9 Months

My goodness, time flies! And with it has flown the warm weather. As I headed off to bed two nights ago it occurred to me that the little guy might benefit from an extra blanket. The minute the blanket was settled on top of him, he lifted his head, rolled over twice towards the opposite side of the bed, buried the blanket underneath him, and resettled, all while fast asleep. So I tried again. The minute the second blanket was on he rolled the opposite way once, got up on his hands and knees, rubbed his face into the sheet, and resettled with both blankets somehow lodged underneath him. Desperately trying to stifle my laughter, I gave up and tried to tuck the tiniest loose parts around him into some kind of nest hoping in some way it might produce a little bit of warmth. What can you do?

On that note, Peanut has had another month birthday come and go. Here are the stats and a few funny stories:

Height: 30"--This has been an exceptional growth spurt that put him way above his growth line on the chart
Weight: 18 lbs 2 oz--I can't feed him enough to keep up with his height. He eats almost adult sized meals these days, plus 4 bottles a day, plus snacks and never gets any chubbier.

* New favorite hobby...opening and shutting doors and drawers. He slams his fingers at least once a day. I think enough slams will help him figure it out eventually. I have tried to use his hobby as an opportunity to teach opposites. He giggles while I say, "Open", and "Shut," as he does each one. He thinks it's especially funny as he does it faster and faster, and I say the words faster and faster.

* He is fascinated by small tight spaces. Especially the one between the toilet and the bath tub. He takes the cap off of the bolt holding the toilet down and sucks on it until I come dashing over and say, "Gross" or "Icky", and remove it from his hand. He just smiles. He knows exactly what all these words mean but seems to think they don't apply to him. He does the same thing with the plunger. I've started pinesoling both every time I wash the bathroom. I have also become an exceptionally adept blocker while rinsing poopy diapers in the toilet, so he doesn't climb up and try to stick his hands in the toilet. It's like a dance. My body moving around the toilet as he goes from one side to the open side, gently pushing him away with my foot, while my hands speedily rinse, remove the diaper to the sink, and flush.

* The clingy stage has begun. He wants to be carried around quite often, especially when he can't see what I'm doing on top of a counter. He climbs up my legs and whines for me to pick him up, and if I don't succumb, he head-butts my legs instead. He's tried this on the slider door as well. Alas his efforts are never fruitful there. ;)

* Freedom is my child's middle name. Any apparatus where we have to strap him in is guaranteed to produce screams. He is pacified by quickly snatching the keys while I buckle, then screams again when I take them away to drive the car. Oh what a vicious cycle. Maybe we need to work on sharing.

* Peanut has experienced his first real cold. His snot filled nose has run a marathon over most of my shirts and pants and all of our blankets and furniture.

*You will be rewarded with this one if you have read this far...yesterday I was rearranging his room again and had taken the fish bowl off of the dresser while I moved it. I forgot to put it back..dun dun dun.  As I'm putting things away I hear a splash, and see Peanut kneeling with hands gripping a tipped fish bowl as the water and fish spill over his head, and into his open, crying mouth, and onto the carpet. I  had to pick up a fish off of the floor rush to the sink and toss it in some tap water. Yes, I left the baby crying, on the floor. I rushed back to him next and tossed him in the tub also turning on the tap water. All are well. What a way to start the morning.

Now that I have written a small novel for this post I'll sign off with this: We are having a grand old time playing, laughing, growing and making a giant mess. It is wonderful to be a mother and it's wonderful to have a son.