First Steps

Adam has taken an occasional step here and there to get from one piece of furniture to the next (really it has been more of a lunging/lean to the next piece of furniture with his legs just following along). I have never really counted this as "stepping," but more along the lines of Adam just being Adam. More recently he has been working on his balance, frequently standing holding nothing for several minutes at a time. Today he decided to put it all together. Tay, Lisa, Adam and I were all playing in the kitchen (Adam loves to throw balls in there because they roll so far on the tile floor). Adam was standing holding on to the refrigerator, which was just between Lisa and I. He turned to face Lisa, pulled his hands off of the fridge and put his arms out in front of him to gain his balance. He had a look of seriousness and determination on his face that I really don't think I have ever seen. He had clearly decided he was going to walk. He took four very slow, determined steps (all with his arms straight out like a mummy). I can't emphasize enough how deliberate and thought out each movement appeared. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, and he did it. Lisa and I were both cheering and laughing. I got so choked up. I just can't believe it. My little man is walking!

First Tooth

Adam's first tooth poked through the gum today. It's his bottom right one. I will post pics of it once there is enough to catch a picture of. For now, you have to really be looking for it! What a big boy!

9 Months Old!

It is so hard to believe that our little man is nine months old now. In some ways it feels like we just brought our fragile little baby home from the hospital, and in other ways it feels like I have loved him my whole life. I guess the intensity of love that comes with being a mom is just a part of this journey. The fact that I have only known this love for nine months is what is baffling. He is such a part of my heart it just feels like he has been in there forever.
His 9 month check up went well. He is 23.2 lbs and 30 1/4 inches. He is still 95th percentile in height, but is really slimming down-all the way down to 75th percentile in weight! Tall (and handsome) just like Daddy! I'm assuming that the slowing of his weight gain is largely due to the fact that he never stops moving. He is crawling everywhere, and gaining speed by the day.
He eats like a champ. Still nursing quite a bit (probably 6 or so times in 24 hours) and loves to eat. He is eating a fair amount of table food now. We feed him bits of almost anything we're eating. He loves bits of meat, but still prefers his fruits and vegetable pureed. Of course, he has no teeth, so watching him gum at whatever we give him is part of the amusement of dining with Adam.

He loves throwing a ball, watching it roll, and then following it just to do it all over again.

He loves the rocking horse Mimi and Doodad got him for Christmas. He loves to push the ears... resulting in a neighing or clopping/horse trotting sound.

Pool time is a favorite, especially if Taylor is over for a swim. If you ask Tay to say cheese this scrunched up smile is what you get!

Playing in the pool with Daddy

The swing in the backyard is also a favorite of Taylor and Adam's.

We had a pile of laundry in the family room. "Uncle J" and Taylor got creative... this is how Lisa and I found Taylor after just a few minutes of play time with Jason. (those are two bibs fastened together over her chest and Jason's shirt on her head.)


Just before Adam turned 9 months I decided I was finally ready to move him into his crib at night (he had been sleeping in there for weeks at nap time). I had read a half a dozen books on the subject, and we had even tried it a couple of nights in late June (those two nights were horrendous. He was up nearly every 45 minutes with either J or I walking him or feeding him). We set the date for when J had a long weekend so that he could participate in the event. The day arrived. I was a wreck. During a long afternoon nap I did nothing but cry and reread portions of the sleeping books and sleep advice on-line. Finally, I called our pediatrician (who I LOVE). She called me back that evening and gave me a pep talk, telling me basically exactly what I needed to hear. She also emphasized that waking every two hours wasn't good for Adam, and that if he was waking so often at 16-18 months old it could affect his well being/development. This I could cling to. She advised that I either sit on the patio and drink wine or leave the house all together the first evening that we carried out our plan. (she talked us into the "extinction method," where we put him in his crib and don't go back into his room (I outright refused to not go back in all night... she then suggested I start with 6 hours, then go in, feed him, and put him back in his crib awake). I was worried that Adam would feel abandoned, so I asked poor, sweet Jason to sleep on Adam's floor the first two nights. Then Adam would know that we were there, regardless of the fact that we were not responding to his cries. Night came. We put Adam in his crib. I was a mess. I went to bed and turned on an industrial fan (and got my second stretch of five consecutive hours of sleep since having Adam). Adam cried 35 minutes, then put himself to sleep (sitting up/head slumped onto his chest). He cried a few more times that first and second night (and Jason came to get me for a feeding after 6 hours). The first night he cried out for a few 20 minute intervals, by the second night the crying bouts were both less frequent and shorter (Jason couldn't tell me exactly how long, because he was able to sleep so well despite the crying two feet away.) By the third night we had ourselves a good little sleeper. Life is grand! We have our little bedtime routine of a bath, two books, then he nurses. I can set him into his bed awake. He rolls right onto his stomach and puts himself to sleep. If he's not quite ready to sleep he barely fusses. Instead he plays with the rain forest crib attachment or the little blue teddy bear that stays in his crib. He still nurses a couple of times through the night, which doesn't bother me in the slightest. I'm happy to have the snuggle time with him and I am still getting more sleep than I've had in months! He is still taking two naps a day. I would love to drop the morning nap to have more play time, but he's not ready. He needs his sleep. He sleeps until somewhere between 8-9:30 a.m. Goes back down within an hour and a half or two hours. Up again for a few hours then back down. His evening stretches are the longest with a good 4-5 hours of happy baby time!

A few months back when we baby proofed we put locks on the kitchen cabinets. We decided not to lock the cabinets with the tupperware/mixing bowls and pots and pans. Adam has just recently discovered he has access to all of these wonderful things and has a hay day when he decides to empty out the cabinets!

He is actually trying to crawl over the mixing bowl here.

This is actually another new trick. He likes to pull the stool out from the island and push it around the kitchen... holding onto it he is able to steady himself and walk. Most of the time he seems so content to just crawl everywhere, but then he occasionally decides it's time to walk. In this pic he had reached a dead end-the fridge.



Adam's first year at the state fair

Adam eating elephant ear. He loved it, but I actually think he preferred the pieces of Taylor's chicken strips and J's breaded tenderloin even more than the elephant ear. Crazy little carnivore!