9 months

I wanted to write a brief happy birthday message to my sweet boy. Yesterday, Rowan turned 9 months old! As you can see, he's getting into all kinds of things. Wendy took this photo of him stalking her cat Earl. He seems so pleased with himself. :-)

x

I'll post some stats next week after we visit the pediatrician on Monday.

Just another week...

This week has been uneventful, thank goodness. Last week was plenty exciting enough for awhile. Rowan's top two teeth have completely emerged and he is feeling much better. Teething must be a terrible experience, especially if you have no earthly idea what is going on. 

I don't know what we have planned for the weekend. Probably not too much. It's probably good that we take it easy while we can. The holidays are sure to be hectic.

I've posted a few new photos. You can see Rowan's new teeth in one of them. 

Happy Friday, everyone! 

Vote!

The three of us took a lovely stroll down to our polling site today. Apparently 1:30 was the time to be there. We waltzed right through with no lines and no waiting. 

Cruisin'

We went trick-or-treating with the Carrolls on Friday night and had a fun time. Their neighborhood sponsored a children's parade on the next street over. We took turns pulling the boys in our new wagon so they could take in all the crazy Halloween sights and sounds. 

Not only did Rowan get a new wagon for Halloween, the Carrolls sent us home with their baby walker. (Shhh! Don't tell our pediatrician.) I didn't even know they still made those things. It's kind of cool. It's rectangular instead of round, like I remember from my childhood. Maybe it's more stable that way. At any rate, Rowan really likes it! He cruises around looking for stuff to get into. We are impressed with how skilled he is at negotiating turns already. He's also figured out how to take his socks off when he is in the walker. Such a stinker!

There's more exciting news... Rowan's top teeth are coming in! I felt the top left one this morning. 

Edit: Both top teeth are coming in!

I've posted photos from the last few days. Check 'em out.

Rowan's 8-month stats

As promised, here are the latest Rowan stats.

• Length: 28 in


• Weight: 20lbs


• Clothing size: 9 to 12 mos. depending on the brand


• Teeth: No new teeth have sprouted yet. I thought the next set were imminent, but he's still working on them.


• Mobility: He's crawling really well and covers a lot of distance quickly. He's also started to try to pull himself to a standing position. Last night he was able to stand up in his crib by pulling up on the rails.


• Sleeping: His sleep routine was really good up until last week. He used to go to bed around 9pm and stay asleep until 7:30am. Occasionally he would wake to wolf down an 8 ounce bottle, but he would go right back to sleep. The last few nights he has fought going to sleep. Once asleep, he'd wake up after about an hour wanting to play. Jeremy and I wish he would revert to his previous sleep cycle. It was so awesome!


• Eating: This kid can put away the food! On a typical morning he will start with about 8 ounces of milk. By lunchtime he is ready for his first solid meal of the day. Sample brunch menu: 1 medium banana, 1.5oz of oatmeal, 1 4oz container of fruit puree, about 4 oz. of milk. He may drink another 4oz of milk in the afternoon. By dinner time, he's ready for more food. Sample dinner menu: 2 4 oz. containers of veggies and 4 oz. of fruit for dessert. Sometimes I mix rice with the veggies if they are watery. He might also drink about 3 to 4 oz. of milk. Before bed, he gobbles another 4 oz. of milk. I have no idea where he puts all this food.


• Communication: Still no "mama", but "dah", "dee", and "uh" reamin popular sounds. He's also learned to click his tongue. He likes to clap his hands when he sees someone or something he likes. We've been working on waving hello and goodbye. He gets the concept, but is inconsistent in the application. Of course we are delighted when he performs any of his new tricks. :-) Oh, I almost forgot to mention my favorite new gesture. He does this cheesy grin that I call the "cheese face".

We're going trick-or-treating tomorrow night with the Carrolls. I'll try to post some pics soon.