Nine-month Check-up

Henry just had his nine-month check-up yesterday, so I thought now would be a good time to do an update.

First, the stats. He's 30.5 inches tall and 22 pounds -- about 95th percentile for height and 75th for weight. (His head, however, is at about the 50th percentile.)

He's been cutting teeth lately and now has six -- three on the top and three on the bottom. And grinding them together is such fun!

He still isn't really eating solids. We offer them to him every other day or so, and he isn't crazy about the idea. But hey, he can drink water through a straw!

He looks through books and gets frustrated if he can't turn the pages. When I come over and read to him he gets really happy and studies the pages carefully.













(Note that in the second photo the book is upside down.)

What's interesting (well, to me anyway) is that for all the stuff he puts in his mouth and chews on, he never chews on his books.

His babbling now has inflection. His pitch rises and falls just like he's really talking...which of course he is. If only we understood him!

He gives kisses...big, open-mouth, sloppy, wet kisses. (Note to Henry, and all babies: It's just not cool to french your mom.)

When I attempt to put a basket of his clean diapers together, he loves to "help" by pulling them out and spilling them on the floor.

He has discovered -- and enjoys shredding -- toilet paper.



(Another note to Henry and all babies: It is also not cool to eat toilet paper.)

He has this habit of biting my clothing -- he'll expose his teeth, grab on to some cloth with them, and pull. Sometimes he accidentally gets my skin, so I've been trying to use my best Stern Mommy voice to tell him "NO BITING."

He head-bangs to Raffi. Seriously. And the other day he was playing with his toy piano, sitting in front of it, leaning forward to tap it with his fingers, then rocking back and nodding his head, then leaning forward again. He looked just like Chris Martin from Coldplay. I was so proud.

He uses his index finger to turn pages in his board books and nudge tiny pieces of anything he finds on the floor. He also sometimes puts the same finger up in the air and chuckles when I touch my index finger to his and say, "Boop!" Hey, anything for a laugh.

He gets into absolutely everything



















and my oldest stepson has dubbed him P.O.D., or Path of Destruction.

When he finds something small he shouldn't have, he holds it tightly in his hot little hand. When I see his closed fist I get suspicious.

He's been standing unassisted for a few seconds, and I'm sure his first steps will happen soon.

Sleeping is not the greatest.



















Isn't that right, Henry?

But mostly he's a happy, curious, silly, smart and sweet little boy. We got lucky.