9 Months

Luke has just recently surpassed the 9-month mark and, like always, we can't believe how fast the time is going.  We are so thankful he is in our family and can't imagine life without him.  He is big and healthy and just got a clean bill of health at his 9-month appointment, minus some skin issues (eczema) that seemed to plague his older sister as well.  He measured 30 1/4" long, and weighed in at 21lbs 13oz!

Luke started taking his first steps this month and can do about 9 steps at a time before remembering he is a much faster crawler and resorting to his hands and knees.  He gets around pretty quickly, and like most little boys (I think) has very little fear of anything. He'd launch himself down the stairs if he could and thrashes his head back to try to fall out of my arms.  Now I finally can relate to what Emily F. was dealing with in cousin Jackson - I think these boys are going to have a ball together!

Luke eats very well and we have started on table food at the recommedation of our doctor.  He wants so desperately to be eating what we are and the only thing that has projected out of his mouth so far is peas - those get projected then pounded onto the tray.  Everything else gets shoved in by the fistfuls.  His fine motor skills are still being developed and he moves things around and picks things up with his entire hand - imagine his hand flat and open, fingers straight and pressed together - as if he were wearing mittens - that is how he touches/grabs/moves everything.  It's really quite adorable.

He talks nonstop and just this month we are noticing more sounds and noises that he has never made before.  He loves to "rough house" and immediately crawls to Evan when he gets home from work, ready for him to crawl around and pretend he is chasing Luke.  Luke squeals with glee and tries to crawl away.  It is the cutest and funniest thing ever.  Luke also has an affinity for stacking cups - he is obsessed with knocking them over (I think he has extra testosterone) or eating them.  He also LOVES some Dora Dominoes that Jane plays with.  We find them everywhere as they are smooth and fit perfectly into his hand, and he can massage them over his gums.  And speaking of, there are no teeth as of yet, but we are praying for some to pop through as he is constantly drooling and has been 'teething' for the better part of 3 months now.

We are so excited for the upcoming holiday season and so thankful for our son!