Evan is 9 months!!

9 months old!

18 lbs. 12 oz.

28.5"

Well, I was going to start by saying something along the lines of "man, time needs to slow down", but I think a more fitting thing to say this month is "man, Evan needs to slow down"!  Once he figured out the whole crawling thing the middle of May, he hasn't stopped since.  One day he was crawling, the next he was pulling up to stand on everything, and now he's...wait for it...cruising on furniture and walking with the push toys.  I can't handle it!  He's seriously into and curious about everything!  I leave the room for one minute, he's suddenly right behind me when I turn around.  He sure loves to follow his mama.

It's amazing to watch these transformations.  He doesn't seem like a baby to me anymore.  He's eating table foods, trying to drink from sippy cups, entertaining himself and playing with toys, loves to be read books, and babbling away.  Although, still no "ma-ma's" from this boy.  He'll be late to say that one special word, just like his big brother.  But, that will just make it that much more exciting when he does say that, right?

We're still trying to figure out his whole MSPI issues and eczema.  His skin looked miraculous for one solid week in May.  It was when the weather was unusually warm.  Thinking back now, I can't remember if we tried to give him any dairy products during that week.  Whatever was going on was working, but now we're back to horrible rashes on his face, neck, and back.  We had started transitioning him to bottles of regular milk based formula starting last week.  Last week he had one bottle a day of milk based formula and this week we started with two.  We have yet to see blood in the stool, but his eczema flare-ups have me worried.  The more I read, the more the two are linked.  Talk of allergens like eggs and nuts being linked to severe eczema also have me worried for what's to come.

I think our best route is to take him back to the allergist when the school year is over and have them officially do a scratch or blood test to rule out the 8 most common allergens and go from there.  It's hard to plan for finger foods and meals for him when I'm not sure what he can and can't have.  And to be honest...the daily routine of lotions, ointments, body washes, etc. is becoming very cumbersome.  I can't even explain how many prescriptions and doctor appointments we've had to try and manage his eczema.  Poor thing...thank goodness for programs like Lightroom that help clear up those rashy cheeks.  He's too darn cute for all this!

On a positive note, he also sprouted two teeth this month!  He welcomed his first tooth after being awake for four hours in the middle of the night only wanting to be held.  Just when I thought we were going to be told he had another ear infection, a little tooth came through the gums.  And about 10 days later, the other bottom tooth, but with less theatrics.  Now, the drool is on full force and I'm sure he's working on his top teeth.  Look at those teeth!

He'll probably wake up in an hour or so just as I'm trying to fall asleep, so I better get to the stats for this month:

• Size 3 diapers.
• 12 month summer clothes, still fits in some 9 month stuff depending on what it is.  He's too tall for it, instead of too big.  Some 6-12 month too.
• He still takes 5 - 6 oz. bottles during the day totaling 30 ounces.
• 3 solid meals of a mixture of purees and finger foods. The kid is addicted to puffs already.
• Up once a night except for his random week of sleeping through the night.  Man, I felt like a new person.  We'll get there...I know we will.
• 2 naps: 9:30 am and 2:00pm.  I'm hoping to merge this to one nap this summer or at least his afternoon nap at the same time is Sean.  Am I crazy??  Probably...
• Bedtime has creeped more towards 7:00pm.  The crawling must be wearing him out...

Favorites:

• Finding his mommy!  Seriously, he can't get enough of me.  I love it though!
• Playing with Sean's toys.  Trouble-maker...
• Toys that he can play with while standing (the table with all the things he can play with and make music, the play kitchen, etc).
• Playing in Bailey's food and water bowls.  Ugh...I hate that phase.
• ART!  The boy loves art at school.  The pictures they send me are PRICELESS.
• Puffs!
• His hairbrush from the Body Shop.  Thanks Grandma!
• Splashing in the bath tub.
• His "boy bits" - seriously...
• Sean's blankies.  I wish this was a joke.  He loves to steal them and wave them around and make Sean mad.  
• Being outside - the bubbles, the grass, walks in the stroller, the swing.
• Being tickled.  His inner thighs and by his rib cage make him roll in laughter.  I love it!

Well, my little man is battling some chest congestion and on an antibiotic.  Hopefully it clears up in time for our trip to Toronto this month!  I'm so excited to spend the whole summer making memories with him and Sean!