9 months

Junior is nine months old, and in a few short days, he will have been outside longer than he was inside. He continues to thrive and grow, and we spent much of the past month playing. With nearly boundless energy and increasing mobility, he has been exploring various parks, play centres, and our flat. We started the month by buying him some shoes for outdoor play.

















I also assembled his walker/trolley, so that he can begin to practice walking.





It soon became apparent that he needed more space.



This is what happens while Mum is in the kitchen cutting a kiwi fruit for lunch!


So we went outside to the driveway. He soon ditched the walker when he discovered that he could reach the plants faster by crawling.





We started frequenting Eddie Catz, the local softplay centre, and have been going at least once a week (I'm determined to get good value from our 6-month membership, and he enjoys it there.)

















We also tried Beanies Cafe in Croydon...





...and crashed a playgroup for Dads in Wimbledon Park.





At home, his toys have taken over the living room, but he still prefers chewing on things like my travel mug.











There are some limits, though. I finally gave up chasing him away from the rubbish bins, and put a gate in front of the kitchen.





In addition to playdates with friends and daily webchats with our California relatives, we also had a lovely visit from S's parents.











If it looks like we spent the last month smiling and laughing, that's because we did...



Yay!


A final thought: you may have noticed the blurry quality of many of these photos. Junior - AKA Mr Wiggly - is at that stage where it is very hard to catch him sitting still!