Big boy eating

Over the last two weeks I have been gradually increasing the amount of finger foods Noah eats. I have to say, I was pretty nervous about it as I have a strong fear of him choking. But all of a sudden it just seemed like he was 'ready' and he hasn't gagged at all. I have noticed since introducing him to finger foods he is more resistant of pureed veggies and dinners; not a bad thing I guess.

His favourite has been cheese. You put some of that down in front of him and it's gone in no time.
Today I introduced him to egg and he loved it even more then cheese. In fact, his cheese sat untouched on his plate until all the egg had been eaten.

We have also recently introduced giving him a sippy cup of diluted juice or water at meal times.Once it comes time to switch him to milk I will be replacing that for the other liquids in the sippy cup. Hopefully it will make saying bye bye to the bottle a little easier.

It's crazy to watch him sitting in his highchair eating regular foods and drinking from a cup. It makes him seem way older then he really is. He's going to be 1 in just over a month now! Can time slow down a bit please!?

Transition to table foods?

I have a question for other mommies out there. I cant seem to find a real concrete answer on when is a good time to start giving your child table foods. My doctor suggests to waiting until almost a year - but I am not exactly sure what his definition of 'almost' is.

Noah is over 9 months now and I'm wondering if I should be giving him something other then strained foods and formula. I know formula/breast milk should be his main source of nourishment still, but shouldn't he be practising how to pick up foods and feed himself at this point? I guess I have a fear of my child being behind just because I as a mommy screwed up haha. I am also terrified of him choking! Oh, and he does have 6 teeth at this point if that factors in at all.

Its just hard because I have read a million different things. No table foods til actively crawling. No table foods til teeth. Table foods at 6 months. Table foods at a year.

HELP! What did you do/are you doing? What kind of foods did you start with? What has your experience been at 9 months of age?

... I just really want Noah to be able to dive into his birthday cupcake in 3 months...