who wouldn't love this face?

It's that time again; time for another Wesley update.

Wowsers. The little tyke is 9 months old. I can't believe it. Recent stats: 15.1 lbs (under the third percentile), 27 inches long (20th percentile), 43.5 cm head circumference (third percentile).

New pictures on google picasa here.

When I was pregnant, I got a bunch of goodie bags from my OB's office, and in one of them was this cute "Picture Me One" book. It's a board book with slots for pictures, and you write in milestones when your baby hits them. I thought I'd recap what Wesley's book says so far:

• Smile, 1 month
• Hold up head, 1 month
• Grab toy, 2.5 months
• Clasp hands, 3 months
• Laugh, 4 months
• First tooth, 4 months
• Roll over, 4 months
• Pass toy between hands, 5 months
• Crawl, 7.5 months
• Stand (pull up), 8 months
• Pincer grasp, 9 months
• Cruise, 9 months

Recent developments:

• He LOVES Cheerios. WOW. I can't give him enough. He probably eats a cup at a time.
• He still doesn't really get the concept of a sippy cup. He plays with it; it's just another toy. We're trying our second brand, with our third brand already purchased and waiting to be tried, to find one that he actually takes to.
• The doctor is a bit worried about his weight, so we have to up his meals to FIVE A DAY and get him reweighed in a couple weeks.
• The newest foods include yogurt, mango, and biter biscuits (what a mess!). Broccoli and peaches are next on the menu. His favorites are peas, mixed vegetables, and acorn squash, oddly all vegetables. He hates green beans. I keep trying and still no luck. He also is taking forever getting used to oatmeal.
• He's sleeping most magically: all through the night for at least the last week or two. He goes down at 7 or 8 pm and I don't hear a peep until until 7 or 8 am. It ROCKS.
• He's doing lots of babbling. "Dadadadadada" and "Bababababa," not quite many "Mamamama"s, but some. It's hilarious just to listen to him talk.
• He entertains himself so well. I love it. Now that he is crawling and can grab toys he wants and wander around, he really engages himself in different way. It's so fun to watch him and see his little mind work.
• I bought him some alphabet blocks awhile ago from Value Village, and thrown in the bag were some additional wooden "builder blocks," like triangles and alphabet-block-sized cylinders. His favorites are these long, skinny rectangle blocks. We have three or so, and he loves them. He always has one. He chews on them, he uses them to hit other things (like, pretending they're hammers or something), or he just waves them around. Funny!
• His stands up a LOT, and his knees are really wobbly. As a result, it looks like he's dancing or something, and it's HILARIOUS. Shane and I can't even take video of him because we're laughing too hard.
• I think he really knows and enjoys our bedtime routine. We change him into PJs, then we read books together. No matter how fussy or squirmy or crazy he has been, I feel like he melts in my lap when I start reading books. He instantly calms down. Then dad gives him a kiss good night and I put him to sleep.
• I am still doing baby sign language, but he hasn't signed back. Darn. I have so many friends that tell me not to give up! Shane laughs at me, but I'm still trying. We do lots of signs: eat, food, more, all done, book, hot, cold, bath, wash, water, dirty, diaper, tired, sleep, cat, milk, mommy, daddy, and more I can't even think of right now. I'm really trying.
• When we lay him down on his crib or changing table, he likes to raise both his feet and pound them down. It's really funny. I have no idea why. But he does it a lot.
• He loves raspberries on his tummy. He giggles and giggles!

It is such a joy to get to know this little guy. I just can't imagine parenthood being any more fun than it is now. He's so amazing. And it's true, there's just this dimension of love that you don't know before you have a child. It's unlike anything I've ever felt. I feel so blessed.