Max at 9 months old

He's 3/4 of the way to being ONE YEAR OLD!  OMGoodness! Can I just say that this little boy brings me more joy than I could have ever dreamed? Maybe it helps that he is always happy, loves to cuddle, doesn't throw tantrums, and doesn't tell me "no" yet like his big sister. :)  On the other hand, he doesn't yet tell me, "I love you SO MUCH!" like his sister does. They both are precious little people that light up our lives! 

At 9 months, Max:

• is SO close to crawing!!  He can pull himself forward with his elbows (though I wouldn't say he's army crawling).  He gets on all fours and rocks back and forth.  He's working so hard on it!  I'm sure at his 10 month update I'll be writing that he's officially crawling.
• is such a delight.  He is an incredibly happy boy and he shows his happiness through his entire body- by smiling with his entire face, kicking his legs in excitement, laughing and laughing. If you smile at him and say, "boo!!", he will react like you're the funniest thing that ever happened since Dumb and Dumber came out. 
• has his 9 month doctor appointment next week so I'll edit this with his size measurements then.  Without a scale or measuring tape, I can see that he's short and chunky, with a large head!
• sleeps very well! He goes to bed between 7-7:30PM and gets up around 6:30AM.  He wakes between 0-3 times a night, with the norm being around two times (and often it's once before we go to bed and once after we've gotten up in the morning- perfect!).  Last week he was sleeping later and I didn't want to wake him to nurse before I left for work.  He absolutely cannot be nursed and then put back to sleep because that would be a cardinal sin according to our sleep doctor! So I left for work without nursing him and Annie gave him a bottle when he woke up.  Well, apparently, he was angry that he had a bottle and not Mommy, though he eventually took the bottle.  The next day he was sleeping late again but I (unfortunately) woke him up to nurse.  I think he'd prefer being woken up to not having his morning nursing session.  Max naps 3-4 times a day and goes down easily every time (thank the Lord!).
• still just has the two front bottom teeth
• wears size 9 month and 6-12 month clothing
• loves to be outside, talking walks in the stroller or wagon, playing in the pool, sitting contentedly on a blanket with his toys, hanging in the Ergo.
• also loves to eat!  His favorite is Stonyfield organic yogurt.  The only food he hasn't cared for is cauliflower (can't say I blame him).  I have made a squash/pear/carrot puree a few times and both Max and Claire really like it (yes, I occasionally give my two year old a puree but at least she gets some veggies that way...).   He eats twice a day (lunch and dinner) and I'm wondering when I should add breakfast.  He nurses twice a day and has three bottles (when I'm at work). 
• is content playing on his own.  This one is huge. 
• is already getting in trouble!  A few days ago he was playing alone in the porch.  Josh went in to  check on him and saw he was (one by one) pulling the wipes out of the wipe container!  Josh said that we're in trouble now that Max is already getting into trouble!