Max is Nine Months Old

We’re officially in the phase where I’m all HOLY CRAP Max will be a year old soon and when did that happen and how did that happen and what am i going to do about it and am i going to be able to handle it and omg i need to plan his birthday party. look i’m so shuffled by this that i can’t even use proper grammar

So Max is going to have a Where the Wild Things Are-themed birthday party, naturally. First, the book is where we got his name. Second, he is a wild thing.

Proof of Wild Thing status:

• His hair is unkempt. Unless I brush it, which I do often because he can be so damn dapper, it’s uneven and growing in and shaggy.
• He babbles and yells all the time.
• He’s taken to smacking his highchair tray when he wants more food and touching his mouth when he wants more to drink.
• You look away for one second and he’s crawled across the entire length of the living room.
• He started climbing the stairs the other day. Once I realized what he was doing, I followed closely behind him so he could have some fun. He would’ve gone up the entire way, but I took him back down once he got halfway up. He roared at me.

Which is all to say that, as can be expected, Max is so much more active with each passing month. He’s exhausting because no longer is he AS content AS often in just playing by himself, but he wants to interact more, climb more, talk more, walk more… and nap less. And he really loves stroller rides. He knows that we walk him around the neighborhood sometimes just to get him to take a nap and I can see his mischievous self angling for that walk. He’s telling me with his eyes and his smirk that unless I take him for that stroller ride so he can doze for a little bit, he’s going to let his wild rumpus start. So we go on that stroller ride and Bits comes too and when we come back, we all take a nap.

After our nap it’s time for more food. I say “more food” because it seems like Max never stops eating. He’s over 20 pounds and his appetite is just like mommy and daddy’s – voracious. He’ll sit there in his highchair and eat for a solid hour, anything from the veggie and fruit mixtures I make for him to leftover dinner (his favorite lately: chicken and brussels sprouts) to fig bars and even spaghetti. He SLURPS the spaghetti, it’s amazing!

One thing he’s really into are these Rockabye rockers. We received a couple to try out and he has a blast on them! They are these plush rockers that play music (four different songs from four different buttons!) and rock very well! As Max got closer to 9 months he understood (kind of) how to actually rock on them and he can climb off himself when he’s done. He understands “hold on” and he’ll grab the handles. He lets me put my hands over his and rock him, all smiles.

These rockers are really well made and I 100% recommend them for the kiddos. We have the rockers out next to some of his other toys and there are plenty of times when he crawls over to the rockers and attempts to pull himself onto them. That means it’s riding time!

Some great things about Rockabye: they are 100% American made (yay!) and they use a water-based wood sealant. We all know our babies like to put their mouths on everything so having a safe sealant is super important. I also really like the different textures you’ll find on the rockers. Lots of fun exploring!

Other than that, Max is still loving Bits dog (feeling isn’t always mutual), loves to rock the sunglasses, and he’s just growing exponentially in personality. It’s the best!