Declan - 9 months!!!

How is it possible that my second baby is closer to his first birthday than being born?!

Me at 9 months pregnant with Declan - he is now the same age out of my body as he was in :)

Declan is still super mellow, happy, and easy going.  He goes with the flow most days, and he adores his big brother.  Declan is beginning to show his likes and dislikes more - mostly his dislikes by crying suddenly and hard and his likes by cracking up laughing.  His dislikes include going to his crib when he doesn't believe he is tired, having someone offer his bottle to him when he doesn't think he is hungry, and not being able to have a toy (often things he should not have like pom poms that he eats and plastic bags).  He LOVES Lincoln, tickles, peek-a-boo, and feeding himself.  Onto the details....

Declan sleeps quite well.  He does still wake for a bottle in the middle of the night, and we are working on helping him sleep through the night and eat all of his calories during the day.  His naps are becoming more consistent and he naps twice a day for about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours each.  A great days means he has napped for an hour at 9am and for two hours at 1pm which leads to a 6pm bedtime and a waketime at 6:30ish.  In a perfect world.... :)

I swear both boys will eat anything
while in the grocery cart!

Declan loves to eat!  He is using his pincher grasp to pick up foods but really prefers to grab a ton of food in his fist and eat from there. He will often hold onto food in his fist, and I will find it as I am trying to clean him up.  We went to lunch the other day, and we cleaned him up at the high chair.  When we got the car I noticed that he was holding his hand up, and I pried it open to find a cornbread muffin hiding inside.  Silly boy!

Declan really enjoys playing games and being a part of the action.  He has sat quite well for a while, but his doctor really wanted him on the floor moving and grooving.  We did a week of tummy time boot camp, and he now loves being on his belly pushing up to begin crawling and rolling all around.  He has also discovered he can roll all around his crib, and I watch some funny antics in his monitor as he is falling asleep.  Lincoln is really liking that Declan is more mobile and is beginning to wrestle with him.

Declan also likes to stand and play.  I think he may walk before he crawls; he really prefers to be upright and have a view of the room.  He is quite steady on his feet and can stand for a long time to play.  He is also beginning to take steps as we hold his hands up for balance!

Declan is really babbling and loves to talk in his crib and in the car.  He makes all the appropriate sounds and hearing him now I understand that Lincoln really did not babble in the same way.  Declan has even repeated me saying "Hiiiiiiii" and he babbles Dada all of the time.  

Below is a video of Declan playing a riveting game of peek-a-boo!  Declan was pulling the blanket up and down on his own and really seemed to understand the game :)

It's tiring being 9 months old!