Mom, Dad, and I took advantage of this strange BEAUTIFUL weather to go the playground and swing.  I had a great time, especially when Dad acted like I was knocking him over, I just laughed and laughed.  Dad became a little concerned when I began to intently watch the kids on the basketball court.  Dad thinks I’m going to wrestle, shows what he knows.

Another week has flown by!  This week I’ve walked more and maybe even said my first word.  I’ve been saying da-da, ma-ma, ba-ba, etc for a while, I just don’t know what I’m really saying.  But each time I take off walking I shout “GO”, so mom and dad have decided that “go” is my first word.  Yesterday I shouted “I’mmmmm aaaaa ba-nan-aaaaa”…just how my syllables came out, mom and dad thought it was the funniest thing, so they’ve started calling me banana.  Just wait until they see what I have in store next week.

Can you believe it?  I’ve hit double digits–in months!  Mom and dad just don’t know what to do with the big man I have become.  We celebrated my 10 months with my first trip to Target and Lowes.  It was super fun in Lowes because I got to see a plethora of fans!!!  Dad also bought me a See and Say from Target.  None of those pesky strings mom and dad grew up with, this one has a handle to pull.  Guess those strings were “dangerous”.  The pictures below show how I am trying to figure out how mom got it to make all those sounds, it didn’t take me long!  I also decided to help mom and dad holding up 5 with their 5 to make 10–because they defintely couldn’t hold my 22 lbs without any hands!  Just a few short weeks and we’ll be celebrating my birthday! 🙂

We traveled to Wake Forest yesterday and received some good news/bad news.  Good news:  my head is doing a lot better, I only have to wear my helmet at night now!  Bad news:  my neck isn’t progressing as well as it should and I have to wear this awful brace!  Mom and dad think I look like I’m going swimming.  I have to wear it 4-6 hours a day, I got 4.5 in today, so I’m working my way up to six. 

I’ve been walking a whole bunch as well, between 1-5 steps, won’t be long before I’m running all over the place!

Let me explain these other pictures of mom with the bottle.  She was blowing into them making this strange sound, so I tried to do the same thing!  How smart am I?

The other news to brace yourself for:  we offically have NO SNOW left in our yard!!! 🙂

Grandpap, Grandma, and aunt Beth came down to see me yesterday.  I warmed up a little faster than the last few times.  We had fun playing with blocks, walking around, and eating some lunch.  I also saw a few new critters (gray fox in the picture).  I looked out the window thinking:  “Mom, I didn’t know the ground was green/brown!  Where did all the white stuff go?” 

After they left dad has his wrestling banquet at The Pine Tavern.  I had fun meeting all the boys and having everyone gush all over me.  The best time, however, was eating mashed potatoes and green beans.  YUM!  I made quite a mess though.

We go back to Wake Forest on Tuesday to check on my helmet again–wish us luck!

Another week, more changes.  I’ve gotten one of my top teeth and the other one is right behind.  I’ve also been starting to dance a lot more to music, I’ve always loved music but now I rock and sway, it is a ton of fun!  I’ve started to pull and push my Lego blocks together, I understand how they fit on each other now.  Most importantly, I’m transferring from object to object and I’ve taken up to four steps!!!  I’ve even started walking without wheels–on my diaper box.  My balance is improving and I am in LOVE with walking alone!

I just keep on growing!  This week I didn’t have any new teeth come in, but I do have several that should pop through anytime.  Mom was also a little bittersweet this week because I go some new clothes that are 12-18 months, I’ll be wearing them soon enough!  I’ve been practicing my crawling, cruising, finding hidden objects, and “talking”.  Can you believe mom already made my 1-year checkup appointment???  Time sure does fly when you have as much fun as I do!

Mom and I have been busy staying home all these days. She has missed over 20 days of school, 20 extra days of fun for us! I had my 9 month check-up yesterday, tipping the scales at 20 lbs 8 oz and 28 inches. I had to get a finger prick and I didn’t even cry! All the nurses and doctors came in to see me because they couldn’t believe what a big man I was! I was quite curious, watching them fill the vial, they all said I’ll be a doctor.

I tried some yogurt today for the first time, and boy have I been missing out, I love this stuff! I ate about 4 oz when mom cut me off, she thought that was enough for the first try. Just wait until she gives me flavored yogurt.

Keep your fingers crossed that I’ll be able to see the ground when my birthday comes, mom says this snow is never going away.

Mom and I had a fun day celebrating my nine months. Dad has been at a wrestling tournament for a couple days so I’ve been the man of the house. I spent the day skyping with family members, crawling, walking with my truck, climbing up and down from my chair, practicing waving, trying some pasta, playing peek-a-boo and tickle games with mom, and turning my toys on and off. I’ve been interested in how things work lately and I can turn a couple of my toys on, but there are a few that are a little harder to figure out. I’ve also had exposure the word “no” a lot lately, I think mom defintely has the “teacher look” down, she still has to work on that “mom look” though, but I’m getting better. I got my first bruise today too, I fell while driving my walker and mom didn’t quite catch me, you can see it on my forehead. I recovered quickly though.

We winded down the day with my favorite book The Pout-Pout Fish. Since about Christmas I have been pointing to the fish on each page, mom decided she should finally get some pictures of this, it is just hard to do at bedtime.

Mom is amazed every day at the big man I have become. She knows that her happiness is in large part to Dad, she tells me that he is a kind, patient, funny, smart guy and she hopes I’ll be a lot like him one day. She is so blessed to have such a loving husband, wonderful friends and family, and an incredible son that amazes her each and every day! 🙂

9 Months from Mike Murphy on Vimeo.

Well buddy, did I change this week! I’m getting a lot better at crawling, I’ve learned to maneuver my walker, I’ve learned to climb down from chairs (mom is going to post a video in a bit), and my tooth FINALLY came through today! Man, what hard work! Even though mom hasn’t worked this whole week I still didn’t have enough mom time today and made sure we had a whole day of fun by not taking a nap. Mom and Dad just cannot believe what I big man I have become!

Climbing Down from Mike Murphy on Vimeo.

Baby at the Wheel! from Mike Murphy on Vimeo.