9 Months Old

My baby boy turned 9 months old yesterday. 3/4 of the way to a year already! Time has just flown by since August 21, 2009! His little personality seems to emerge more and more each day. That easy-going, laid-back baby has turned into a wide open, loud, fast-moving, busy little guy! What else is going on in Austin's little world?

• He goes for his 9 month check up next Tuesday, but I'm going to guess he's 23 pounds and 31 inches- we'll see if I'm right!
• He wears mostly 12 month clothes. Although, I bought him an 18 month outfit the other day and it wasn't that big on him :) It was definitely wearable... He's a big boy! He's got a body built for football (so his daddy says) or definitely one for watching football on the couch...
• He wears size 3 diapers. And while we're on the subject of diapers, he has begun to make diaper changes VERY difficult. He hates being on his back on the changing table, so he's constantly trying to flip over. The kid has no fear of falling off the table. This makes it virtually impossible to change his diaper or clothes without breaking a sweat trying to keep him from falling off the table. It's fun.
• OH, and probably the BIGGEST accomplishment over the past month? He sleeps through the night! Hallelujah!! Mommy and Daddy were TIRED so we're so happy for this accomplishment. He usually goes to bed aroud 8pm and sleeps until 6 or so.... It's a glorious time in the Lindsay house, that's for sure!
• He's gotten quite fast. He still does the "army crawl". Or, to more accurately describe how he moves, he looks like someone who can't walk and has fallen out of their wheelchair. I know that sounds awful, but it's really the best way to describe how he "crawls". I'm convinced that he's going to go straight from this belly crawl to walking, and skip crawling on his hands and knees altogether. He will get up to his hands and knees and rock back and forth, but then he plops back down on his belly when he wants to get moving...
• He can get himself back to a sitting position from his belly crawl.
• He loves feet. Hopefully, it's just because he's down on the ground and close to people's feet and not that he's developing some disturbing fettish!
• He loves to open and close doors. And he can do this for great lengths of time. In our playroom, Bella has a playhouse that she got a few years ago for Christmas and his favorite thing is to sit in front of it and just open and close the door.
• He has 4 teeth! He's had the 2 on the bottom for a while now, but he cut the two front top ones this past month. And, oh my gosh, were those 2 teeth a big pain to cut! I was so relieved for him when they finally made it through, it seemed pretty painful to him :( Something a little disturbing that's emerged since getting those 2 new teeth: teeth grinding. Yuck. That sound sends chills up my spine each time he does it. Hopefully, he won't do that for long!
• He's getting close to pulling himself up. He can pull himself up to his knees, so I know that all the way up to his feet is not far behind! So, his crib had to be moved down a notch...
• He loves to be outside. And he doesn't like to think he's getting to go outside, only to be disappointed. He gets really mad when I'm holding him and I open the door to let the dog out. Poor kid thinks for a second that he's getting to go outside, only to have the door closed- and then the drama ensues. I've learned it's best not to be holding him and opening the door unless I am actually going to be taking him outside! And his favorite thing to do outside? Swing and watch his big sister blow bubbles!
• He loves to make this little cough/laugh/clearing his throat sound. And he does it all the time.

This picture was taken August 25, 2009. It was the day before he was discharged from the NICU and the first time I got to hold him without IVs, oxygen and monitors everywhere. We've come a long way since those first tough days!

And here's my big fella this morning. His eyes still look a little sleepy :)

Austin continues to be an absolute joy in our house. Bella still adores him and is constantly hugging him and rubbing his head. I can't believe it's already time to start thinking about his first birthday party! It's a little bittersweet to know that we're quickly approaching the time when there will be no more little babies in our house... But I love watching my 2 kids and seeing all the new things they are learning each day!

Mickey Mouse World

Have you ever heard the phrase "What kind of Mickey Mouse world do you live in?" I don't think it's a common quote, but it's usually reserved for people who don't seem to have a full grip on reality. Well, lately, it seems like "reality" has been a little bit of a downer. We have had a few dear friends that have been dealt some big blows to their reality. So, we were grateful for a short escape to our Mickey Mouse world. It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Although, we missed Austin terribly, Scott and I loved watching Bella's face as she took in all the magic. Disney is impressive to me as an adult, so I could only imagine what it was like for a 3 year old. We only spent 3 full days at Disney, so we had to somehow cram 4 theme parks into 3 days. It was exhausting, but somehow, we managed. Bella was a trooper, the first 2 days, she walked almost as much as Scott and I. She stayed up way past her bedtime, but was up and at 'em bright and early to do it all over again. By our third day, we could tell Bella was tired, but we still had fun!
Our first day, we headed for Magic Kingdom. It was just a hunch, but I figured that she would have the most fun there, so why not go there first! I was right, she had a ball.

Here she is with Scott in front of Cinderella's castle. We had just gotten into the park, and she could hardly wait to get going!

On Alladin's Magic Carpet ride. This was her first ride, and she was super impressed! I don't think the smile ever left her face!

I made reservations for lunch at Cinderella's castle months ago. I knew she would want to wear her Cinderella dress to eat with her favorite princess, but it was about 90 degrees that day, so I figured she wouldn't want to wear her dress all day. So, we had a wardrobe change in a bathroom just before lunch. After we changed we saw the Fairy Godmother outside the castle- how perfect!

Heading into the castle for lunch.

Once inside the castle, Bella got to meet Cinderella. She was completely in awe. In this picture, Cinderella was complimenting Bella on her glass slippers :)

I thought it would only be Cinderella at lunch, but soon after we were seated, they announced that all of the princesses would be joining us! I was surprised by this, you'll see why later.... Anyway, this was Bella's face when they said Snow White was about to enter the room...

Bella and Princess Aurora, A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty

Bella and Ariel

Bella and Belle

Bella was really excited by the ice cream with sprinkles and chocolate crown.

Not sure, but I don't think most princesses finish their ice cream like this...

After lunch, we went to ride Dumbo.

The we were on to the teacups. I love this picture- she was so happy!

Here she is in Minnie's house...

Checking out Minnie's fully stocked fridge...

One of Bella's requests was to meet Minnie and Mickey...

On Cinderella's carousel

Magic Kingdom closed early our first day, so we headed to Epcot. Here she is in Mexico.

Epcot was having a festival of flowers. There were lots of Disney characters throughout the park made of plants. Here's Bella checking out Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs...

Trying to get on this fake donkey in the World Showcase at Epcot...

In Italy...

The Lady and the Tramp....

Our second day started at Hollywood Studios where we enjoyed a Playhouse Disney show with the characters from Micky Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger and Pooh and Little Einsteins.

Jumping during the Playhouse Disney show...

Bella LOVED the Beauty and the Beast stage show at Hollywood Studios. She said tonight that she wants to grow up and be one of the dancers in this show. After she first said she wanted to be the Beast :)

Getting to throw some change into the fountain...
Scott and a Disney photographer worked really hard to try and get Bella to smile for this picture. The was the best she would do.

Bella usually crashed in her stroller at some point during the day...

Playing at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground...

After Hollywood Studios, we headed back to Epcot for dinner and saw this guy right when we got there- with no lines! Bella got to cross another character off her wish list to meet!

Hopscotch in England...

Getting ready for princess meal #2.

As I mentioned earlier, I didn't realize that all the princesses would be at Cinderella's castle. So, I made reservations for the princess dinner in Norway before our trip, to make sure Bella got to meet all the princesses. I thought about cancelling this one after our lunch at the castle, but knew she would still love it, even if she had already met them all... Here she is all excited to meet Belle for the second time...

Sleeping Beauty #2

Even though she had already met them the day before, she jumped out of her chair each time another princess came to our table. It was fun to see her that excited!

Funny story here- when Ariel was coming to our table, she couldn't see Bella, only Scott. Scott said she gave him the weirdest look. Probably because she was a little freaked out that some 32 year old dude was at a princess dinner and she was going to have to pose for a creepy picture with him. I'm sure she was relieved when she finally saw Bella :)

My happy girl...

At our hotel, just after breakfast and about to start our 3rd day.

We headed to Animal Kingdom first and met a few more characters...

There was a small petting zoo at Animal Kingdom. Bella was surprised at how dirty this cow was...

After finishing at Animal Kingdom, we decided to head back to Magic Kingdom since she seemed to enjoy that park the most. There was one character that Bella really wanted to meet, but hadn't yet. So, we decided to wait in line for an hour to meet Tinkerbell. This is what happens during an hour long line with a 3 year old.
Bella and Rosetta. I think Rosetta was Scott's favorite...

Bella and Tinkerbell

Bella and Silvermist

After meeting the fairies, we went on a small roller coaster. It was Bella's first experience with a roller coaster and she was excited. For a minute, at least...

The she didn't like it anymore. Good thing it only lasted for about 30 seconds!
On our last night, we wanted to stay and watch the firework show at the castle. I almost hated taking "family" pictures since Austin wasn't with us, but I thought this one turned out pretty good...
Sitting on her daddy's shoulders watching the fireworks. She had so much fun on this trip and I think she really enjoyed some one on one time with us.
While we were there, we let her pick out her souvenier. She chose a Tinkerbell costume. We also let her choose a present to take to Austin. As soon as we got home, she had to put on her costume and give him his presents. I missed that little boy!!
He loved his cars and ball. Scott and I are already talking about going again in 3 years or so when Austin will be old enough to join us. I can't wait to see his face when he goes!