9.5 months

It is so amazing how quickly kids learn and grow. Ryan and I have been struck by how big our boy is actually getting...and it's only been about 10 months! He is definitely babbling more, saying ba-ba, da-da, goo-goo, etc. He loves to hear his own voice. We have also been having fun watching him play with his toys. He is starting to figure out how some of these toys actually work. He thinks and plays so hard and we wonder what is going on in that head of his :) Finally, he has been scooting around a bit, mostly doing the army crawl backwards. He just started getting up on all fours, but no crawling.


Andrew trying new foods and not necessarily enjoying them














One of his favorite activities: taking a bath





























Waiting for Daddy to get home



















Enjoying his toys

favorite activities

At 9 months, here are a few of Andrew's favorite activities:

Talking! He loves to squeal and babble. Just today, though, he started using consonants. Unfortunately he did not say mama or dada. Instead it was baba. So cute! Now he can't stop saying it. This picture makes me laugh because he was talking while it took it. It looks like he saying "what's up Mom?"














His favorite activity by far is jumping! He has stayed in this thing up to an hour, laughing and squealing the whole time. It sure does come in handy when I'm trying to make dinner :)



















Even though he can not yet pull himself up on furniture, he loves to be placed there. He thinks he is such a big boy! I'm impressed with how long he can actually stand there before he falls. He has always had strong legs, but apparently he doesn't want to use them to crawl or walk...

9 months

Andrew is now 9 months. His current stats are as follows: He is 22 lbs 14 oz which puts him at the 85% in his age range. He is also 28 7/8 inches tall which is the 75% for height. His head size is off the chart. Yes, our baby has a big head. Full of brains, we say :) He is such a good boy! He loves to play paddy cake and can do the motions himself. He is just learning to wave good-bye. Still no signs of teeth, crawling, or saying mama/dada. We have started to give him some table food which has been fun. Last night we gave him some plain yogurt...every bite sent a shiver up his spine but he still ate it! He is good at grabbing everything in his reach, and boy will he reach for something. He gets frustrated when he can't reach something, so we are hoping this will motivate him to crawl. All in all we are having a great time being parents of Andrew. We love him more than we ever thought possible!

Andrew's first Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the VanderKamp family. We had such a fun time celebrating with Andrew this year. It was very busy, lots of family time and Andrew handled it just great! We did lots of traveling back and forth from Holland, Lowell, and GR. He loved all the activity and celebration. He wasn't so sure about the whole Santa Claus thing and the opening of gifts, but he did enjoy playing in the wrapping paper and chewing on the bows. We are so grateful to God for family and a precious little boy