William: Nine Months!

Well, I'm not exactly punctual on this post, but I'm getting it up before William turns ten months, so that counts for something, right? I'd like to use the excuse that I've been putting off posting this because I don't want to admit that William is going to be double-digits next month, but really, I've just been too lazy busy to want to sit down and type out a recap of last month. Plus Darrell has been slow on getting the photos edited (it's been a while since I've used that excuse, right?). Anyway, without further excuses, here's our little buddy at nine months!

Highlights from the past month:

--He weighed in at seventeen pounds, eleven ounces at his well-baby visit. We were a little surprised by that (only up a pound and an ounce from six months) because this kid can EAT, but our doctor isn't concerned, so we aren't concerned (all I can say is that he must have a crazy ridiculous metabolism--he's going to eat us out of house and home when he's a teenager if this keeps up). He's up to 27.5 inches, which is still a little on the short side, but he comes by that honestly.

--As I mentioned, William can put away some serious food. And he's pretty non-discriminate. I think we've gone through just about every fresh fruit and vegetable that you can buy in South Dakota during the dead of winter; new foods this month include broccoli, spinach, cantaloupe, and pineapple (although the pineapple may have caused a little diarrhea/vomiting episode, so we haven't gone back to it since).

--Adding to his inability to put on weight is the fact that he has gotten incredibly mobile. Over Christmas he started getting up on his hands and knees to crawl, and pretty well had it mastered within a week. Of course, given the option, he'd still rather hold on to your fingers and walk. He also loves to pull himself up on stuff and attempt to climb--we discovered somewhat unintentionally that given the opportunity he will easily climb up a staircase.

--William now has two teeth, the bottom middle ones. Cutting them wasn't awful.... But it wasn't exactly a walk in the park either. Let's just say that it wasn't a mystery they were coming in and leave it at that.

--Despite being way behind "average" in his communication for a nine month old, William has definitely been improving. In addition to some normal babbling, he also likes to coo like a dove and roll his "R"s (and yes, I know he isn't actually rolling his r's, but that's what it sounds like. So that's what we're going with).

--Lastly, it seems that William is not having any issues with his eyesight. The smaller the crumb, the more likely he is to try to get it. We've seriously watched him crawl past larger crumbs to go after the smallest one. My biggest issue with this? I have to be ridiculously meticulous about what is on our floors. Because once he gets his hands on something, it goes straight into his mouth. And the smaller the object, the harder it is to fish out of his mouth.

And now, a picture story showcasing William's personality:

This picture-taking business isn't so bad. Especially when I have my toes to keep me company.

Okay, I think I'm ready to be done. I see you making those goofy faces and I'm really trying to laugh and smile, but all I really want to do is get off this chair and get away from this bear.

Ooh, wait, a bear? He might be interesting for a little bit. I wonder what he'll do if I poke him in the eye?

Okay, for real, I'm done now, get me out of here or I jump!!