Trace is 9 Months Old

Our little guy is fast! He continues to crawl and man can he move. I'm so thankful I have the girls to help me keep an eye on him, because he has definitely gained speed. Trace's favorite thing to do is stand. He is constantly pulling himself up onto objects. His balance is really improving, as earlier this week I saw him pull himself up using the strings dangling from one of my blankets which was hanging over the edge of the couch. He was swaying back and forth and working really hard. Another time, I saw him start to lose his balance. He began falling backwards and was able to regain his balance by flailing his little arms and flinging his body forward. It was a pretty impressive feat! This week, Trace began pushing his little walker around a few feet at a time. He is also beginning to cruise along furniture. Seeing him standing there, he looks too short to do much, but he is definitely proving that concept wrong.

Along with the movement has come a little defiance. Trace and I had our first battle this week. He is adamant that he does not want to wear his bib while eating and I on the other hand am adamant that he wear it. It goes like this. He takes it off. I put it on. He takes it off. I put it on. You get the point. I think I am winning so far, but am not quite sure at this point. However, I can tell that he is starting to grasp what "no" means. He recently discovered the hearth and likes to cruise along it. He especially likes Daddy's Russian guitar on top of the hearth. He has been redirected from it quite a few times and a couple days ago I saw him crawling towards it. Once he reached it, he looked over both shoulders trying to see if I saw what he was doing. That was the moment I realized that he is beginning to grasp what I have been trying to teach him. I am continually amazed at what an early age this develops.

At his 9 month check-up, Trace weighed 21 lb 15 oz and was 28 inches long, which puts him in the 60th and 50th percentiles respectively. He is getting to be such a big boy! He is still working on using a sippy cup and being able to pick up his finger foods. Both are still a work in progress.Trace continues to be such a happy little guy. He loves to smile and laugh. He adores his sisters and they him. He also really likes to pull their hair. It doesn't seem to bother them too much, but the fists full of hair are a bit much. We'll keep working on it. Trace has begun talking more and more. His favorite sound is "ga ga ga ga". Daddy likes to think that he is saying "Dada", however, the "g" sound is pretty clear. At least to me. Trace gets really excited when Daddy comes home from work and reaches for him as soon as Daddy is close enough. It is fun seeing my boys bonding. Daddy is hoping that Trace will be as much of a sports nut as he is. Right now Trace seems pretty content just sitting on Daddy's lap watching the Hawkeyes play football, which is a good sign...