9 is Fine!

Yup, that's right...this chunky monkey is 9 months old today! So hard for me to believe...3/4 of a year has already gone by. I know he'll be digging in to his first cake very soon! Let's see...what's new this month:

• Bowman is a crawling maniac...he no longer uses his army crawl; it's on all fours for this little man!
• He can pull himself up...we're still mastering this skill, but I do occasionally find him standing up!!
• 6 teeth are in. He has 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom...steak anyone???
• Speaking of food, finger foods are slowly becoming part of his daily diet. Bowman can finally handle puffs without gagging; this new trick now keeps him content for 10 extra minutes in the high chair.
• Talking, talking, talking: "dadadadada," "bababababa," and "ah-tha" are favorites!
• He loves to razz! And Bowman thinks it's hilarious to razz Mommy and Daddy when he has food in his mouth...we end up wearing it!!
• We're finally working on using a cup. I admit I've been a little lazy about it, but we do try to give it to him with meals.
• Pincher grasp is pretty much there...sometimes Bowman still rakes at his puffs, but most of the time he uses his pointer finger and thumb...oh, and he seems to be right-handed :)

Bowman had his 9-month well visit this morning. Thankfully, he only had to have one vaccine, but they did check his Hemoglobin. The doctor is always happy with anything greater than 11...we're happy to report Bowman has no problems in that area...his Hgb was 12! Here's how he measured up:

Weight: 20 lbs, 14 oz (63rd percentile -- and a whole pound bigger than Porter was at this age!)

Height: 29 inches (80th percentile)

Head circumference: 46 centimeters (77th percentile)

Dr. Cabiness seemed pleased with everything, and even suggested we might have a little linebacker in the family...talk about making Daddy happy!!!!