9 Months Old!

Another big part of our Thanksgiving break was that you turned 9 months old, young man!



And you are growing up in front of our eyes! Gone are the days when you were just a baby; now you're a little person, with little person likes and dislikes and a big person personality stuck inside a little person!
Speaking of "little," you're not so little any more at all. According to the doctor- whom you visited on Thursday- you are now about 28 inches tall, which puts you in the 50th to 70th percentiles of kids your age.

But, on the other side, despite our best efforts to fatten you up, you now weigh 18 pounds, 2 ounces...which puts you smack dab in the 15th-20th percentiles for weight.

Which means you are still tall and skinny for your age.

But the doctor wasn't worried about you being too skinny, despite those numbers.

Your mom asked if we should try to get you to pack on more pounds and she said "No! He looks fat enough to me!"

So, there you have it! You're a growing, tall, skinny, happy 9 month old boy! And you have two very happy 9-months-on-the-job parents and tons of other family to show for it.

You also have 6 sprouting teeth to show for it too...but you seem less happy about that!

It's so odd that you've now officially been here on earth for as long as you were there in your Mom's tummy.

The time we were expecting you seems so distant, so far away. And you've seemingly been here forever. But, the calendar doesn't lie. You were in for 9 months hard time, and you've been out and growing for the same. From here on out, it's all gravy!

6 Months Down!

What a tiring couple of weeks!

We've been super busy around your 6 month birthday, and a little bit stressed. There were high highs and really stressful lows, but you took it all in stride with a smile on your face.

That's why you win the 'happiest baby on the block' award, awarded by me.

First, Mommy and Daddy's Air Conditioner decided to die a horrible lingering death two weekends ago and it was over 100 degrees outside...in the shade...at night. So, we spent the night at Mimi and Pops' house on Saturday. You slept in a new crib (which was actually your Daddy's old crib when he was a baby), you slept in a new place and you did super well!

Then, on Monday, after we thought the AC was fixed, it turned out that it wasn't and we spent the night at your Godparents' house. But we had an extra visitor! You finally got to meet "Uncle Sam"-- he might look familiar because, a) he and Daddy were part of an "awesome" rock band in college,


b) one of Mommy and Daddy's closest friends from college

and c) oh yeah, he married us.
So, you finally got to meet Sam, and you guys sure hit it off! He made you laugh a lot, which is only fitting, since he makes me and your Mom laugh a lot too!




He even got you your first Tufts bling. He had his old Tufts Symphony Orchestra t-shirt (which Mommy designed) turned into a onesie for you!

Also, if you couldn't tell, you really developed a lovely relationship with blue puppy. He has quickly climbed the ranks to #1 favorite toy. You love this thing- chewing on it, tossing it around, laughing the second you see it! The real dogs may be getting jealous.

You also have really been kicking the rolling into high gear. You pretty much roll wherever the heck you want to go nowadays. You're cruising around town like you own the place. Of course, you've been rolling for a long time now, but it really seems like you've got the hang of it being used as a tool for mobility. Now you can chase the dogs for real! Just don't treat them like you treat blue puppy...please!

We also got to take your 6 month pictures. Before the shoot, you were in such a lovey mood, that we had to take advantage:


If you'll recall, here's months 3, 4 and 5:
And for Month 6 there were so many great choices...but the winner, without consulting Mommy was:
But, since they were so cute, and I couldn't resist, here were the runners up:



And since the dogs were already up there, we decided to try our luck and see if we could get a family portrait rocking. And the auto-timer, camera-perched-precariously trick actually worked!


You also really seemed to be figuring out that something's happening to Aunt Michelle's belly..and that your soon-to-be friend Brady is in there!

We also discovered that you LOVE piggy back rides! You had your first piggy back ride on Sunday and you laughed and screamed with delight and tried to eat Daddy's hair! I've been giving you at least one piggy back ride a day and you still love it!

You are also getting better and better at sitting up on your own...kind of. You're almost there!

And since your such a big boy now, and since it's cooler outside, your Mommy has finally come around to my point of view that overalls are really cute! See?



You also had your 6 month Doctor's Appointment and we discovered that you are now 16 pounds 3 ounces and 26 3/4 inches tall!

That means that you are, again, tall and skinny! You're taller than 70% of kids your age...but weigh less than 75% of them. So, the doctor gave us the order to feed you as much food as you want-- up to three meals of solid (well, technically it's still liquid, since it's liquified solids) foods a day! You seemed really excited about that!

Oh yeah, you also got to meet Mommy and Daddy's friend Amanda and see their friend Elsie again!

What a big couple of weeks for our big 6 month old boy!



I'm going to go play with you now because you're getting a little fussy sitting in my lap! Maybe I'll give you a piggy back ride!

What's in Store: Grocery Carts, Country Roads and 4 Month Checkup

Your Mom and I (and the world) have a lot in store for you! And some of the things we have in store for you actually involve the store.

Which store? You may ask.

Well, you've been to lots of stores: Target (at least 2 times a day on weekends as long as your Mom is deciding where we go), Kohl's, even Home Depot. But the one store you haven't been to yet is THE store...the grocery store.

We just didn't know how one person could push you in the stroller and push the grocery cart...or if we put your car seat in the grocery cart then there'd be no room for groceries. But, we finally had a perfect opportunity, and the right tool (thanks to Aunt April) to put YOU in the grocery kart! And though you were a bit wobbly, and it still took two people, you really seemed to like riding around in the grocery store.


What else did we have in store for you? Your first trip to Great Grandma's house. Actually, we wound up going to your Great Aunt Nessa's cabin instead, but you get the idea.

Out in the country, you got to hang out with Great Aunt Nessa:

Grandma:
Your Second Cousin Kaelyn:


(who went to give you a kiss but accidentally head butted you...and then pretty much lost interest in you and gained more interest in your green chair)

And your Great Aunt Chrissy:

And then it was on to nap time...
Apparently napping with grandmas is the thing to do!
And then when you woke up you got to hang out with Great Grandma...


and Great Grandpa and your cousins Devon and Jenny and Great Uncle Phil too. You did great out in the country. I think being loved on by all your relatives suited you just fine...

And you had more in store for you this week as well. You got to spend part of the days with Mimi and Pops and Grandma (that's right, Nita has officially chosen 'Grandma' over 'Nanneh'...for now). And when babysitting, Pops likes to, among other things, go for long Wii walks with you:

but sometimes he gets a little crazy... look out!

And that brings us to yesterday. Your Mom and I knew what was in store for you. And we weren't too happy about it. You, however, were none the wiser about what was coming. We let you have as good of a morning as possible, which included taking goofy pictures with Daddy.

(Don't worry, we're both clothed: one in a diaper, one in shorts. Which is which?)

Oh yeah, quick side bar: you started sucking on your bottom lip this week as well. And as you can see in the picture, it's a trend that's gaining momentum!

Back to reality: At 9:30 a.m., we packed up, put on brave faces and went to see the Doctor for your Four Month check up.

First things first, they weighed and measured you. Your Mom guessed you would be 16 pounds. I thought 16.5. Uncle BJ guessed 4 pounds, but that was an uninformed guess, to say the least.

But in Price is Right rules, he won, because everyone else over guessed!

You weighed in at 14 pounds 6 ounces!

This is by no means giant...in fact as a friend pointed out, her 3 month old son weighed 16 pounds and could theoretically eat you (which I don't think is a good idea). But, it's a great weight to be at! You're at the 50th percentile for weight. And, I dont' recall the exact height, but you're around 25 inches tall...putting you around the 70-75th percentile for height (You were 25 1/4 inches tall!). Tall and skinny! Just like... no one in the family. That's odd. Maybe you'll break the mold!

You were really in love with the butcher paper they put on the exam table and you wouldn't hold still. You wiggled and squirmed and tore and chewed and drooled. You tried to eat the Doctor's hand while she was checking your heart beat...but, in your defense, it WAS within reach! You were having a grand old time at the Doctor's.


A grand old time, that is, until the nurse came in to give you your four month shots! I had to hold you down while the nurse gave you three shots in your leg muscles and you cried and cried and wailed and I even saw you squeeze out a single tear! It was horrible...for us.

When the shots were done and I could pick you up, you immediately stopped crying. Then your Mommy fed you and you seemed to feel better immediately!

Although, the baby acetomenophin we gave you probably helped too.

The rest of the day was a blast, and you and your Mommy even got to take twinsy naps together...with Toby at your side.
But what's in store for you now? You'll like this news, maybe. You've doubled your birthweight (and then some!), so the Doctor said you were ready to start trying solid foods!

Up to this point the only thing you've ever eaten is Breast Milk! But now... now you get veggies and cereal and fruit, oh my!

What will we start with? How will it go? How many bibs will we go through? I guess we'll have to find out...there's a lot in store for all of us!

But, the creatures who stand to gain the most from the new developments are the ones who stand just under 1.5 feet tall... with all the food dropping that's going to start happening soon Toby and Preston will definitely have something to wag about.