9 months

Nine Month Old Stats

Height:  30 1/4 inches 95% (from >100% @ 6 months)

Weight: 23lbs 3oz  86% (from 92% @ 6 months)

OFC: 18.5 inches  89% (from 68% @ 6 months)

I honestly cannot believe my little guy is already 9 months old.  I feel like he is no longer my little baby, but a spunky mover who is quite fast at that.
My heart is full each and every day from his adorable toothy smiles he greets me with and his need to fall asleep in my arms.  I know one day soon these things will come to an end and he will be more independent.

Around 7 1/2 months Bennett began to crawl, but it looked more like he was swimming.  He would prop himself in push-up position and scoot both legs until his arms were too far behind, then belly flop and reposition his arms in front.  Around 8 months this swimming motion quickly turned into a legitimate crawl and just in the last week the crawl has turned into numerous adventures up stairs and pulling himself into the standing position.

Bennett is practically over baby food.  He enjoys baby food in the form of vegetables: squash, sweet potatoes, peas, or carrots, but the traditional mixes and level three protein dinners throw him into a fit pretty darn quick.  Bennett instead loves mandarin oranges, PB&J's, noodles, crackers, grapes, bananas, and cherrios.  He checks out my plate quite frequently and refuses to eat something different than me a lot of the time.

Just in the last week he has started to say ma-ma and it absolutely melts my heart.  He's been saying dada for months.

Bennett can also say "up" [for cup], "hi" and "baba."

He flares and crinkles his nose and makes the funniest mean face.

He has 4 top teeth and 3 bottom teeth with one more on the horizon.

He has an infatuation with balloons, water bottles, and any electronic device including remotes.

He's down to only taking bottles when he's ready to sleep/nap, and loves munching on food and his sippy filled with water any other time of day.

Bennett isn't the biggest fan of grass.... we put him on the trampoline and he will touch the grass on the edge, but once he's in grass he doesn't want to crawl.  If he does crawl he picks his hands up way high in the air.

Bennett has become the best of friends with not only Winston, but also Ellie... around bedtime they chase each other around the house and play "tag" that has Bennett full smiles and giggling a ton.

Bennett continues to love throwing his head back and being upside down.

The Little Things

Making the adjustment to Labor and Delivery has come with its own set of challenges for me as a person and a professional. Anxiety filled days of being "the new kid" and missing my home, my friends, and my comfort zone of my previous job. I felt extremely incompetent most days and frustrated and bogged down by those around me questioning my skill and nursing judgment. Sure I've made plenty of mistakes and been under prepared in some situations even working Med/Surg, but the comfort of knowing the people eased a lot of my fears and insecurities. These fears and insecurities have flared up and needless to say makes each day a little more difficult to leave my cute son at home and venture into the big bad world of Labor and Delivery.
 Over the last month things have gotten a little better. I've gotten to know a few doctors and nurses and have had happy, kind, and enjoyable patients.

 There's one patient in particular that I want to remember the experience for the rest of my life...

 A first time mom who pushed for over two hours to only end with a c-section. Her labor experience wasn't as she had planned but her positive attitude to be up for anything as long as her baby was safe made the 2 hour coaching session worth it. Most fathers in the operating room will rush to their baby and take pictures and watch the nurses assess their new son or daughter. When that point arrived I went to the head of the mother and told the husband he was more than welcome to go see his baby girl. His wife grabbed his arm and said, "would you please stay with me?" The sweetness of that one phrase made everything real for me. He was her companion. After the c-section we wheeled her back into her room with her sweet baby girl in her arms. The mother's parents greeted them and her Father (baby's grandfather) burst into tears and kept commenting on how absolutely beautiful she was. The next thing from his mouth caught me offguard. The entire family: Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, and new baby girl. were surrounding the mother's bed as the Grandfather said, "Let us thank He who has blessed us us abundently." Then I turned to witness the family embracing hands as the grandfather let out a prayer of thanks to Our Savior to blessing them with health and strength and a new perfect little baby girl.

 It was at that moment that it all came full circle for me... Obviously I am grateful for my ability to be part of these birth stories, grateful for my family, for the knowledge of the plan of salvation, but at that moment I became overwhelmed with gratitude for my Savior. I am so grateful for the blessings of of Son and soon to be daughter and the ability to get pregnant.

California Bound - Bennett's 1st Flight

About two months ago I was perusing the Internet and spotted a deal on a flight to Long Beach. With our frequent flier miles and work schedules it worked out just perfect to enjoy a few days in the cool ocean breeze of Southern California.

We didn't have anything big planned like a Disneyland day or a professional baseball game, but non-the-less had a blast. We were a little hesitant and nervous with it being Bennett's first time on a plane but luckily the flights were timed around nap time. On our departing flight Bennett slept the ENTIRE time. Literally. From take off until we were getting off the plane.

We ventured to Downtown Disney where we enjoyed a nice date of music, shopping, and of course some arcade basketball.
We took a day trip down to Oceanside to visit my mom's dear friend and her husband and ate at the delicious Ruby's on Oceanside Peer.
Shopping at our favorite mall and some pool time with Bennett made the trip just perfect.
My mom even took care of Bennett for a few hours one morning so Lance and I could catch a quick flick aka Godzilla.

There were many times while we were there that I was overwhelmed with joy and love to have such a wonderful family. It was such a nice break from work to really stop everything and just enjoy my sweet boy and amazing husband. Bennett is growing up so fast these days. He has mastered crawling and is F.A.S.T. He is over baby food for the most part and LOVES anything that we are eating... noodles, soup, french fries, bread, potatoes, corn, you name it the kid will devour it.