The Adventures of Grace, Ella and Sutton: Sutton is 9 Months Old!

Our little man celebrated his first Valentine's Day and marked the completion of 9 months at the same time! He's such a sweetheart, and his precious personality continues to fill our house with joy. Sutton is the happiest baby, and he still loves the camera...

On January 22, 2010, Sutton got his first tooth. He will not let me get a good picture of it, so this zoomed in version will have to do. Sorry it's blurry.

While this one chomper may not look like much, it's enabled him to try a variety of table foods. Some of his favorites include apples, cheese, tortillas and Baby Mum Mums. Here is Ella sharing a snack with him.

As expected, more food has led to a bigger baby. Sutton is still wearing a size 3 diaper, but he has outgrown most of his clothes, including the 9 month ones. We're kind of in a pinch because of it right now, but UPS should be delivering some new outfits this week- yea!

Most people think Sutton looks like Ella, and I tend to agree. His hair is exactly the same color as the girls', and his eyelashes are finally starting to come in like theirs.

Sutton visited the pediatrician twice this month. The first time for pink eye, and the second time just two weeks later for more pink eye and an ear infection. During our first trip, he didn't seem to be bothered by the pink eye and had more fun destroying the paper on the exam table.

The second time, he was just miserable. Thankfully, a week of antibiotics cleared it all up, and he's back to normal.

This month has been fabulous in terms of sleep. Sutton goes to bed around 7:30, although some nights it's more like 6:30, and, he wakes up around 7:30. He seems very rested and so do we. Unless he wakes up early before Travis has left for work, I have the pleasure of getting him out of bed each morning. He always greets me with a big smile while standing up in his bed, and he can't wait long for his bottle. Most nights, Travis puts him to bed while I get the girls into their pajamas and start storytime. Sutton hasn't had much interest in books and usually doesn't let Travis get very far before he starts reaching for his bed. He likes to play with books for now.

Sutton continues to be very active. He's cruising around all the furniture and likes to scare me by climbing up the girls' chairs and onto the coffee table. He's also good at backing up and getting himself down from places. We also just discovered that he can stand up unsupported on his own for a couple of seconds. I predict he'll be walking soon, and definitely before his first birthday. We shall see.

As active as he is, he does not like to be alone and he prefers to be held. When Travis or I put him down, he keeps a close eye on us and cries if we walk out of the room. It's very sweet, but can also make it hard to get things done. I'm happy to oblige it right now (which is probably part of the problem), but he's my last baby, and I'll baby him as long as he'll let me.

Grace and Ella are terrific big sisters, and Sutton simply adores them. He loves waking them up with me each morning and keeps a close eye on them all day. Grace follows him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself, and she's always there to lend a hand.