Valentine

It has been a while since I posted, but that is more likely related to me feeling suffocated by the unacceptable freezing weather the last few weeks. Also, Adam has recently had a hard time sitting still and smiling for pictures, as he has realized he has far more important things to do. So it's becoming more and more difficult for me to get ones of him looking at the camera and smiling.

Sigh. I knew this day would come. :)

Adam had his 9 month check-up on Monday. He weighed in at 21 pounds, 2.5 ounces and is 29 3/4 inches tall. He's still in the 90% percentile for height and 75% for weight. When we went to watch the Superbowl this year at Kirsten and Bryan's house, another baby was there who was 16 months old - 7 months older than Adam. Adam was almost his height and definitely weighed more than the other little boy.

The father of the other little boy called Adam a little "linebacker," and I have to admit that seeing them side by side did summon that image. There he was next to a kid twice his age and without the very obvious "baby face" that Adam has, it would have been difficult to tell who was older. Adam is by no means fat, and is already losing what little baby fat he had to begin with, but he is extremely muscular and tall... and strong. Earlier this week we saw him almost do a pull up while hanging onto his highchair.

Adam's favorite thing to do is wave (my dad taught him that one and he's a pro at it now) - his wave doesn't involve any wrist or hand movements, but a desperate attempt to stick one arm as high up in the air as possible. Today Adam has begun to say "mama" when he actually means me. Also in his vocabulary is "baba," "dada," "adoo," and when he really has something on his mind, he can put together a string of syllables like nobody's business. And today, he said what sounded like an attempt at "elephant" in response to the TV. He knows what "no" means, and will listen sometimes - but if you're asking him to put down something really interesting (like the bathtub stopper or the cords behind the TV), well then, you might just be asking too much.

He can stand up without help for a couple of seconds at a time, and even took an unassisted step from the couch to the coffee table (he fell when he got there but caught himself before he hit the ground). He's quicker than you would ever think a crawler could be . . . and yesterday almost discovered what scotch tasted like when Shannon left his glass where he thought it was out of reach while he made a quick trip in and out of the kitchen. According to Shannon, Adam was two feet away from the table when he left the room, and when he came back 5-10 seconds later Adam had the scotch in hand and halfway to his lips. Whose brilliant idea was it to teach him how to drink from a "big person" glass, anyway? (oh yeah, that was me.)

He can no longer be contained in the family room and wants to roam the rest of the house, which means that putting off baby-proofing is no longer an option. But the moment we get one section baby-proofed, he's desperate to move on to the next part of the house.

He prefers to feed himself and sometimes would choose not to eat over having "baby" food. His favorite is still meatloaf, and he's definitely a carnivore. I suppose you need a ton of protein to fuel those muscles he's building. Today at lunch he tried chicken enchiladas and liked taking bites off of mom's plate . . . but not nearly as much as he like people watching and socializing in the restaurant.

He was yelling to another baby in a highchair 4 or 5 tables down. It's a good thing it was mostly families in the restaurant.

 After lunch, we came home and played outside while Shannon washed his truck. Adam really enjoyed being outside when there wasn't any white crap on the ground.

my new favorite picture of Adam

He really liked that bucket - even more so when it was full of water and bubbles.

mischievous

After exploring in his walker and attempting to steal the bucket of bubbles, Adam and Caley sat down for a picnic.

This is what Shannon calls his "Dr. Evil" look.

He looks unhappy here, but it's really just the sun in his eyes.

Caley soon became Adam's jungle gym.

Then Caley was put in charge of Adam's puffs.

"Here, Caley, hold onto these for me."

She takes her job very seriously.

Reliable Caley protected the puffs and didn't eat any.

Shannon and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day - it's not a hard and fast rule, but it seems to sneak up on us every year, costs money that doesn't really need to be spent (we do enough eating out every other day of the year - and don't have to fight every couple in Dallas in the process) and usually it is more of a hassle than a treat. But since it's Adam's first, I wanted to do something for him -- so I got him a balloon. He has cheerfully tossed it around and tackled it when it crosses his path.

Tonight we plan to take advantage of the nicer weather and grill some steaks. It has been a nice, relaxing day - I just wish that tomorrow wasn't Monday.