9 Months of Theodore!

I was going to say that, technically, Theo has still spent more time developing inside my tummy than in the outside world, but my very exact hubby just pointed out that Theo was born a month before his due date, so that would be a false statement. (Waaaaah!!!) Our little buddy is such a source of delight to our entire family, and he seems to be enjoying all the lavish attention he gets from every member of our family!

Theodore is still loving his mama's milk! I am trying to introduce him to other foods, but he's just not that interested in them yet. It might have something to do with the fact that he's still all gums without even a hint of a tooth. Just last month, he was very gaggy with anything other than milk. He doesn't gag on purees anymore, but he occasionally gags on anything that's a bit chunkier, like a softened piece of apple (even if it's half the size of my pinkie nail). The whole process of introducing him to solids is hilarious. Often, when he recognizes a new flavor, his rosy mouth twists and his little nose wrinkles into the most disgusted face. A couple days ago, I took the boys to Great Harvest Bread Company to cash in on their free cookies from the library's summer reading program. I pinched off a piece of one of their cookies to give to Theo. As soon as the cookie hit his tongue, he made that face, but he stared very intently at the cookie afterwards. I pinched off an another bit, and this time he accepted it with a much more pleasant expression! I usually just put a bit of puree on the end of the spoon, and he likes to put it in his own mouth. More often than not, he will then proceed to delicately spit the puree out in frothy bubbles that drip down his chin and onto his bib. He spits out chunkier morsels too, but with more gusto.

I tend to "spoil" each baby more and more. While the other boys were sleeping through the night at nine months, I'm still waking up with Theo once a night. He did sleep through the entire night once but, sadly, it did not become a habit. While I will take any baby cuddles I can get, it sure would be nice to get an uninterrupted night's sleep! Theo's naps are more predictable now, which makes scheduling around them a little easier. He usually goes down for his morning nap around 9:00 AM, and he goes down for his afternoon nap around 1:00 PM.

Theo is very smiley and a shameless flirt. He's got the most delicious, squishy thighs. I still teasingly call him my little baldy, but his hair is filling in a bit, and he's got a little tuft forming into an adorable mullet ducktail in the back. He crawls with ease and can stand while holding onto something. He's in that "fun" stage at which we need to put up the baby gates and really get serious about childproofing. He is very interested in outlets, cords, stand lamps, and my fiddle leaf fig. He seems to think that the best toys are the ones he's not supposed to play with.

Shane, Conner, and Logan still adore Mr. Theodorbs and are constantly asking to hold him, sit next to him, push him in the stroller, etc. In fact, the big boys are actually getting too confident with holding Theodore. I've had to scold them a couple of times for picking him up and placing him on the couch (without permission) or, even worse, carrying him up the stairs before the gates were up. They never mean any harm, but they just always want Theo to be near them. Theo is certainly never deprived of love or attention, and we are so incredibly blessed to have him!

{Pictures by Picture People. All outfits from Carter's, except for the gingham shorts, which are from Just One You.}