Gavin at 9 and 10 Months

Well time got away from me as usual and so I am just going to combine Gavin's 9 and 10 month posts. The last two months have been so fun and full of growth for Gavin. While I have loved Gavin from the minute he was born, I definitely had a hard time with his newborn stage. Then around months 4 and 5 I felt like I had a handle on things, but then Gavin turned 6 months and rocked my world again. Well when Gavin turned 9 months I felt like I was able to get a handle on things again and I can say that it has made everything better. Another challenge is that I have been just overall feeling crappy since the beginning of June. I actually had some blood work done to see if we can't find what is at the root of the problem and I will hopefully hear back in a few days. It is hard to keep up with a busy baby when  you don't feel good every day, but we are making it work.

Gavin at 9 Months

Gavin at 10 months

9 Month Growth
Weight: 20 pounds 13 oz. 54%
Height: 29 inches 74%
Head: 17.4 inches 20%

10 Month Growth (estimates)
Weight: 21-22 pounds
Height: 31 inches

Gavin is growing so much and it is so fun! Gavin is full on crawling now and tries to pull himself up to everything! I mean everything. One time he even tried to use another baby to help him stand up. He doesn't really try to cruise yet or take any steps. Even when we hold his hands and try to help him walk he just kind of drags his feet, which is pretty funny. He doesn't try to stand on his own at all yet either. He has done it once and I don't think it was on purpose. Gavin has one new tooth which means he has 7 total. I think others will come soon because he has always grown two at a time with the others. Even though he is still getting teeth he is not nearly as cranky as the first few that came in, which is a big relief. I think both Mom and Gavin are happier with him being mobile. He is SO busy and gets into everything, but at the same time I like that he can entertain himself for a while and I feel  like I can try to get things done when he is playing. Before I would just sit him somewhere and he would get sad that he wasn't right be me but now Gavin loves just exploring and going from room to room while I do my hair, or do the dishes.

Gavin can clap his hands, can pick up food easily with his fingers, loves to click his tongue and made all kinds of strange sounds. He still loves to wave his hands in the air and yell as loud as he can while making a super crazy face. Its the best. I think that Gavin is trying to say his real first word, which is Uh-Oh. He makes sounds like Mama and Dada all the time but they don't really seem to mean anything to him. But when he drops things and I say uh-oh he seems to be repeating it. Kind of a strange first word, but I will take it! Gavin is getting so tall and is now fitting into 12-18 month clothes even though he is just shy of 11 months. I think he will always be about a size ahead of his age. Even though he is growing so much, he actually seems to be slowly losing some of his chubbiness and just getting taller and leaner, which makes me kind of sad that he is already losing some of that glorious baby fat. I can't believe that in just about a month he will be a one year old! I am not ready for it and yet I am so excited for it!

One thing that has made life easier is that I weaned Gavin right at about 9 months. Basically Gavin was done nursing. It was stressful for both of us and I thought it would be hard to wean him but he took the bottle like a champ and he didn't seem to miss nursing at all. At first it kind of made me feel bad and a little bit like a failure since I planned on nursing until 1 year, but once I realized how well he would take the bottle I got over it pretty quick. I did pump for almost a month but then finally stopped and we have been doing pretty much straight formula. I only have 3 bags of breast milk left and it is kind of weird to be totally done with it. But it has been SO MUCH EASIER to feed Gavin and so much less stressful which makes for a happy Mama, and in turn a happy baby.

I just love Gavin at this stage. I love how curious he is about everything and how he finally realized that he can go from room to room and that he doesn't have to be by me all the time. I love how proud he is of himself when he stands up and claps his hands. I love all his crazy noises and his adorable little voice. I love that his hair is curly in the back and is always extra curly when he wakes up. I love that he sometimes gives snuggles at night time and how he still loves having stories read to him. Some things I don't love are that Gavin loves to spit! It is terrible. He spits his food out with so much force that is sprays me in the face. It is funny but also the worst. I also don't love that Gavin is a biter. He loves to bite and eat everything and it hurts! I don't love that Gavin still wakes up in the night, but I do love that Sam and I split the night shift pretty much 50/50 now that I am not nursing. And while I love that Gavin is mobile now, I don't love that he gets into everything and is constantly banging his head on things. It is super sad and he always seems to have a scrape or bruise on his head now.

I just love my little Gavin. He is so crazy and so sweet. he gives the sweetest kisses and does this thing where he burrows his head into me when a stranger tries to say hello to him. He seriously makes me laugh every day and we have so much fun together.

I confined him to a basket, which worked for about 5 minutes

We went to the Tree House Museum in Ogden and it was so much fun!

Gavin loves to brush his teeth and begs for his toothbrush and has little tantrums when I take it away.

One of my most favorite pictuers

One of his favorite hobbies, unfolding folded laundry.

Just being cute

We had a fun visit to Logan so see our friend Torrie finish a race.

Lots of time spent at parks, which means lots of swinging since that's the only thing Gavin can do at the park, other than eating grass and leaves.

This smile is the best.

We had another trip to Logan just this weekend for the USU Homecoming game and did all sorts of classic "Logan" things like eating Aggie Ice Cream, walking around campus, going to Angies, picking apples from Paradise Valley Orchard, and going to the football game. Gavin was a champion even though he is a little sick and had to stay up way past his bed time.

We sure love you Baby Gavin! I can't believe that you are almost not a baby anymore. I am so excited for all the adventures we are going to have together. I am one lucky Mama!