The Hadley Family's Adventures: Jude at 9 months

Jude is 9 months old today and boy has he changed a lot in this last month. I think the two biggest changes have been that he started crawling and he's eating table food now. Jude had been scooting backwards for several weeks and finally figured out how to move forward over Valentine's Day weekend. The tile was definitely a challenge for him at first but now he's getting around on both tile and carpet. He definitely enjoys being able to get around and likes coming to find me in the kitchen or bedroom. The second big change is that Jude now prefers to eat table food instead of baby food. He still eats yogurt for breakfast but likes to eat some of my or John's lunch and dinner. He started out with Gerber puffs and quickly moved on to other table foods. He's had chicken, ground beef, refried beans, rice, macaroni and cheese, quesadilla, tortillas, soup, bread, pasta, french fries, and bananas. While he still doesn't have any teeth, he'll chew up anything you put in front of him or in his mouth.

Jude is still a great little boy who only has one real volume - loud. That kid can scream with the best of them. He mainly used it as a way to get our attention when he was stuck and wanted to change locations or positions. Thankfully he's also figured out how to get himself back to a seated position from all fours. That in combination with being able to crawl has decreased the screaming a lot. We've also been putting him into a standing position holding on to various toys like the Incrediblock. He was pretty unstable the first weekend and took a number of tumbles. After a week or so of practice, he's found his sea legs and can stand for much longer periods of time. He's also learned how to sit back down without falling. He's quickly figuring out how to pull himself up. He can get to his knees and I'm sure it won't be long before he can get to standing on his own.

Jude still enjoys bath time and loves splashing in the water and trying to grab a hold of John in the tub. He uses a seat in the tub so he can't slide underwater but he twists and turns so he can grab different bath toys. He also takes two naps a day usually lasting two and a half hours a piece. One great thing is that if he misses a nap, he's not overly cranky or unhappy. He just goes with the flow and crashes the moment we get home. He's still doing a great job of sleeping all night in his crib. He wakes up at least once a night but his able to soothe himself back to sleep. He's also started swinging in the baby swings at the park. He really seems to enjoy it and laughs when James pushes him.

Looks like we have another future Wii player