9 months – curious little boy!

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The stuff Ritter has mastered over the last month is crazy. He was doing some of this stuff last month but is doing it very well now. Some of these things seem so little but it’s SO fascinating watching him learn about the world around him. It’s moving so fast. But I know it’s just going to be more and more exciting as he grows! I simply can’t express the joy and happiness this boy brings to our lives. Being his mommy is simply the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. I worry about him constantly and I’m sure I’m overly cautious about everything…but all I care about is protecting him and making sure he is okay. As longs as he’s good, I’m good. Our little family makes me so happy. It’s so crazy to think back to when Eric and I began dating and how far away all of these dreams seemed to be. We would go out to breakfast and talk about building our life together ..it seems like I blinked and it was here. In so many ways it seems like Ritter was just born because everything seems to be moving so fast…but in other ways it feels like he has always been with us – it’s hard to think about life before him.

We had some bad weather come through this week. I’ve never really been super freaked out by bad weather – although that changed a bit after 4/27/11 – but it was way different this time. The thought of something happening to Ritter was unbearable. I wasn’t taking any chances so we ended up getting him up in the middle of the night and get into the bathtub when we were under a tornado warning. He’s on such a good schedule and never has disruptions in his sleep, so I was worried he would freak out or not be able to go back to sleep. That sweet baby laid in the tub next to me and drifted right back off to sleep and never made a peep. It was the most precious thing ever. And luckily the storm passed and we were fine. It was still scary though. Bad weather is so much scarier with a baby.

I’ve been working on a list of new stuff he’s doing…here goes…

First of all his awareness has expanded like WHOA. He now seems to understand some sequences of events. For instance, when he sees the bottle or the sippy cup he spits his paci out in anticipation of getting the milk or water. It’s hilarious because if you’re not ready for it, it goes flying.
He also now loves to watch Jackson play fetch and gets the concept that you throw the toy, Jackson goes and gets it and brings it back, and you throw it again. For instance, if we aren’t paying attention and Jackson drops the toy Ritter will squeal or fuss until we pick it up and throw it. We also have started putting the toy in his hand and helping him “throw” it and it’s the cutest thing. He watches Jackson take off and giggles so much. The funny thing is that if we aren’t watching, Jackson will sometimes bring the toy and drop it in front of Ritter in the high chair or the jumper – Jackson doesn’t get that Ritter can’t really throw it yet.
He will try to give you things and it’s so sweet because I get to say “thank you” over and over. He will reach out and hand you blocks or toys. He even reaches out to hand them to Jackson who doesn’t seem to understand. This morning Ritter and I were playing with some blocks and Jackson walked up and Ritter proudly reached up and tried to hand a block to Jackson like he was inviting him to play – I MELTED!!!
When playing with blocks you can say “put it in the box” and he will do it. He seems to understand “in” and “out” of things.
He will try to put his paci in our mouths!
Puts his hands in our mouths, eyes, nose, etc. And he’s pulling hair. He wants to explore everything and our features seem to be fascinating.
He understands the concept of the stacking rings and can unstack them and stack them himself.
He loves to open and close everything. Especially books. If you hand him a book he will be entertained forever.
Looks under and inside of stuff to see what it’s all about.
Tries to “pick” logos off of shirts and pictures off of pages.
Rolls both ways with ease. Is more motivated to be on his tummy now. Will roll over and over until he rolls off of the play mat. He’s also way less cautious. If he’s sitting up and sees something out of reach he will throw himself over – even though he can’t crawl and will roll around until he reaches it. He’s trying to scoot but isn’t successful really yet.
Likes to stand if we prop him up against something. He has a little activity table that we stand him up against and he plays and plays.
I’ve noticed a couple of times that he seems to start bouncing when we play music – I think he’s getting the concept of dancing.
Loves to purposefully drop things from the high chair. I don’t know if it’s watching us come and pick it up or if he likes the sound or likes watching stuff fall or what. We went out to dinner saturday night and he was playing with Eric’s hat and he kept leaning over and dropping it over and over and over for like an hour. So funny.

I guess just the overwhelming thing is just how curious he is about EVERYTHING. He will inspect something new over and over. He’s hilarious to watch.

Current Schedule:
7-7:30 Feed (7.5 oz)
Solids (fruit)
Play
9:45 Soothe Down
10:00 Nap
11:45-12 Wake/Feed (6 oz)
Solids (veggies 1/2 cup)
Play
2:45-3 Soothe
3-3:15 Nap
4:45-5 Wake/Feed (6 oz)
Solids (veggies 1/2 cup)
Play
7:15 Bath
7:45 Bottle
8-8:15 Bed