Can you stay my little man?

Spencer turned 9 months a week and a half ago; I can't believe we are getting to the point of thinking about his 1st birthday! It seems like he is growing by leaps and bounds every single day. I keep having talks with him that mommy wants him to stay her little man as long as possible since he's my last baby, but he has other plans:) He had his 9 mo. check up last week. Things went okay. It seemed like more of the appointment was discussing the negatives rather than positives, but I guess that's what you go to the doctor for! Spencer is now weighing in at just over 19 1/2 lbs and is 27 1/2 inches long. His head circ went from the 50th percentile to the 90th since his 6 mo. check up. She was slightly concerned about the jump, but hopefully it will stable by his next appointment. I think he's just going to have a big head:)

We also had to have a chat about his heart valve that still hasn't closed, but it went from 2-3 mm to 1-2 mm (at his last echo in Nov.) so we're hoping that it's on its way to closing on its own (it was also his 3rd appointment that she hadn't heard his murmur, so that's an excellent sign!)-we have the option of having a cardiologist monitor it until-or if- it closes, but I think we're just going to wait until he's maybe 18 months old and have a repeat echo. The last concern was he had an infection on his belly right on his incision scar. It is most likely from a stitch from his surgery that didn't dissolve and is trying to come through. He's been on an antibiotic for the last week and it's seemed to clear up a bit. His doctor said if it comes back or doesn't completely clear we have to go back to the surgeon-fingers crossed we don't have to!!

The funny thing about this check up was all the stuff he wasn't doing before that he started doing literally the second we got home! He must have heard the doctor and I talking about him not doing things like pulling himself up to stand (at that point he was only to his knees) or saying things like mamama or dadada and decided he could do those things! The second we got home from the appointment, I put him down on the floor and he pulled himself up to a standing position for the first time! Then the next day he started saying dadada, followed by mamama a few days later! I didn't think he'd try to walk as soon as Avery (10 mo.), but now I'm starting to wonder if he won't be close behind. He has even started scooting his feet when he's pulled himself up. Slow down Spencer!!

One thing about Spencer that's very different from Avery is eating. Avery was exclusively on a sippy by 9 months and completely on table food at 10 months. Spencer is not even close. He won't even hold his own bottle yet-forget about a sippy! Food wise, he's plenty happy with his oatmeal, baby food (no chunks) and formula. However, I have been trying to replace his beloved puffs with soft veggies and fruits every now and then so he gets some texture. He may take a few bites for now, so it's progress! Here he had baked potato and kraft singles for the first time:)

His absolute favorite thing right now, and he is so proud of himself! He's trying so hard to keep up with his big sister that he's wearing himself out fast during the day, still taking a morning and afternoon nap!

He even tries to pull himself up on the dog!

Bath time! I've been sad that Spencer's getting so big he can actually hold his own in the tub with Avery without the ducky tub! I sure loved that tub, but seeing my two babies splash and laugh together during bath time is even better!

And just because I thought they were really pretty...we had an open house this weekend and I love to have fresh flowers in our kitchen for some color and a fresh smell. We got these at Sam's Club and they are just beautiful! Maybe they'll bring us some luck in selling the house??!!

Enjoy the week:)