Jakob is hungry a-L-o-T. I know I heard it a dozen times: watch out. He's a boy. Yep. There are days that I'm pretty sure he has eaten more than I have. He is very easy to please... Only plain Cheerios make his dislike list. (I can see why :) Just about everything else is fair game. His favorites are raisins, graham crackers, bananas, pears, carrots, and spaghetti. I might not have mentioned this yet, but he knows how to make a royal mess as well.
This guy is officially crawling now (as of last week), and I don't see his inchworm crawl much anymore. He's still very deliberate with his moves, but it's adorable. He is into everything. He's not quick enough to be dangerous, but I'm sure it's only a matter of days. I must say, his playtime is still quite simple. He will contentedly examine some toys, laugh to himself, crawl to another toy.. repeat... It's amusing to all of us. He is just starting to put things in his mouth that he finds on the floor. I spend most of my day sweeping, obviously. Jakob started pulling up a week or two ago, and I have a feeling he's going to start cruising around soon. He already seems like he wants to go! He is very determined as he plays, and I love to see that.
He loves to jabber, though he doesn't seem as vocal as the girls were at this age. He says "na-na" all the time now. "dada" is still a favorite, I've heard a few "ba-ba"'s, and I dream of a "mama" every now and then! He's precious. He jabbers with a little flirty smile, to boot. I like to think he's mama's little guy, but he is pretty fond of his daddy, too.
At 9.5 months, Jake was 19lbs 15oz (55%), 28" long (19%), and his noggin made it into the 95th percentile :) He's got just enough pudge to squeeze, and I'm worried he will start thinning out now that he's getting more adventurous! This probably goes without saying, but Jake just loves his sisters. They are getting better at playing together all the time! Jakob knows how to belly laugh with them, concentrate with them, and he does it all with a puddle of drool and lots of patience. I cherish these days. I will always enjoy the memories of them playing this way!
As for sleep, well, it could be worse. He is pretty consistent about sleeping from 6:30 - 7am with one party in there somewhere. Usually it's at about 10, and most of the time, he just needs a little hug before going back to sleep. I hope we're over this hump soon! I am pleased with how far he has come, though. We definitely had a few rough months! His morning nap is about 1.5 hours, and his afternoon nap is over 2 hours on a good day. We're *almost* officially done with his evening catnap.
Here are my notes for this month:
fun's:
* Love the little squeals he makes while he plays and crawls around. His little high pitched voice cracks us up!
* He has awesome chubby knees and arms.
* I can't quit kissing his cheeks. He still enjoys letting me rock him, and he will usually let me kiss all over his forehead and cheeks as I do. Yes, I take advantage of it.
* He's pretty good at shoveling food in his mouth, and I do enjoy watching him chew and shovel in more without missing a beat. Some would deem it gross, but after dealing with two semi-picky toddlers, it's REFRESHING!
* He goes giddy when he hears the bathwater running. He could play in the bathtub all day. He loves to crawl around and splash... it's so fun!
* His hair is growing very fair. I'm not sure it will ever be light enough to call blonde, but it's definitely light.
not-so-fun's:
* Jake is starting to get more clingy to mama. I am secretly flattered (OF COURSE), but I do find it challenging to leave him sometimes :(
* He laughs when I try to keep him from touching outlets. As of now, this is his only vice :) Um, mommy is going to win this one, son.
* 8 teeth now, and he's good at biting. 'Nuf said.
* He slaps and hits everything. Holding him is an adventure at times.
* He LOVES to pull hair. Elyse's especially.
* It's hard to watch him get so big- even looking at him as he sleeps reminds me of the little squirt he used to be. *sigh*
I think the highlight of this month with Jakob was introducing him to his namesake, Jordan's Grandpop, Henry. Jakob Henry seemed to love him, and the time we were able to spend with them was wonderful. Grandpop has a fascinating story, and we were especially interested to hear that the name "Jakobus" came up somewhere in that story. It's too long to type out, but I'm excited to tell Jakob someday about his amazing heritage.
We love you, Jakob! You are only 2 months away from the big year old celebration, but we have been celebrating for 10 months... You're such a sweet boy.
