What the Dinkins are Thinkin: Cooper is 9 months old!

Cooper is 9 months old!!! He has been acting so much more grown up all of a sudden that it finally hit me: he's not going to be a baby for much longer!  He has been adding to the long list of firsts over the past few months but one thing he hasn't done yet is get any teeth. And that's the thing that I am happiest about! He will still be my baby with a toothless grin for a little while longer. I'm not sure I can handle him looking all grown up with a set of chompers!! I want him to stay my little baby forever!!

So lately ALL he ever wants to do is stand!  I've decided that he is probably just going to skip crawling all together and just start walking because he absolutely HATES being on his stomach. I mean he HATES it!! I am not exaggerating. He screams everytime we put him on his stomach.  And now that he has perfected rolling, he quickly rolls onto his back when placed there. So were not thinking he'll be crawling anytime soon!
He has, however, learned to stand. He is even beginning to try to pull up on things and cruise around on our furniture! He is a pro at walking in his walker and CONSTANTLY wants me to hold his hands so he can walk.  I'm loving it but my back is hating it! I'm thinking about investing in some angel wings soon.

He is still not taking a bottle (we are only nursing here people and in this 100+ degree weather he better be very thankful I haven't stopped). And he still is not taking a pacifier. AND he is still not sleeping through the night. So this is the point where I cry out for help, suggestions from anyone who has had this problem. How do I get him to sleep through the night?! He wakes up every 3 hours people!!!! I can't even remember what it's like to have a solid 7 hours of sleep! Since he's not really eating baby food throughout the day (he is a very picky eater) the doctor thinks he may not be sleeping because he's hungry and that's why I haven't made him 'cry it out' yet. Whenever he wakes up I always nurse him and he falls right back to sleep. I'm hoping as he eats better he'll sleep better? Who knows.

Cooper's personality is really starting to take shape. He is VERY shy and VERY serious. It takes all my energy to get him to smile, let alone laugh! He has started giving me sweet little hugs and laying his head on my shoulder a lot more. It absolutely melts my heart! I think that he is going to be so sweet like his big brother!

We took him for his 9 month appointment this week and here are his stats:

HT: 28 inches (45%)
WT: 17 lbs, 15 oz (15%)

Cooper has so many little quirks that make him HIM! They make him unique and I hope to never forget all the little things that make him different:

*He has little calcium deposits behind each ear that are really sharp and hard
*He constantly pokes out his bottom lip
*He likes sleeping on his right side
*He actually enjoys riding in his car seat, always has (weird, I know)
*He loves pulling hair (it drives me nuts)
*The only things I can get him to halfway eat are strawberries, lil crunchies cheese puffs, and baby yogurt
*His nicknames are Coop, Coopey, Coop de Woop, and the most latest (which originated from Cole) is Coop bug
*He looks alot like my brother Doug (several people have pointed this out to me). You guys can be the judge!