9 months!

Better late than never, right? So maybe the boys will be 10 months in 4 days but who's counting?  I only ever find time to blog if it's just a picture post so I've become less than punctual at these monthly posts! I am bound and determined to keep them up until their year mark though so here we go!

At nine months, these two have truly become baby bffs. I swear two more opposite people have never existed, but they laugh and entertain each other all day long. It's so fun to hear them giggling at each other in the back seat while I drive. I think brothers really do have a special relationship.  Davis and Dex are still baby giants and every single day someone asks me how old they are and when I tell them, without fail, the reply is, "Whoah. They're huge." (Why would anyone ever think that's ok to say to a stranger? Weird.) I don't even realize they're big boys until I see them around another baby their age and then I realize they might be a little supersized! At their nine month check, the doctor called them bruisers and confirmed they are, indeed, giants. They sleep like little logs (usually 7pm to 7am) and I love to go in and check on them. I don't know what it is, but I love to stand over their cribs and just be in awe of the fact that I actually have children and they're so stinkin perfect and wonderful. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's something really special about boys. They're so giggly and warm and sweet. Davis and Dex are just the happiest little guys. They really have brought so much joy to our home. We couldn't possibly love them any more if we tried!

Davis is such an easy, easy baby. He's just a yummy, sweet little guy. Everyone that knows him talks about how darn sweet he is. There's just something about him! He courtesy laughs me all the time and he loves to be held and cuddled. He's learned how to manipulate me pretty well in the last month too. He has now taken to wanting to be held as we walk instead of riding in his stroller. So usually at the most inopportune times, he turns on the faux water works. He has the best fake cry. He really gets going, shoulders shaking, cry face, the whole nine yards...until you pick him up and then just like that he's all smiles and giggles. Little stinker. He's so cuddly and cute though that I can't help but laugh. His favorite thing is standing. He gets a real kick out of balancing himself on furniture and he loves to pull his dresser drawers out in the nursery and take all his jammies out one by one. He's obsessed with his Totonut and he grabs him the instant we lay him down in his crib. He also only likes to sleep sideways in his crib which is really strange because he doesn't fit that way! But the second he lays down in his crib, he turns 90 degrees so his little feet rest up on the bumpers. Isn't that funny? Davis has gotten really good at self feeding and his favorite foods right now are definitely strawberries and banana. He and Dex both start panting and slapping their hands on the tray when I start peeling a banana! Davis has gotten really good at clapping and he basically does it all day long. We always say "Yay" when the boys clap so now Davis says "Yay" too while he claps. He still says "mama" all the time and now he's added all kinds of other consonant-vowel combos. He's super vocal and loves to yell in his crib and in the car. And I do mean yell! He's finally getting interested in crawling. He's just so darn easy going that he loves to play with things around him but if there isn't anything within reach, he's pretty happy to play with his feet! He's getting a lot more curious now and he's lunging for things and trying to figure out ways to get there. He scoots around on his back a lot and he's taken a few little crawls here and there. Usually he crawls a couple feet and gets frustrated and then tries to roll his way there. Then he gets even more frustrated when that doesn't work! We talked to the doctor about it yesterday  (because being a mom has brought out a level of anxiety in me I didn't even know I possessed!) and she assured us that he's totally fine. He just has a pretty laid-back personality and he's a big guy so it takes a lot more for him to get around. He'll' get there! She made me feel so much better! Davis thinks Eskimo kissing is hilarious and he loves him some Mickey! He got his first tooth at nine months (the same week as Dex!) and it was a very, very traumatic experience for him. My happy, mellow guy was up all night (and I mean the ENTIRE night) and the only thing that would keep him from crying was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I'm not exaggerating when I say we watched 14 episodes. This kid loves Mickey so much that as soon as he sees Mickey pop up anywhere he starts flapping his arms and squeal laughing. It's hilarious! And lest ye think I plop them in front of the tv all day, I don't. But when there are two of them, sometimes mama's gotta get ready and Mickey does the trick! At Davis's nine month check-up., he was 30.5 inches tall which put him at greater than the 99th percentile for his age. Off the charts! He weighed 24 pounds which put him in the 96th percentile. Big boy!  Dr. McClure calls him Bruiser. I like that! I am so in love with my little Daveycakes. He is such a sweet little light in our family.

Dex is officially the life of the party! I've decided that he is seriously the funniest person I have ever met. Everything he does is to get a laugh out of us. He's so excited about all the new things he can do and he loves to show off! He can stand up in his crib now and he thinks it's HILARIOUS. I can't even count how many times I have peeked through the crack in their door and found him standing up, laughing to himself. The kid is a nut! I can't believe how much personality he has just in his little pinky. Dexter is so adventurous. He's going to be the one that lists skydiving and alligator wrestling as his hobbies. He is into everything and you can't take your eye off him for a millisecond. We're starting a pool on what age his first broken bone will occur if anyone is interested in joining in. Dexter is a wild. man. He has the most contagious laugh you've ever heard. He is absolutely obsessed with Preston and when he gets him going, Dex laughs this crazy sing-songy laugh that kills me! No one can get him to laugh like Preston can. He has turned into such a fun-loving, happy baby. He loves to get people's attention and the only time he really ever fusses is when he's tired. But when he is tired, watch out! He hasn't yet figured out that the solution to being tired is sleeping so instead he squeals. Other than that though, he's pretty much happy all the time. Dex has the funniest crawl you've ever seen. He still drags one leg like a wounded soldier but he's started to crawl on both knees sometimes too. When Dex drags his one leg around, Preston narrates his adventures as a wounded soldier and I have seriously laughed till I couldn't breathe. Dex bumps his head on something at least few times a day because he is always on the go. I feel like he might need protective gear. Dex loves to take baths and since he's figured out how pull up on things, he tries to stand up in the bath tub all the time. Slightly dangerous when it's so slippery. The boys have these little monkeys (Ya know those little stuffed animals with the huge eyes?) that cousin Owen has too. Owen named his Totonut so that's what the boys call theirs too. (Ok, they don't. We do.) Dex loves Totonut. He has a few other stuffed animals in his crib but he latches on to Totonut as soon as he gets in his crib. I find him sleeping with Totonut in his hand all the time. Preston makes Totonut kiss Dex goodnight every night and it never gets old to Dex. He laughs every time! Dex has learned to go from laying down to sitting up so sometimes when I think he should be awake already, I peek in their room and I see Dex sitting up in the corner of his crib playing with his animals. How old is he? Sheesh! As active and crazy as Dex is, he is such a sweet, tender little guy. He is always happy to see us and he has this cute new smile where he wrinkles his nose up and shows his new teeth. It melts me! He's just so happy! Dex has two bottom teeth now and they really didn't seem to phase him much. It's so funny to look at his new toothy little smile. I love it. At his 9-month check, Dex weighed 22 pounds and was in the 93rd percentile for weight. He was 29.75 inches and in the 96th percentile for height. He's my little moose too! I can't imagine our family without Dexter. He brings this perfect mix of sass and spice to our home. I love my little buddy!