9 Months Old!!

Not sure how it's possible that we have three 9 month old baby boys when we just brought them home from the hospital a couple months ago! As much as I've been reminiscing lately about their teeny tiny days, we've been loving watching them grow!

This is probably the last month that they will all fit on the chair together!

Will

Lately Will l-o-v-e-s to stand up. He's not quite pulling himself up yet, but I am guessing that will come soon. If you're holding him and try to set him down he will lock his knees up and refuse to put his butt on the ground. Will's newest nickname is Lloyd. His hair is growing in straight down which gives him the same haircut as Jim Carrey's character in "Dumb and Dumber.: He has the patience of a saint and for the most part is pretty tolerant of his brothers' antics, such as Cooper crawling all over him or Griffin getting picked up first because he's screaming. Will is certainly not Mr. Innocent, though! He is a bit of an instigator in their "baby jail" where we have all their toys set up. Will can be a bully and has no problem taking a toy right out of his brother's hands. If he sees something he wants, he'll make it happen. He is extremely mobile now and can crawl all over. The baby jail has been a good addition to the bonus room lately to help us keep them contained! He's not really talking yet the way Cooper and Griffin are, but I swear some days that he is starting to use sign language. I'm sure it's just wishful thinking on my part, but it seems like he signs "milk". He still loves to give big sloppy kisses, and has recently started giving "high fives" if you ask for them. He's still wearing 6-9 month clothes, though the 9 months are fitting him better these days!

Mock-Yeah! Ing-Yeah! Bird-Yeah!

Mmmm...Sophie

Bedtime snuggles with Daddy

Griffin

FINALLY we have a baby who says "Mama"!!! It's a recent addition to Griffin's vocabulary, but Will caught him saying it on camera for me the other morning. Griffin has sprouted two teeth in the past month, which means that our normally easy-going baby has disappeared. Man, did he get crabby while he was teething! There have been lots of uncomfortable tears and clinging from Griffin in the past month. Thankfully his teeth don't seem to be bothering him as much now that they've poked through! He also gets very upset lately if you walk away from him, even just for a moment. This is a relatively new development for him as he has usually been pretty independent. He's not as mobile as his brothers in terms of crawling. Don't get me wrong- he CAN crawl, he just chooses not to. He seems perfectly content to hang out on his hands and knees, not moving. He is mainly in 9 month clothes now, though he can still fit into some 6 month outfits. When you ask him for a "high five" he will laugh at you. And for some reason the "Sesame Street" song "Manah Manah" cracks him up. Which means I sing it to him a lot. :)

2 bottom teeth are in!

New favorite hobby- opening drawers

He loves to stick his tongue out and feel his new teeth

Cooper

The baby who never, ever sits still. Ever. He's constantly on the go, and he's getting good at scaling obstacles to get to his target. He'll try to climb around or over anything in his path- toys, our legs, his brothers...doesn't matter. Cooper has a tendency to dish out a lot of abuse on his brothers (especially when he uses them for a jungle gym!), however he's not as good at taking it. He will SCREAM if Will or Griffin gang up on him.  He still loves to say "Dada" all the time, though lately he's also discovered that he can say "baba" and I've heard a couple "mum mums" coming from him in the past day or two. Like Will he loves to give "high fives" and is super affectionate- he gives lots and lots of kisses to us. He still loves to zerbert our cheeks or arms. Cooper is still comfortably wearing 6 month clothes and can even still wear some 3 month onesies. He's recently started pulling himself up to a kneeling position, and he is so. darn. proud of himself when he does! I think he may be our first walker- he's so motivated to get out and explore!

Dad just might get brave enough and take all 3 on a walk by himself! Practicing his baby wearing

No obstacle is too great for Cooper to try and climb over!

They love their jelly cats!

It's been fun to watch their cognitive development in the past month. You can almost see their wheels turning as they figure out how to play with a new toy. Everyone continues to be good eaters and their pediatrician encouraged us to move them up to 2 meals of solids a day. This will be a bit more challenging for us as they still take 4 bottles a day. That means in the span of about 12-14 hours we have to get 4 bottles, 2 solids, and 2 naps in while still allowing time for play! I know most children have this schedule and it's relatively easy. But feeding solids to 3 babies at once is not a walk in the park- there is a lot of work involved! This will be tough for Will as the 2nd feed is going to fall on him during the daytime hours while I'm at work. But we'll figure it out!

Dining al fresco

Watching our sign language DVD

Naked babies in crib jail

Dinner time!

At 9 months, we:

• Sleep 10+ hours through the night
• Love splashing in the water during bath time
• Take 32 oz. of milk a day over 4 bottles
• Eat lots of new foods: pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, pasta, macaroni and cheese, string cheese, and yogurt to name a few
• Can crawl all over
• Still love when mama sings to us
• Will give Daddy belly laughs when he tickles us