Owen Update: 9 months

This little guy is already 9 months!  I know it's cliche', but it's amazing how fast he is growing.  It seems I was able to savor these stages a bit more with Josh, and with Ellie, we just were holding on for dear life...so we actually wanted her to move through some of her stages!  

He's doing well with baby food and is even drinking out of a cup now.  He's a guzzler and often is a bit too eager to drink down the new found joy of juice.  He was sick a while ago and I thought maybe he might even be done with bottles, but I was more interested in getting him the nutrients he needed than trying to see if he'd take his formula from a cup.  Oh well, that stage will be here before I know it.  

Owen is truly one of the most easy going kid I know.  He actually plays by himself, or at least follows his sibs around and gets into whatever they are playing.  The older two are still pretty infatuated with him and don't mind his intrusions.  Josh has found that Owen seems to love his big brother the most, and the two are like clowns together.  One of these days I'll post the video of the two of them and their antics around our couch's ottoman.  Josh plays peek-a-boo and then jumps on the top of the ottoman and Owen laughs.  Josh has even said, "He thinks I'm hilarious!"  One time Josh jumped hard enough to slightly knock Owen down.  Thankfully, Owen thought it was so funny that he got right back up and when Josh jumped again, Owen purposefully "fell" and they were both giggling away.   Ellie just likes talking to him in baby talk, adorning him with necklaces and "including" him in her games of playing house.  

Owen's newest skills have been so much fun to see.  He babbles, blows raspberries and we've even heard "da-da" (once right when the Hubs came in the door!).  He likes cars and especially balls.  He'll chase a ball around the kitchen floor for ten minutes!  He even seems to be trying to throw the ball, or at least toss it out away from himself.  Between that and our kitchen cabinets of tupperware, that's how mama gets dinner done!  He's given up the "night nap" that used to allow me to make dinner in peace, but thankfully, he's willing to be occupied.  Although, most times when the Hubs comes home from work, Owen is on my hip and I quickly want to hand him off to his daddy. (nothing like hitting the ground running, eh, daddy?)

He continues to sleep well at night, but he does occasionally have a couple nights in a row where he'll have trouble sleeping.  When that happens he gets really upset and needs a good long time cuddling before he's ready to go down again.  When we can rule out any serious reasons for him being awake, we've tried letting him cry a bit to allow him to sooth himself or at least wear him out!  That's a bit hard on me (always has been) and I also wonder if the other kids hear him.  If they do, they don't get up, so hopefully they are mostly sleeping through that.  Thank goodness for the fact that each have their own bedrooms!

We're looking forward to Owen's next nifty tricks...most likely clapping (he's mostly got it) and waving.  Each time I see the sparkle in his eye, I am reminded what a blessing our children are to us.  It's hard to remember that sometimes, and it's my constant prayer that we never take for granted the gift of healthy, happy children.

PS.  Because of our dear boy's track record with losing his socks and the winter season, this child is constantly in sleepers and pj's.  We did get some great socks from his Grandma Carol this Christmas, but I tend to save them for going out and not just hangin' around the house!