bottle.  You hold your own bottle now, although I still like to help you.  I love kissing on your sweet dimpled knuckles while you take your bottle.

The big news this month is you finally got your first tooth in!  Actually, your first 2 teeth!  Your bottom left tooth was first, followed almost 2 weeks later by your bottom right tooth.  You are trying to figure out what they are by moving your tongue over them.  I love looking over at you and seeing your tongue sticking out, wiggling around while you feel those new pearly whites in your mouth.

You are wearing size 4 diapers now, and your clothes are in the 18 to 24mo range.  I pulled out a Thanksgiving shirt that Brennan wore that was a 2T and it actually fit you without being too baggy!  You have outgrown your size 3 shoes already and are wearing size 4’s now.  I love hearing people say how big you are for your age, because you are! But you are perfectly proportioned with just the right amount of ‘squish’. 

You and your snuggly blankie!  I just love watching you love on that sweet blankie of yours!  I put it up on my shoulder when we get to your crib for naps and you always lay your head down on it and rub your face in it.  If it’s on the floor and you notice it you crawl over as fast as your chubby legs can carry you and dive down onto it, then rub your face all over it, pop your head up and smile at me or Daddy, then go back in for more love!  I’m so happy you love the blankie that I made special for you!

You have found that you are tall enough to see out the living room windows now!  You love standing there watching out them, looking around at the big big world outside.  You also love when I open your curtains in your room after naptime, you always lean forward and look down at the bush that is planted outside your window.  We talk about if it’s wiggling in the breeze or standing still that day.  You smile and whisper “saa saa saa” at it. 

Daddy and I love having special time with you every night after the big boys go to bed.  You usually go to bed between 8:30 and 9 then wake up the next morning around 6:00.  You take a morning nap that’s about 1 1/2 hours long, a 2 hour afternoon nap and a shorter early evening nap depending on how late your afternoon nap was. 

I love watching you grow every single day and learn new ‘tricks’.  Tate, you are such a joy to have in our lives!  I hope you never lose your spunkiness and your silliness!

Love,

Mommy