9-months

Luckily for us, Grant hasn't grown much at all in the last three months. His doctor told us yesterday that he is healthy and that his blood test was above average (thanks to us having a vegetable and grain-loving baby!). He weighs 23.3 pounds (84%), finally doesn't have a giant head for his age (58%--it hasn't grown much since May), and he is almost 31" (still 97%). He's still big, but seems to be slowing down.

I saw on the news this morning that there was an insurance company who wouldn't allow a five-month-old baby be insured because she was 25" and weighed 18 lbs. Gosh, I'm glad that wasn't my insurance company, because we would have been out of luck, too! Can that really be considered a preexisting condition?

I'll post pictures of Grant as soon as I get them off the camera. He is crawling like mad, is quite a proficient cruiser, and even stands a little on his own (though he doesn't realize that he's doing it, so maybe we'll have more time before he wants to walk). He loves pushing buttons (especially when they have lights, like on a phone) and now not only loves soft things on his face, but also in his mouth (right now he's trying to chew on my slipper, and he likes to carry soft socks in his mouth like a dog). He eats just about everything we eat, and favorites right now are V-8 juice mixed with rice cereal (even I still have to force myself to drink that), chicken chunks, wheat bread, and whatever Dad gives him (I try to save the fruits and other good stuff for Jake to feed him). Unfortunately, he's discovered his voice--the high, loud, ear-piercing, head-pounding, heart-stopping version of his voice, that is. And he uses it often, especially while eating (I guess signing "more" just isn't always enough) and while grocery shopping. I've never had so many headaches in my life.

If Grant hears the train, he rushes over to the window to watch it pass. He would rather spend his time upside down, if we would let him. He wants to explore everything in the house, and slowly I'm learning what things I need to babyproof better (after a nice goose egg, all of the stools are now kept on top of the counter).

His new favorite sound is a low, gutteral growl, which is a little creepy but very funny. He mimics the sounds we make more offen and more accurately than he used to. My sister, Alisha, was holding him outside the first Saturday of October and said that every time Jake would pass with the lawn mower, Grant would say, "dadadada." Sometimes I think he knows what he's saying, but other times I'm not sure. I don't know whether or not to count that as his first word....

Last week he was trying to play with some vertical blinds and I told him no. So he sat down, scooted over a couple of inches and tried to play with them again. I told him no again, and he scooted over more. After doing this a few times, he finally plopped to the ground, pointed his fist toward me, and screamed at me. I know. I'm ruining his life. :D I couldn't help but laugh at the outburst!

Oh, and whenever Grant hears music, he either leads it or dances to it. Life is so much fun with a nine-month-old!