18 Month Stats

Weight: 23 lbs 11 oz (43rd percentile)

Length: 31 3/4 inches (27th percentile)

Head: 19.29 inches (89th percentile)

Quick stats update for both kids

Gah.  I hate that I'm so far behind.  My big girl turned FOUR and I need to tell you all about the little girl that she is.  There's no more baby left in that one...except the way she says "breakfast" and "just".  But otherwise, she's growing up.  The thigh rolls are all gone.  Sniff.

Anyway, this week is the one time that the kids' well checkups lined up--Baby Boy is 15 months and Baby Girl is 4 years old.  We were able to get back-to-back appointments.

Baby Boy:

Weight: 21 lbs 11 ounces (33.4 percentile)
Height: 31 inches (43.31 percentile, up from 2.36 percentile at one year)
Head circumference: 19 inches (86.57 percentile, which is pretty consistent)

He got one shot and didn't cry during the shot.  But the tears came soon after.  I had taken Baby Girl out of the room to take her urine sample and Baby Boy saw me walk past the door at one point and lost it.  I had to snuggle him and walk around with him to get him to calm down.  He loves his mommy, that one.


Baby Girl:

Weight: 41 lbs (87.15 percentile, which is consistent since she was 2 1/2 years)
Height: 41 inches (77.9 percentile, a large jump from a year ago when she was 57th percentile (37th percentil at 2 years old))

They didn't measure her head, but I can assure you that it's humongous.  That's how we grow them in our house.

Baby Girl had to give a urine sample, which I thought would be horrible, but I successfully collected it without getting a drop on me.  She had her blood pressure taken (it was normal, whatever it was) and her hearing testing.  The urine came back with trace amounts of blood, so we had to get another sample this morning.  Luckily, a good friend was headed to the office with her own kid, so she took the sample so that I didn't have to make the trip during work.  Also, we found that Baby Girl can't hear as well as she should.  She can hear as low as 30 decibels and they'd like her to be able to hear down to 20.  Because she also has her ear tubes still in (over 2 years later), our pediatrician has recommended that we visit our ENT.  I haven't made the appointment yet because we obviously haven't seen any ill-effects (meaning it hasn't negatively impacted her speech AT ALL), but will do so soon.

Molars and talking

Baby Boy's first set of molars (or pre-molars?) has cut through--teeth #9 and #10.  The first was upper left and I *think* the bottom left is now through.  He doesn't let me get in there as readily as Baby Girl did.  I haven't gotten a chance to check on the other side, but based on both of my kids' teething history, it'll be awhile longer before the other side comes through.  My kids are pretty lopsided with teething.

As for talking (just throwing a few short posts into one to make it more worthwhile), Baby Boy still isn't talking.  Everything he says starts with the "g" sound.  He will say "mamamama", but I'm still not entirely sure if he's saying it to me.  If he is, he just started within the last couple of days.  When we sit down to dinner, we pray ("talk to God") before we eat, so now when we get sat down, he'll say "gah" and reach his hands out to hold ours.  It's pretty adorable.  And this morning in the car he saw a truck and pointed at it and I said, "That's a big truck.  BIG truck."  He responded with something like "guh".  He is trying to make some animals noises, but all animals either 1) quack, 2) make an elephant noise or 3) growl (most growl).  I've been trying to get him to moo for months now, but to no avail.  Baby Boy calls The Hubby "guh".  It's a consistent sound, but definitely not a word and nowhere near "Daddy".  I don't know when to worry, honestly.  I talked to a friend who is a SLP and she gave me some tips of things that I can do to help him verbalize, so I've been making an effort.  I'm sure the pediatrician will ask at his 15 month appointment on the 31st, so I'm starting to get a little anxious because of that.  He absolutely understands us, though, and is really good at communicating without actually using words between pointing, some sign language, and grunting.  I'm sure he'll get there and I'm doing a better job than normal not freaking out.

No bottles

I started to post this on a message board I'm a part of and then realized that there really isn't anything for them to respond to and I'm not sure that most of them would care.  So I'm posting a quick post here :)
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With Baby Girl, moving to a sippy wasn't a big deal and was honestly not something we tackled--the sitter did.  And now with Baby Boy it also hasn't been a huge deal--he doesn't get bottles at home, so the most he gets in a day is now 2 (from the sitter).  He didn't really want to drink BM from a sippy yet even though he drinks water from one at home, and we were fine with it.  We use Drop-Ins, so the sitter handles cleaning the nipples and it's no skin off our back and is honestly a pretty minimal expense.

But yesterday he drank all of the BM that I sent for him (about 6 oz) out of a sippy cup.  Woohoo!  Now I don't have to tell the pediatrician at the end of the month that he still takes a bottle (not that it'd be a big deal--I really didn't care and don't think the pediatrician would care much).

Still trying to decide what to do about pumping and my milk supply, though.  I'm still pumping three times per day most days (unless I have a lunch date--then I'll just pump twice).  I'm only getting 6 ounces per day and am officially only using one storage bag daily, which feels really strange.  I really only pump as much as I do because Baby Boy still wants to nurse on the weekends and I want to be able to provide for him.  So we'll see.  I'm always re-evaluating and trying to decide what's best for my baby.

Selling our home

Instead of meaningless apologies and promises to blog more, I'm just going to jump into a new blog post.  Yay!

A short update: Baby Boy's sleep still sucks, Baby Girl is almost four and is acting more like fourteen, I haven't lost any baby weight since just a month or two after Baby Boy was born, we're still pondering whether we're going to have a third baby, and we're working on getting our current house on the market.

Ever since we had Baby Girl, our plan had been to move out of our current home by the time she starts school (which happens in 2014!).  We don't have a problem with the elementary school that she would attend, but the middle and high schools aren't what we're looking for and I hate the idea of having to make her move schools after she's already made friends.  This past year we've been planning on getting the house on the market, but having a baby sort of put a damper on those plans.  Now that we're finally emerging from the Baby Fog and the housing market seems to be looking up, we're going full throttle on getting our house on the market.  Each free weekend and some weeknights we've been making progress.

We've done the following:

• Organized baby clothes
• Moved tubs of things for long-term storage to our garage
• Purged stuffed animals
• Gathered mounds of things for a garage sale
• Organized both of the kids' rooms
• Organized our bedroom
• Cleaned out and organized the office nook in the basement
• Purged some toys and also packed some away for storage
• Completely removed the three large sets of shelves from the basement that contained my surplus (from couponing) and craft projects
• Cleaned out the closet at the bottom of the basement steps to pack away small kitchen appliances to make room for a partial pantry
• Organized the cabinets in the master bathroom

What we still need to do:

• Clean the master bathroom
• Remove the border in the master bathroom
• Hang a new light fixture in master bathroom
• Paint the master bathroom
• Re-caulk the master shower and kids' bathtub
• Clear off the kitchen counters
• Clear off other surfaces (top of fridge, top of TV armoire)
• Paint Baby Boy's ceiling
• Possibly remove furniture from both of the kids' bedrooms
• Re-hang the sliding closet doors in Baby Boy's room
• Remove the hope chest from master bedroom
• Patch holes in the basement ceiling from the removal of fluorescent light fixtures
• Get a storage unit and move things there
• Have our garage sale

That second list still looks long, but it's definitely getting shorter and it's mostly bigger projects--not full days of organizing and purging any more.  I'm feeling very positive about our progress and can't wait to get it all finished.  I feel like we have a lot of momentum right now and I hope we can keep it up over the next month or so, as we're going to try to get it on the market by August 1st.  We're hoping to have a garage sale the weekend of July 13th or 20th to get rid of some stuff--I hope it's successful!

A letter to my little boy on his first birthday

My big man,

I'm sitting here watching you sleep on the video monitor, contemplating everything that has happened in the last year.  I'm not sure if I can adequately express how much happiness you've brought me in the last year.

I'll admit now that I was scared of having a little boy.  After over two years of experience with a little girl, I didn't know if I could handle having a little boy--what was I going to do with a BOY??!!  I'm here to tell you that it's been a fantastic year.  You ARE all boy and get into trouble far more than your sister ever did, but you are also very independent and incredibly happy.  You give a smile to everyone you meet, even when you're nuzzling into Mommy and being shy.

Besides being fearful of you being a boy, I was also fearful that you would sleep as poorly as your sister did. Honey, you fulfilled that fear and then some!  No matter what we've done, up until a week ago, you were still waking at least 3 times per night.  We went through months and months where you were waking 6-8 times per night.  To tell you the truth, your daddy and I have been like zombies for the past year.  Then suddenly about a week ago, you started waking only once or twice per night.  It was wonderful.  You've been waking a bit more the last few nights, but I think that can be attributed to late bedtimes, less napping, and being completely off your schedule because of celebrations and things.  We'll get back into a routine tomorrow and hopefully you'll start sleeping better then.  And you know what?  Even if you don't, I'll still love you like crazy.

I wish I had the words necessary to explain to you how much joy you've brought me over the last twelve months.  I've written and re-written these sentences many times and words just aren't enough.  I really think the best way to explain it is to know that I LOVE sleep and still every time I saw you in the middle of the night, I smiled.  Even though it was causing me a lot of back and hip pain, my favorite place for you to be each night is beside me, nestled with my arm on the top of your head.  You don't sleep in our bed all the time, but those nights that I accidentally fall asleep nursing you and then wake up to your beautiful face are times that I'll cherish always.

I thank God every single night that He chose me to be your mommy.  I apologize for the anxiety that I felt over becoming a mommy again and tell Him thank you for giving me what I really needed--you.

I love you, son.  Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet boy.

Love,
Mommy

11 Months (a little late, as usual)

I just can't keep up with life.  I'm off living it, so I guess that's good, but I still feel like I'm missing SO much.

Baby Boy turned 11 months old last Saturday (ahem...now TWO Saturdays ago...).  I did get his monthly pictures taken, so that's one thing I didn't forget to do!

This eleventh month has been a rough one for the little man.  Before he turned 10 months, he was diagnosed with an ear infection and it has lingered through the entire 11th month.  His sleep has been pretty awful, but we still don't know how much it is impacted by the ear infections and how much is just...him.  But we've been through four rounds of antibiotics now and the infection seems to be gone for now.

The biggest development in the eleventh month is that Baby Boy started walking!  The weekend of March 23rd we took him to my in-laws' house, where he continued taking just a couple of steps at a time.  He'd step, step, fall all day long.  Then Monday evening back at our house I noticed that he'd traveled between two things that he normally would've dropped to his knees to go between.  Yeah, second child syndrome.  No video camera and we weren't even really paying attention.  So then on Tuesday when we picked the kids up from daycare, he walked to us like he'd been doing it all of his life, even traversing the edge of the carpet. And he has been on the go since then!

Baby Boy also sprouted his eighth tooth, so we're finally all even again.  Now we're on the look-out for molars.  Baby Girl got her teeth so late that I have no idea when his will come in.

Baby Boy has a big personality.  He's incredibly sweet to everyone he meets.  He has started being shy and holding his head to the side when he meets someone new.  He wants to be held when meeting new people, but will still give them a big smile from the comfort of Mommy or Daddy's arms.  He's also got a bit of a temper.  If he doesn't get what he wants when he wants it, he lets out a horrific yell.  This isn't fun any time of day.  We probably hear it most while he's in his high chair.  We've found that we can't put him into his high char until we have the food completely ready to eat or he'll start yelling.

Right around 11 months, Baby Boy started doing something really cute.  When he's feeling shy or just flirting (he's done it to me when The Hubby is holding him), he'll tip his head sideways and give this really sweet smile.  If someone is holding him, he'll lay his head on their shoulder.

He's using G, B, M, and D consonants consistently.

He still loves avocado and green beans and all kinds of meat.  He's a really good eater, but a tiny bit pickier than his sister was.  I'm excited to be able to introduce more foods that we've been holding out on because of allergy concerns when he turns a year old!

Sleep...How I Miss Thee

Baby Boy's sleep is bad.  I don't even know how to explain it besides to say that it's really, really bad.

Last night, for instance, looked like this:

6:50: Nurse in his bedroom
7:05: I start walking, singing, shh-ing, bouncing, and swaying
7:20: He falls asleep.  This is a good bedtime.
7:45: He wakes up screaming.  I go to him and am able to get him back to sleep in about 5 minutes.
9:30: I go to bed.
9:35: Baby is awake.  The Hubby goes to him and tries to get him to go back to sleep, but he just turns and points to the door, which he knows leads him out of his bedroom and to ours.
9:40: I nurse Baby Boy.
9:42: He's asleep.  The Hubby and I watch him sleep laying in our bed.  He's restless.
9:50: The Hubby takes the baby back to his room and we both fall asleep.

The rest of the night was a blur, as they typically are.  I'm so exhausted that I don't know what time we're waking or what's happening.  I do know, however, that we were up at least four more times and that Baby Boy stayed in our bed for quite a bit of the night.

I honestly don't know what to do with him.  He won't stay laying in his bed for us to pat/shh him.  He screams loudly enough to wake his sister.  I'm NOT comfortable with letting him cry. We did it once and when he woke up 45 minutes later, he screamed like I'd never heard him scream, terrified.

I'm not necessarily looking for solutions--just to document this part of our life.  If not for sleep troubles, Baby Boy is a sweet, happy little man.  The problem is, during those same waking hours, his father am I are a mess.  We're short-tempered, drowsy, and can't focus on anything.  We have another child to care for and I'm starting to realize that we aren't being the best parents we can be for either of our children.  Once Baby Boy is one, I'll feel a little more ready to start being more forceful with night weaning.  I will be okay if he still wakes once (or even twice!) per night to eat, but four to five times per night is really getting old.  Until then, we roll with it...

Thank You, God

Every night The Hubby, Baby Girl, and I say a prayer before Baby Girl goes to bed.  It's pretty informal and we all trade off thanking God for things or asking for help or we even ask God for forgiveness.  Baby Girl typically says that she can't think of anything, which leads to a bit of a lecture from us about how important it is to be grateful for the things that make us happy.  We make her come up with at least one thing to thank God for and after much prodding from us, she'll say something (usually something that we've prompted her with, like, "Did it make you happy to make cookies with mommy today?").  I'm hoping someday this will all click and she will start to come up with things on her own.

This morning I realized that the things we've been saying have actually sunken in, at least a little.

We were in the car on the way to the sitter in driving, freezing rain.  I was having a hard time seeing and the car was fairly quiet.  Baby Girl had been complaining that she couldn't see out her window because it was foggy, when she realized that she could just rub the window with her hand and be able to see out of it.  She enjoyed doing that each time it would fog up.

A few minutes later, I heard her little voice: "Thank you God, for making it rain today so that I can wipe off the fog."

Such a sweet, little thing for her to say thank you for, but I love that she felt driven to say something right then, without any prompting from us.

Update on Baby Girl

Baby Girl is back at the sitter today.  I'm not exhaling yet because I have no idea what sort of incubation period we're looking at, so I don't know that it won't hit the rest of our family.  But at least she's back to (almost) normal.  She was acting out a bit yesterday, so we're going to get back to being more strict with her once she's feeling better.

Man, that was scary.  She just kept vomiting everything she took in.  I'm really lucky that she was such a trooper.  She was pretty happy for most of the time and she was such a big girl, doing most of her getting sick in the actual toilet.  I know she was tired of getting sick by the last day of it, but I can't say that I blame her.

Words can't express how happy I am that she's feeling better.  What an awful, yucky sickness.

And now I resume crossing my fingers that The Hubby, Baby Boy, and I don't get it.  If we don't, then this weekend will be consumed with a DEEP cleaning of our house.  I've already gone through and done a lot of cleaning and The Hubby has done A LOT of laundry, but I'm going to throw all linens, towels, and blankets into the washing machine, wipe down everything, clean all dishes and silverware that are sitting around....our house will be cleaner by Sunday than it has been in the 3.5 years since Baby Girl was born!

And it starts...

All winter long I've been reading on Facebook, message boards, and email about friends and their kids who have been stricken by stomach bugs.  Most of the kids at the sitter have gone down with a stomach bug of some kind.  I've said prayers.  I've been anxious, which is a major understatement.  I've gotten nauseous myself.  And we've made it most of the winter.

Baby Boy had a small stomach bug on Christmas Day--he got sick a few times within a couple of hours and then that was it.  He also had a bug almost 3 weeks ago--again, he got sick some overnight, but was fine the next day.  He continued with some diarrhea, but I think (thought?) that it was caused by the antibiotic he was on for his double ear infection.  It really wasn't a huge deal with him...in hindsight, of course.  In the moment, it felt like the end of the world.

(If you don't want a play-by-play of sickness, just skip the rest of this post.  I would if I weren't the one writing it because just reading posts by other people about stomach bugs makes me anxious and feel like I'm going to catch it via the interwebs.  You've been warned.)

However.  Now Baby Girl is sick.  She woke up vomiting overnight Friday night and came into our room.  The Hubby took her to the living room where they hung out and she threw up the rest of the night.  She tried eating some applesauce and it came right back up, which was the last time she got sick on Saturday morning at 8 a.m.  She was low-energy for the rest of the day while I entertained Baby Boy in the basement and running errands, then she ate some macaroni and cheese for dinner Saturday night and seemed to feel better....at which time, The Hubby noticed that she had a fever.

Her temperature stayed around 102 for the rest of Sunday, but besides a two-and-a-half hour nap on the couch 10:30-1, she acted relatively normally.  We went outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather for a couple of hours and you'd never know she was running a fever.  Her temp was down to a little over 100 by bedtime that night and she'd eaten a good dinner, so we figured she'd be feeling good this morning (Monday).

Baby Girl woke up feeling good.  She had no fever and ate two bowls of cereal.  Everything seemed normal until naptime.

I was downstairs enjoying a little bit of alone time.  I'd gotten Baby Boy to sleep and Baby Girl was laying quietly in her bed.  The fact that she didn't fall asleep seemed like a good sign to me.  Then I heard her pitter patter to the bathroom and heard her ask me to come wipe her tushy.  I knew immediately that she had diarrhea.  As soon as I got her back to bed, her brother woke up.  She was back in the bathroom a few minutes later, at which time I told her to just get on up.  She still seemed fine.  She and her brother played with their train table and some other toys for awhile.  She kept coughing and running to the bathroom, thinking that she was going to "spit up", but nothing happened.

And then it did happen.  She got sick again.  I called The Hubby and asked him to come home from work.  After she got sick, she wanted a hard-boiled egg, which only Daddy can make, so he cooked her one when he got home.  She seemed to be feeling fine.  However, about five minutes after eating the egg, it came right back up.  And again.

So now we wait.  We wait to see who else will get it and when.  We wait to see how long it takes Baby Girl to recover.  We wait to see how long this goes on.  We wait to see whether we can keep the baby healthy.  We wait....

My Favorite Time of Night

Every evening after dinner, we enter my favorite time of night.  The Hubby gets Baby Boy into his jammies and the four of us snuggle up on the couch together with only a couple of lamps lit.  We read a couple of books, then Baby Boy gives his daddy and sister hugs.  I pick him up and he immediately starts to wave at The Hubby and Baby Girl.  We walk to the bottom of the steps and turn around to look at them and blow them kisses.  Baby Boy currently just makes kissy faces and doesn't do the hand part, but it's still adorable.  Then he starts to wave some more and he and I head upstairs to my dark bedroom.  I sit in my bed, holding him, and he nurses in the dark.  This all started because he was so distracted when nursing downstairs with the TV on (my chosen nursing location for Baby Girl) and I was anxious about sitting in silence, with no TV, no electronics, nothing but my baby and my thoughts.

Instead, it's turned into my favorite part of the night.  I spend that time talking to God and memorizing the feeling of having my baby in my arms.  I know from experience that our nursing relationship will end all too soon and I'll miss it.  So for now I'm going to take the time to really enjoy it, to think about it and nothing else.

10 Month Update

I'm suffering from a MAJOR case of the winter-time blah.  I can't get motivated to do much of anything, but know I'll kick myself someday when I look back on this blog and don't have an update on Baby Boy's 10th month, especially because it seems like SO MUCH has happened!

It's amazing that in ten months he can go from this little snuggly blob to a cruising, stepping, waving, babbling, growling little boy with opinions all his own.

Teeth: Over a month after cutting his fifth tooth, tooth number six appeared 2/24.  And just days later (2/27), so did tooth number seven, the bottom left (2nd one over).  The kid is determined to be lopsided!

Mobility: Baby Boy is everywhere and into everything.  He's pulling up and cruising on anything that he can.  On February 20th, he took a single step after standing all by himself for awhile.  And then he promptly dropped to his knees and crawled the rest of the way.  He'll walk quickly while holding fingers, stands by himself, and on March 3rd stood up in the middle of the room without pushing up on something.  So we've got all of the pieces in place--we'll see how long it takes him to actually walk.  He *can* climb stairs, but we don't let him yet!

Clothes: Baby Boy is still pretty solidly in size 6-9/9 month clothes.  He has one pair of jammies that is size 6 months, but there are also plenty of 6-9/9 month clothes that are getting too small.  I'd guess we'll move up a size in the next month.

Communication: Baby Boy knows the signs for "more" and "all done".  He uses "more" to signal that he wants something to eat and has started to sign it while he's still eating.  He also signs "more" while he's nursing now, too, which is sort of hilarious.  He only signs "all done" when we say it.  Sometimes I think he's trying to tell us that he's done, but then he'll quickly sign more again and eat more.  And sometimes we think he's waving when he's signing or vice versa.

He is also using quite a few consonants now--g, b, and m are his most common.  He says "mom mom mom" both while pointing at me (also a new development) but also when he's getting into his high chair, as if he's saying "more" or "yum".  He also says something that sounds sort of like "all done"--it has two syllables, at least :)

Nutrition: We are still nursing here, day and night.  I don't think he would notice too much if I stopped offering during the day, but I'll keep offering until he's a year old, then we'll take it from there.  He does still NEED IT SO BAD overnight, though.  Last night, The Hubby went to Baby Boy when he woke up at 9:30 and Baby Boy put his head down on The Hubby's shoulder, then sat up straight and pointed at the door.  He knew where to go to get the good stuff, apparently.  My pumping production has decreased quite a bit and I'm struggling to keep up with him, but his demand has reduced markedly also and is easily appeased by solids.

Speaking of solids, Baby Boy is a pretty big fan of eating.  He growls and makes all sort of crazy noises when you put him in his high chair and don't have food for him RIGHT NOW.  When I'm cooking, he'll crawl into the kitchen and start smacking his lips at me.  He LOVED having hot dogs and likes it whenever he gets food off of someone else's plate.  He love carbs (pancakes, especially), avocados, pasta, and some veggies.  He'll eat any fruit you give him, so far.

Sleep: I'm honestly fairly embarrassed to even post about his sleep.  At over 10 months old, my baby is still waking about 4 times per night.  I'm exhausted.  He wants to eat almost every time he wakes up if it's been at least two hours since he last ate.  I'd thought that we'd figured out that he was going to bed too late and that was why he was waking.  We started eating super-quick meals, crock pot meals, doing anything we could to get him to bed earlier.  And he's still waking up.  It isn't the 4-8 times per night that it was, but it's still not good.  The Hubby, Baby Boy, and I are all exhausted and running on fumes every single day.  Happily, Baby Boy is still pleasant and happy almost all the time, even being short on sleep.  He sleeps best in our bed, so there are nights when I nurse him to sleep and he just stays in our bed for a few hours.  Unfortunately, The Hubby and I are then incredibly sore the following day after laying in one position all night, trying our hardest not to roll over on the baby.

Likes: Avocado, screaming, his sister, throwing things, pushing buttons, being on the go, putting things into other things, playing Godzilla and knocking down block towers, anything his sister is doing, trying to throw himself down the stairs, unrolling toilet paper, getting mommy's cookbooks, opening cabinets and playing with the contents, baths in the sink, playing in close proximity to the other daycare kids, music, peek-a-boo, looking at books

Dislikes: Staying asleep, baby gates, being confined, having to wait (especially for food), laying still for diaper changes, getting buckled into his car seat
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Baby Boy--

For ten months, you've been providing me with happiness that I didn't know possible.  You may not sleep, but you honestly make up for it by being so happy all of the time.  The smile you give me when your daddy brings you into my bedroom makes my annoyance over being awake AGAIN dissolve.

Your favorite person in the world is your sister.  Everything she does fascinates you.  You two play together incredibly well.  She can be a little rough, but I think you like it.  It is awfully hard to scold her for being so rough with you when you're belly laughing at her.

Some days it feels like you were just born, but more days it seems like you've been a part of our family forever.  Your sister doesn't remember life without you.  I had fears of not being able to love you as much as I love your sister, but my heart has grown like The Grinch's to give me the ability to love you both an incredible amount.

I love you, my beautiful little man.
Mommy

Strong

I don't want my daughter to see my (immensely huge) insecurities, at least not for awhile.  I want to be her superhero.  I also don't want to impose them on her.  Ever.  I want her to be confident, to know that she's beautiful, both inside and out.  I don't want her to think that she needs to wear makeup, but I want her to have the confidence to do it if she wants when the time comes.  I want her to take pride in her body and to honor it as the temple that it is.  I want her to look at other people and love them, no matter what they look like.

So when she was putting on some pants and I told her that she had my thighs, I caught my breath.  I wasn't able to stop the words as they spilled out of my mouth.  The pants fit her fine everywhere but in her thighs, a problem that I've been plagued with for as long as I can remember.  Thin (for me) or heavy, I've always carried extra weight in my thighs and struggled to find pants that fit right.

Those beautiful brown eyes looked at me and asked what I'd said.  I told her that she had her mommy's thighs.  I took a deep breath and swallowed the words that were on the tip of my tongue, cursing those thighs, and instead supplied her with a word that I hoped wouldn't sound too much like a lie.  Strong.  Those thighs are strong.  They help us run fast.  They help us lift things.  They're strong, baby.  We are strong.

Mid-Month Developments

I started to record some things that Baby Boy was doing mid-month, but never got around to publishing it.  So here's my (very short) list:

1/6: Started babbling using the "g" sound.  Then mid-week (around the 9th) started babbling using the "b" sound
1/13: Started purposefully waving at his Papaw (my dad).  He still doesn't wave consistently, but will do it sometimes.  I think he just needed the right person to wave at :)

My Nine Month Old Little Man

We went to the doctor on Baby Boy's actual nine month birthday and found out that he's been decreasing in percentile both for height and weight, much like his sister did around this age.  His statistics:

Height: 27 1/4" (11th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 9 oz (27th percentile)
Head: 87th percentile

At nine months, Baby Boy is:

• Wearing 6-9/9 month size clothing and doesn't seem to be in a hurry to outgrow any of it
• Wearing size 3 diapers (and has been for months)
• Pulling up on EVERYTHING
• Cruising some
• Crawling VERY quickly
• Signing "more"
• Clapping
• Playing with his sister
• Babbling with lots of "g" sounds.  I actually heard him say "goo goo gah gah" the other day, which made me laugh.  "Guck" is his favorite noise right now.
• Loving most foods.  His favorite is avocado and also love beans, pancakes, whole green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, Cheerios (although not as much as his sister), Puffs, applesauce, peaches, and pears.  He's even enjoyed the bits of shredded chicken that I've given him.  He liked the bite of banana that I gave him, but then had a painful poop and I don't know if they're related, so I'm nervous about giving him more banana.
• Hating peas.  That's the only food that he's shown a true distaste for.  
• Idolizing his big sister.  He wants to be doing anything that she's doing and be anywhere that she is.  He giggles when he sees her and loves all of the attention that she gives him.
• Working on cutting tooth #6.  Tooth #5 broke through  January 19th (upper right) and we thought that the upper left would be close behind, but his teething symptoms have all but disappeared.
• Still sleeping like crap.  Last night was a really good night and he was up 4 times.  Most nights it's closer to 8--3 times before we go to bed and then up every 1 to 1 1/2 hours unless we let him sleep in our bed after nursing.  He demands to nurse each time that he wakes after about 10:00, too, so that's fun. (Yes, that was sarcasm)
• Curious about everything.  He loves to get into a basket that I keep on the bottom shelf of a bookcase that holds some loose recipes.  He starts to crawl toward it, then looks up at me, knowing he shouldn't get it.  Or he'll crawl toward it and I'll say his name and he immediately looks at me and grins.  Sometimes I can distract him, but most of the time the basket just gets moved. 
• Still nursing 4-5 times during the day and then many times overnight.  If he's distracted enough or enjoying his table food enough (which he does), he doesn't demand three daytime feedings, which used to be at 10, 1, and 4 with a morning and bedtime nursing session as well.  
• Giving KISSES.  He will grab your face and lean in with a wide open, drooly mouth and put it inside your lips.  If you cut it off too early for him, he'll lean around to try to get you again!
• Growling when he's frustrated.  It's hilarious, honestly.  If he's out of food and really wants more, he'll growl at you.  He also growls when he gets frustrated, especially because he can't move quickly enough to do what he wants to do.

I'm trying to get him more interested in looking at books, rather than just chewing on them or throwing them around.  It's hard to read to both kids when all he wants to do is chew on it and won't accept a replacement.

In general, Baby Boy is an absolute joy.  He is happy and funny already.  He is incredibly curious and wants to be involved in anything that's happening around him, but can also be pretty independent and entertain himself.  The joy that he brings to my life is more than I ever could have imagined.  I enjoy almost every moment with him (I would be lying if I said every moment...) and am actually disappointed when I have to put him to bed for the night or put him down for a nap because I miss him and his big smile.