The Year of the Dragon

H was born in the year of the dragon, so it was only fitting to dress him to dress up as a dragon for Halloween.

Grand Mar bought him the dragon costume, and we added scales and flair to make him a little more fierce. In fact, he wasn't just any dragon -- with the help of a hot glue gun and felt, he was fire breathing dragon.

Since most trick or treating happens after bedtime, H's big Halloween outing was the annual parade at his school.

Later that night, he greeted one trick-or-treater before he decided it was time to turn back into baby H and put away the costume until next year.

 

9 months

H, at 9 months old you weigh 21 pounds and you are 29 1/8 inches long. That puts you in the 75th percentile for weight and 80th percentile for height. It seems you grow more every day. In fact, the days of your infant car seat are numbered. It is clear that your long legs are close to requesting an upgrade.

You are still on the move. Your crawl has gotten faster, and you can even stand for a few seconds on your own. Recently, you began walking sideways while holding on to things. People tell us you will be walking soon. We are in no rush, but you are in a rush everywhere - especially when you see something you want. There is no stopping you.

You still have never met a stranger and you delight in getting others attention. When we are out and about, you will spot a stranger and smile and stare at them until they return the smile or talk to you. This month, you now not only charm people with your big smile, but also with a big, energetic wave.

Mama and Dada are your main words. Your Daddy and I debate if you use them discriminantly,  but regardless you say them both. Your favorite new thing is any ceiling light. When we ask you where the light is, you will look up to the ceiling and point to it with a big smile. You can even do the sign for light.

You are eating almost all table foods now. I think you like being in control and feeding yourself.

The baby Tooth Fairy still has not visited this house. We can see little buds where your bottom teeth will be, but as of now you still have a sweet, toothless smile. We may start taking bets on whether you will walk or get a tooth first.

And of course, at 9 months, you still do not always sleep through the night. You have good nights and bad ones, but somehow you always seem to wake up pretty happy at 6 am, so there is rarely need for an alarm clock.

You are a sweet, happy, and social baby. We can't wait to see what the next month brings.

Pumpkins are Gross

Hurricane Sandy kept us inside yesterday, and for a moment it threatened to cancel Halloween. C and I decided that we would help H get in the holiday spirit in spite of the wind and rain, so we carved a pumpkin. 

We covered the dining room table in paper, put H in his highchair, and C got busy carving.

Silly me, I thought pumpkin innards would make for great sensory play. H thought otherwise. 

Mom, what is this stuff? 

No really, what is this?

You want me to touch this nastiness?

Maybe I should just get down.

How am I going to make my escape?

Someone needs to get me out of here.

Yes, that is still gross.

What is wrong with these people? 

 

Nasty.

Can I please just get down?

Wait, Daddy makes this look fun. Maybe I can give it another try.

Nope, still gross. Mom, were you really worried I would try to eat this?

Ok, I will smile. But only if you make this end soon.

White House Fall Garden Tour

Bevie's visit in October coincided with the White House Fall Garden Tour. We enjoyed a beautiful stroll through the garden and even briefly spotted the President and Bo, the first dog. Our cameras were not quick enough to capture the White House residents, but that's what our memories are for.

We got to see the Rose Garden, 

The putting green,

And the first daughters' swing set.

H loved spending time with Daddy.

 

And Mama.

And especially Bevie.

 The First Lady's kitchen garden is impressive.

So is the Marine Corp Band. H took particular interest in the tubas.

It was a perfect Autumn morning.

Little Scholar

On Columbus Day, the Library of Congress opened its beautiful Main Reading Room to the public. Grandmar and Pappy were in town, so we decided to explore.  The Great Hall of the Jefferson Building is one of the grandest places in DC.

The Main Reading Room is equally as exquisite, with its domed ceiling, marble columns, and wooden desks.

We got to roam the massive card catalog room which houses 22,000 drawers and 22 million cards. Seeing the card catalog felt like stepping back in time, since we now use the computer to find and check out library books. No cards have been added since 1980. 

 You can't leave the library without reading.

We even visited the reading room just for children. H is ready to go back for story time.

7 and 8 Months

As I noted, I have really dropped the ball on my updates. Therefore, this is a 7 and 8 month combo package.

H, you are a busy, determined little boy. You started crawling three days after your 7 month birthday and haven't slowed down since. If you see something you want, you will crawl over, under, or around anything in your way. What types of things will cause you to crawl across the house? Let's see: the recycling, remotes, cell phones, leaves that have been tracked in from outside, lint, shoes, and anything that could be dangerous. What about all of your brightly colored, noise-making toys? Meh...those are for babies, and you would much rather play with the things Mama and Daddy describe as "nos."

You pull up on everything and can even balance with just one hand. You can also clap and give high fives.

Your baby language is expanding. With the addition of consonants, coos and squeals have given way to bababababas and dadadadadas. I am working hard on that "m" sound, but it doesn't look like we will get a "mama" any time soon.

You still love to go outside and have recently learned the joy of the infant swings in the neighborhood park.

In the past two weeks, your interest in food has grown, probably because your pincher grasp has improved. In addition to purees you now eat pieces of fruits and vegetables and Puffs -- you go crazy for Puffs.

Sleep has been a once step forward, two steps back process. You were doing well, but then you started sitting up in your sleep and getting stuck in that position. I admit, this was a little funny at first. However, the laughs stopped soon after this happened at 11 pm, 1 am, 3 am, 5 am, you get the picture. Your Daddy and I were overjoyed when you stopped sitting up and instead started rolling over and sleeping on your stomach.

We may not be well rested, but what we lack in sleep, you make up for in the smiles you give. It seems like you never meet a stranger and you are quick to greet everyone with that toothless grin. 

Speaking of toothless, it seems like you may not be without teeth for long. For now, we are enjoying blaming your very infrequent crankiness on teething and tiredness.

You are a delightful baby. You have grown and changed so much during the past two months. We can't wait to see what you will do next.