9 Month Visit at 10 Months

I took DS to the doctor for his 9 month visit...which was actually a few weeks late, making it more like 10 months...
Growth Chart numbers are as follows:
Length: 30 1/2 in., 90th percentile
Weight: 22 lbs. 8 oz, 65th percentile
Head Circumference: 17 3/4 in, 35th percentile
Conclusion: Still tall, but weight and head circumference are evening out a bit...

Above I attempted to upload a video...this is my first video attempt, so let's hope it works for everyone...

DS was invited to play in his friend's kiddie pool. They had a grand time splashing. Now comes the challenge: Teaching him where it is appropriate to splash... In a kiddie pool on the padio: Fine! In the bathtub: Not fine!

Tahoe

Once again, it's high time I get some of these pics out before they get too backed up...

We had a wonderful week in California at Lake Tahoe. It was about a 10 hour drive, so we decided to split it up between 2 days. 10 hours is a lot of time to spend in a car, especially when you are traveling with a little one. DS actually did quite well...he slept a lot of the way, and when he was awake he was generally okay if he had biscuits or crackers to munch on...

We did quite a bit of hiking. Tahoe is a beautiful area with ski resorts all around. Naturally, it was much too warm to ski.

Ollie and Beau came along for the ride. They had a great time hiking, too. They were pretty mellow by the end of the week...It takes an awful lot of activity for them to get that way.

Here we are hiking on Mount Rose, the highest peak around the lake, overlooking Lake Tahoe. We were quite thankful for sunblock...







Still hiking on Mount Rose...it was quite a bit cooler than we had anticipated...cold enough for the snow to still be lingering...



Lunch break...








After long days of hiking, we enjoyed floating in the pool. DS is becoming quite the independent little man. He loved standing on the step by himself and splashing. If I got too close, he would push my hands away as if to say, "You're spoiling my fun, Mom!" However, occasionally, he would venture off the step that was shallow enough for him to stand. Then, he was quite glad I was close by! Silly boy.

Our resort had bikes we could borrow for a few hours...for free! Not being ones to ever pass up a free offer, we couldn't resist. :) We rode about 17 miles or so on a bike path that followed a creek...It was a pretty ride, but DS doesn't remember much of it since he slept most of the way.



We took a day off from hiking and went on a boat cruise around the lake. With the water being crystal clear and 98% clean, many people who live around the lake actually pump lake water into their homes to drink. I know that is a pretty good percentage, but I have to wonder about the other 2%.

DS is usually easily entertained, especially when daddy is wearing his funny hat! :)






Yet another hike up to a really beautiful place to sit and have lunch.

And DS took some time exploring one rock...






All in all, it was a really great trip, but we are happy to be home again. We have only lived in our house about 3 weeks in the past 7, so it has been nice to get settled back in and start to think about a normal routine again. And, tomorrow my classes start...Woo hoo!!!

On a more serious note, my dear grandpa passed away while we were exploring Tahoe. He was not well and was very much looking forward to "going home." Naturally, it was always hard to loose a dear family member, but we celebrate that he is no longer in misery and has reached his eternal home. We look forward to one day seeing him again!

Blueberries and Books

I try to make a conscious effort not to discuss poopie diapers on a regular basis. Although they are a large part of my life right now, I understand that most people I come into contact with would rather not hear about it. This one, however, is note-worthy. I introduced DS to blueberries last evening. I took some blueberries out of the freezer, thawed them, and pureed them up as I do with most of his food. He loved them and ate the whole bowl-full. Then, today for lunch, I was racking my brain for some fruit to give him when I remembered the positive experience we had with blueberries last evening. So, once again, I pulled some out of the freezer, thawed them, and pureed them up. Once again, he loved them and ate the whole bowl-full. This afternoon, I saw the first blue poop I have ever seen. It was a beautiful deep blue...like a midnight blue. Okay, okay, enough said...

Here is a picture of DS reading his books. He first will cruise around the furniture (yes, he is now walking along furniture...still crawling very slowly in the style of an inch-worm, but walking rather quickly along furniture) and end up in the corner where we keep a stack of his books. Did I mention he loves books!?!

Speaking of books, I suppose this is a good time to mention that I am also going to be hitting the books. I have decided to go back to school. This summer, fall, and spring I will be taking some basic psychology courses as well as applying to the Doctor of Psychology program at the university where DH teaches. I am quite excited about the venture and am ready for the challenge. I have even borrowed some Intro to Psychology text books that I am now reading for fun! Imagine that, me reading text books for fun. That is definitely a first for me...but it is so interesting, I can't help myself!

Milestones and Such

DH is allergic to milk. And since there could possibly (nobody, including the medical field, knows for sure) be a genetic link, I was a little apprehensive about giving DS any dairy products. This morning I decided to face my fears. I gave him a cup of yogurt. It is now almost 3 hours later and so far so good! No emergency rushes to the hospital, no breaking out in hives, no severe diarrhea...I am hopeful!

Yesterday morning I was beside myself. At 9 months, DS hadn't figured out how to crawl. All he wanted to do was to stand or walk. The problem comes in when he doesn't know how to stand up himself, and he can't walk without taking my fingers with him, which starts to hurt after a while. These things he needs to learn! Instead of trying to figure it out, he throws an enormous fit...already showing signs of having a very strong will...hmmmm, I wonder where he gets that from?? So, last evening, I finally had a "light bulb moment". I built a tower of toys, something I have done for him many, many times...he loves knocking over towers. Boy, did he start squirming, trying desperately to reach the tower. He was so proud of himself when he knocked it over. So I built another tower about a foot away...and he started squirming again until he reached the tower. And again, and again, and again. I was so excited! DS, on the other hand, was working very hard and was starting to get pretty worn out. After all, bed time was approaching as well. So, we headed to bed. He must have been quite worn out because this morning he slept in a whole hour. I don't remember the last time I was able to sleep in to 8:30! So now for the next stage: making sure he doesn't get into everything! Ah, the joys of parenting.

DS now has 4 teeth...but not the 4 that you would assume he would have. He got the bottom front two teeth first, which is relatively normal. Then, he got 2 top teeth at the same time, but not the front two. The top left front tooth and the next one toward the back of the mouth are the two of choice. We have yet to see traces of the top right front tooth.

Beau has seen fit to hide. Not sure what the reason is, but we will occasionally see him peeking out at us from his various hiding places as if to say, "You can't see me!"

Traveling Fun

Well, it's high time I send out some pics. We had a nice 3-week visit to Pennsylvania. These are just a few of many highlights...for more pics from the trip, click on the link to the right of my blog page that says "DS's Photo Gallery". The 3 weeks flew by and before we knew it we were back to Oregon. We missed some people we had hoped to hook up with, but I am learning that is just life when you live so far away. Too many people, not enough time. We did, however, have a wonderful time with the family and friend visits we were able to work into the schedule. This first picture is my dear brother and his new bride...and party. It was a beautiful wedding and they had a nice trip to St. Thomas are now getting settled in their Virginia home...I wish them the best!!! (P.S. I can't wait to see the pics from the trip!)

We spent lots of time with my dear sister and her family, who came in from Africa to attend the wedding. This was such cherished time as naturally, we are by no means next-door neighbors! In fact, our time difference is 7 hours, which makes it challenging to even schedule phone calls when we are both awake. DS and his dear cousin Thomas enjoyed each other's company as they got acquainted.

DS loves books...especially when Grandma reads them! They had some special moments sitting and reading together.













We had a nice trip to NY to see DH's grandparents. This was their first time meeting DS, which was also very special!

















Here are just some fun play pics...more special times.













Cows. We had cows. Long story...enough said! :)







And this would be DS crashed out...He was quite worn out and ready to sleep in his own bed again when we got home...as were we. It was a wonderful trip, but it is always nice to come home again!

Hiking in the Buff

We headed out for a family-day field trip before heading back to PA for a family wedding and other family and friend visits. After rushing home from church and packing up some food, water, and anything else we just might need in the next 8 hours (We might need to buy a bigger car...never know what kind of storms may suddenly hit this time of year...), we took a nice leisurely drive to a place called Silver Falls State Park. When we got there, we made sure everyone's bellies were full and bladders were empty and off we went! We embarked on an approx. 8 mile loop that led us to 10 different spectacular waterfalls...not quite 7-wonders-of-the-world material like Niagra Falls, but spectacular none-the-less. Actually, there were more than 10, but the others were little bitty trickles compared to the 10 main ones.

DS enjoyed the day. He just rode along most of the time, enjoying the scenery. He started to get pretty warm at one point, so we stripped him down...hence "the buff." He was able to catch some cat naps as we went, but he seemed to wake up every time the trail led us right behind the waterfall where we caught a lot of mist and wind! My engineer husband was pretty excited about how the wind was caused by the water falling and pushing the air out of the way...he mentioned modeling it somehow...perhaps in a lab for one of his classes. I was fascinated, but slightly less enthusiastic. :)

We returned happy and exhausted, as all good family field days should end.

Pearlie Whites

After seemingly months of unexplainable fussiness and downright miserableness, we finally have something to show for it! DS has his first tooth peeping through. I can only assume that there are more to come...