Nine Months

That's how old Jaxson turned yesterday. Crazy to think he's been here as long as he was growing in my belly. I'm just amazed at how much he learns and grows every day, week, and month. His new thing is this fake laughing that he's started. Jayden used to do this fake cough thing around the same age, but Jaxson has put his own spin on it and made it this really weird baby cackle which he finds hilarious and then he starts belly laughing at himself. It gets our whole house in an uproar! The kid's a ham I tell ya... :) He's been doing good lately, despite being grumpier than normal and deciding to turn nocturnal on us (one night last week I was up with him every hour...no joke!). Can't blame him though as he's been getting sick and has cut a new tooth every week since Thanksgiving!! He's got SEVEN teeth now! He's definitely a "diva" baby...very high maintenance and clingy, but he's a total lovebug. He's the epitome of a Mama's boy and he loves his big brother so much. He will literally follow him around the house and those two boys have a way of making each other laugh so hard (by doing absolutely nothing) that they seem practically to the point of exhaustion.

Anyway, I took Jaxson in to the doctor yesterday for his 9 month checkup. He got more shots this time and I feel so terrible for him. He's a strong baby so they had a hard time getting him to sit still, but I'm horribly proud of my little champ (both of them actually-- Jayden was there too and got the booster for his swine flu shot). I've gotta say that Jax definitely lives up to his nickname "Little Man". For 9 months he's just a tiny, little stinker. Here are his stats:

Weight: 17 lbs. 15 oz. (10-15%)
Length: 28.5 in. (60%)
Head circumference: 17.5 in. (25%)

...and here he is in comparison to his BIG brother Jayden at 9 months:

Weight: 22 lbs. 14 oz. (80%)
Length: 32.5 in. (97%)
Head circumference: 19 in. (97%)

Ha! Just goes to show you how two fully related siblings can be two completely different kids. Doctor said she's not too worried since he's still growing on his growth curve, but that we need to make sure he continues to get bigger as they typically don't like them to drop lower than the 10th percentile and he doesn't grow in leaps and bounds like Jayden did. He's always been on the smaller side so that may just be who he is, but he just needs a little extra lovin'... and a lot more food (or at least as much as we can give him to fatten him up a bit). His doctor also said that he's advanced and active which could be another reason for not gaining as much weight. He's doing things that most babies his age are not doing yet or at least doing it a lot more than is expected. All in all, it was good news for Jaxson.

** On a side note, please continue to keep my family in your prayers and thoughts today. As I mentioned before, my mom decided that the best course of action for her dog, Riko, would be to put him to sleep due to his osteosarcoma and it will be happening this evening around 5:00 at my mom's house. She seems to have come to grips with this being the best decision for him given the state of his cancer, but she is definitely going to be going through a tough time with this new loss. He was like family to all of us and will most definitely be missed. He's such a sweet dog and nothing can take his place... **