9 months

We had my 9 month appointment yesterday and here is the latest. I am 21 pounds, 4 ounces and 30 inches long. We have had a wonderful summer, and I am hoping that it isn't quite over yet. We have been doing a lot of swimming this summer. I have swam in my little pool as can be seen here, in a bigger wading pool in Gladstone with cousin Avery, and then in a really big pool for swimming lessons. I really enjoy playing in the water. Bath time is definitely my favorite time of the day. Well maybe second, but just barely behind eating.

I am starting to eat a lot lately. As daddy says you don't get a body like this by skipping meals. I am enjoying expanding my diet. The only thing that I haven't really enjoyed is Avocados, but everything else is fantastic. I am starting to eat a lot more finger foods. I have a hard time chewing things up completely, so we are taking it slow. I love my puffs though and scarf those down.

I am really starting to get around now. I can pretty much crawl where ever I want. I especially enjoy crawling over to my activity table, the kitchen table, and of course my kitty Annabelle. Although she always seems to get up and move when I can just about touch her. Every once and awhile she will let me get in a few pets first, but then she must go. Well just like Annabelle I better get going. Hope everyone has had a good summer, and enjoy whatever good weather we have left.

Love you all,

Parker

Look Ma! I'm standing!!

Hey kids. Just wanted to take a sec to share the love and show off how well Parker is standing. Pretty much loves to pull himself up on anything that is solid and sits still. (Annabelle is not one of those things) Hillary and I are excited (scared to death) for when he takes his first steps. Look out world, Parker's coming!

Swimming Lessons

So we know it is kind of early, but wanted to make sure Parker likes the water. Plus it gives us something to do now that I don't have classes that I have to teach. We have swimming lessons planned for the next two weeks. I don't know how much Parker will learn, but I am hoping that if we do this now that he will be a champion swimmer when he gets older. Watch out Michael Phelps!!!

Heck I just hope he enjoys swimming as much as I did when I was younger, and that I feel comfortable with his abilities that I am not stressing anytime he is near water.

So far this week we have worked on floating back and tummy with me holding, but he is pretty good at that. We also have worked on blowing bubbles which is more of swallowing water for him. We practice by blowing out of water, but every time I put him to the water he opens his mouth and starts gulping. I haven't given up yet though. And today we worked on kicking, which is more of a frog kick then the traditional swimmer kick. But what do I expect from a 9 month old. Yes he is 9 months today. Wow where has all the time gone.

Tomorrow should be the interesting day. Dunking under water!!! We will see how that goes. I am hoping that it doesn't traumatize him too much. So far he has really loved it, and has been the most excited kid in the class. First day everyone else is sitting patiently on their parents' lap and Parker was reaching for the water, squealing with excitement.

Unfortunately the pictures Tony took are really grainy since he had it on full zoom so this is the best we have. I will see if we can get some more pictures towards the end of the lessons and show what we have learned.

We also got some pictures taken with Daddy on Monday so once we get those back we will post them for you all to see.

On the Move

So it is official he is on the move. Hard to tell in a still picture I know, but just take my word for it. He is no longer confined to the living room. Luckily he is still slow enough that I can catch him before he gets into too much trouble, but he will now crawl to the edge of the kitchen when I am making my breakfast. Sometimes he will crawl on his hands and knees, but that is quite clumsy still so sometimes he prefers to just army crawl because it is quicker.

He has also gotten a little bit of an opinion on things. I will have some toys out for him to play with and he will decide that those just aren't good enough. He will crawl/roll over to his toy bin, and dump out the entire thing on the floor until he finds the one he wants. Now I just need to teach him how to put the others back in.

Starting swimming lessons and pictures with daddy done next week so I will keep everyone informed on how that goes.

Forward Motion

Today has been a very exciting day in the Abbott household. Parker is finally making forward motion. For awhile now he has been rolling to get places, and still manages to get himself into some trouble, but lately he has been trying to get the crawling thing down. Up on his knees rocking back and forth, but then lunging and face planting it into the rug.

He has done a little bit of army crawling on his belly, but today I can actually say he crawled. Moved the hands and knees in a crawling motion with his belly off the floor. It isn't perfected, and he won't do it for just anything. He seems to like cell phones and remotes the best, and of course anything else he shouldn't have. He will ignore the rest of the toys all over the living room and go straight for the item I wish I had put up out of his reach.

But if that was not enough!!! He also sat up on his own numerous times, and has started clapping his hands (usually right after sitting because I do it as a congratulations). It used to be that when he was excited about something he would wave his hands feverishly, but now has figured out how to put them together. It is very cute, the more I clap the more he claps. Unfortunately these things aren't things you can take pictures of, but I was very excited to share the info. I am wanting to capture his clumsy actions for posterity, but the battery was dead tonight so had to recharge. We will see if I get a chance tomorrow to capture his forward motion and other things to share with all of you.

Although I am very excited that my little one is growing up I am very scared to see what comes next. He already seems to find the one thing he shouldn't be into, and I know it is just going to get worse. It is a good thing that daddy put child proof locks on all the cabinets a few weeks back. I think that in the next few weeks we are going to have to invest in some baby gates. Hopefully he will give us a little time to get used to this before he starts cruising all over the house.

Look at all the Bouncy Balls!!!!

We went to the Gladstone Chautauqua Festival Parade today. We had a good time with Great-Grandma, Grandma, Aunt Chelsea, Uncle Bryan, and Cousin Avery. They threw a lot of Candy and other things at us. Since I am not walking yet mommy had to scoop most of it up for us. The thing that kept mommy really busy is that one of the groups were tossing Bouncy Balls. They were going everywhere, and they just kept tossing more and more. It will be awhile till I am old enough to play with those though.

All and all it was a good time. I enjoyed looking at everything, but finally fell asleep due to exhaustion from all the excitement. Looking forward to going back next year and actually being able to grab my own candy and actually enjoying eating some of my loot.