Milestones, he's had 'em - I swear!

Technically my lil' beasty is 9 months old as of yesterday, but I figure before I post his 9 month milestones I better catch up! Ok, hopefully my memory of the last few months is up to par (howls of laughter from anyone who knows me - yeah much love, ya c-words!).

• Sitting with no probs (and generally a lot straighter than above, but dude wants to crawl on out of the photo).
• Crawling and sometimes with a ferocious fervor - YOWZAS!
• Cruisin' for a bruisin' - seriously, he wobbles around the coffee table, couch, chairs, media center, you name it and let's just say lots of tumbling has come of it, but darn it if he ain't a trooper!
• He knows and does the sign for milk!
• Holds his bottle - less work for mommy and daddy, woot woot!
• We tried feeding him avocado and sweet potato purees, which just made him gag so hard he puked. Solids are so not his friend.
• He did suck on some cantaloupe in one of those mesh things at Fox & Goose restaurant, but when we tried it at home he wanted NOTHING to do with it. #palmtoface We gave up with solids after several attempts and figured we'd try again next month.
• We got TOOFERS! 2 to be exact on the bottom. 
• He's over the pacifier.
• Sleeps through the night again - phew!
• We used the extinction method for his nap time and it totally worked! He takes 2 naps: 1 in the morning and 1 in the early afternoon. Each nap lasts roughly 1.5 to 2 hours! When we first used it, he cried for about 15 minutes and then was out for over an hour. Next nap he cried less than 5 minutes. Now he rarely fusses and if he does it's less than a minute. There's a lot of controversy about CIO and extinction, but heck, it totally worked for us and Han is one of the happiest lil' dudes I know. :) Plus, mommy and daddy get a full 8 hours of sleep every night. Hallelujah!
• We were using cloth diapers exclusively, but he broke out in a crazy rash. Turns out we needed to strip them, which I learned from my co-worker at the Public Library. Unfortunately, Danny and I have become a bit too complacent and haven't jumped on the stripping cloth diaper ball. New Year's resolution: go back to cloth diapering! 

• Tried vegan refried beans from El Papagayo and LOVED 'em! Took the spoon from Danny and fed himself. Unfortunately this was short lived as Danny tried again at home only to spurts of gagging and eventual vomiting. He loves the Apples & Greens smoothie from Jamba Juice (yes, the one I hurled up while in labor). The Jamba Juice we go to actually makes it with real spinach, kale, and apples.
• Danny and I now sit at our dining table with Han and whatever we are eating we give him a piece; e.g., pineapple, seasoned beans, olives, seasoned tofu, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, etc. He sucks and sometimes swallows, but mostly he gags - haha.
• Much steadier on his feet! In fact, on Saturday, January 3rd he took his first steps! It was only a couple and he fell, but he's been practicing all by himself daily! 
• Naps and sleeps through the night (thank the old gods of the North!).
• He received some cute clothes and toys for Christmas. 
• I moved his diaper changing station from our buffet in our dining room to his room, which makes our place feel a tiny bit less cluttered. Baby steps.
• Loves watching Pee Wee's Playhouse with his daddy. 
• Loves watching Sex & the City with his mommy. ;)
• I don't know why, but he started pointing. He sure loves pointing. He can sort of wave too. He doesn't always do it, but it's clear he is copying us when we wave to him.
• We sign milk, diaper, all done, more, and night night to him. He doesn't sign any back and actually doesn't sign milk as much as he used to, but I think that's because we know our kid and his cues. We'll keep it up and hopefully in a month or two he'll respond.

Ok, that's all I got for now. I'm sure there's stuff missing. Ugh! I'm determined to be better at posting his milestones. My goal is to post his 9 month milestones tomorrow! There. I said it, so it must be true. Ha!