McCord is 9 Months Old!

...and we have a crawler! 

Or, perhaps we should call McCord a "slider" since he's been sliding around the house on his belly.  It's been so much fun watching him try different crawling techniques: so far, he's perfected Military Style where he uses his forearms as supports, Salamander Style where he slides around the floor on his belly; and my all time favorite is Tree Frog Style, where he uses his toes for traction to push him forward.  He hasn't quite figured out how to use his knees yet, but we know it's just a matter of time. 

Here are a few pictures of McCord by his maple that I took last week on his official "9 month birthday." His maple has just started to get some leaves and McCord and I check it out every day to monitor it's growth. 

We just had our 9 month appointment and learned that this little guy hasn't grown too much since his last checkup, so we are focused on getting more calories in McCord.  After lots and lots of attempts, we've figured out that he has a texture issue with food - no purees for this little guy!  Instead he'd prefer to experiment with foods that he can pick up and put in his mouth on his own.  He's still loving dried apricots and new favorites include graham crackers and ritz crackers. 

Here are a few fun 9 month old memories about McCord:

• I think his favorite color right now is yellow, because I see him consistently reach for his yellow toys first - we also have a yellow dyson vacuum cleaner, and he squeels with delight when I pull it out to vacuum, calling for it the same way he does for our pets Rocky, Hank and Jackson - maybe he thinks the dyson is one of our pets!
• I just recently observed that he knows what "no no" and "paci" mean.  It is absolutely AMAZING to watch his language develop right before our eyes. 
• McCord is starting to smell more like a little boy and less like a baby - just a reminder to Bo and me that this baby stage goes by so quickly!
• Mc is pulling up and is so proud of himself when he pulls himself into your lap. 
• He's also hugging, nuzzling, and kissing.  So sweet!
• We also had to lower the crib about 2 weeks ago, because this guy has started to put himself into the sitting position all on his own.

Here's Mc enjoying the swing that his daddy and Doe Doe hung for him this weekend.  He loves it!

...and here's McCord visiting Daddy at work.  Don't let his scholastic attire fool you - the first thing he did when he sat at Daddy's desk was knock over a file of very important papers!  Oh what fun it is at the bank!