Monday, April 30, 2007

The more teeth they get, the closer to non-babyhood they appear. I still freak out when I see Caspian's teeth.

Quick Facts About Caspian:
- pulls up/over on everything
- sits up in his sleep all the time (then flops back and smacks me in the face)
- says "dada" all the time
- frequently uses paci/etc. as a tool to bang objects and surfaces
- wore his first shoes on Sunday and had to fold his legs up to fit against the seat back in his infant carseat
- started wearing his OneSize opened all the way out (unfolded) this weekend

Caspian tried roll, soft baked potato, mashed potato, green beans, and pudding this weekend. The only thing he didn't gag on or spit out was the vanilla pudding.

His newest phase is shrieking. Loudly. Very, very loudly. Oh, yeah -- and only when we're in public, like at a restaurant. He just gets so excited, he lets it all out verbally.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

HAPPY 9 MONTHS TO CASPIAN!

I tried Diet Coke Plus (added vitamins and minerals), and I am happy to announce that it tastes the same. Until it comes in caffeine-free, however, I will have to get my vitamins elsewhere.

Yesterday we read Caspian's 5-page animal sounds book 6 or 7 times in a row. We'll have to get another, longer animal book! He also enjoys his photo album.

We played on the playground next door for the first time yesterday. It was just so beautiful, I couldn't resist. The only sunblock I had on hand was my SPF 50 sport stuff, so he wore that and a hat. He really enjoyed the swing, especially when I made faces at him. He couldn't have cared less about the slide or the rocking horse, but that may have been because he was so distracted by two other little boys who came over to play too.

He didn't have any socks on when he fell asleep for his morning nap, so I put a pair of my footies on him -- they go up to his knees! I'll have to post a picture later.

Does purposeful biting mean he's trying to wean? He doesn't bite while nursing -- he stops nursing and then bites me on purpose. I tell him "No biting; that hurts mommy!" and remove myself. He still thinks it's funny, but he's starting to understand a little now, since I stopped giving him second chances at biting. As soon as he tries biting me again, I close up shop.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Pediatrics.about.com says he's in the 35th %ile for weight, 50th for height, and 57th for head. Can someone please explain to me where all the bigger babies are? Everyone always comments on how "big" Caspian is , and I've rarely seen babies that much bigger than Caspian, even if they're older!

I forgot to mention: at his ped appointment, Caspian casually bit my finger...and left dents! I can still see the little teeth marks, but he didn't break skin.

Last night, he ate little bits of french fry and soft roll and boiled egg yolk. He'd grab a little piece with his right hand, then grab his right hand with his left and bring the piece to his mouth. A lot of times, it'd roll off the back of his hand or bounce off his chin, but when I tried putting pieces in his mouth, he'd "pouch" the pieces in his gums after chewing on them. I know he swallowed some, because he coughed and gagged a little (even though the pieces were teensy tiny). He tolerated (even enjoyed?) Charlie and me eating dinner immensely more than usual.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Check out the Monster Booty pants in the gallery!


We finally got our pics downloaded from our trip to Virginia two weeks ago. Here are some! There are more in certain MySpace comment sections.

Caspian met Great-Grandma Jacobs


Caspian's 1st taste of Vietnamese -- Aunt Stephanie


becoming reacquainted with Uncle Stu


demonstrating proper warm-up techniques -- are you watching?


We also had our 9-month ped visit today. He's 20 pounds exactly, 28½" long, and 18" around the head.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Caspian's newest food adventure: cucumbers. He gnawed on thick slices of peeled cucumber at a friend's on Saturday. As soon as he'd bit through a piece, we'd get him a new one. They were cold, so he really enjoyed it.

As of this weekend, he's officially crawling! (hands and knees and a little belly) If he can reach it by stretching or flopping-and-stretching, he doesn't bother with the excess movement. When we put his paci a few feet away, though, he went straight for it. + + + + = crawling
Poor thing crawled under my office chair this afternoon, trying to get a ball. He started crying, so I looked down and saw that his head was butted up against the release lever for raising my seat...he was upset because he couldn't get closer to the ball and didn't know why!

Last night I dreamed that someone told me that the rest of Caspian's teeth would come in any day now. When I woke up the next morning in my dream, he had all of his teeth! When I called that person to tell them, she said, "Well, I said it would happen overnight!" In reality, he just has four front teeth: two top and two bottom.

Mr. Man must be having his 9 month growth spurt, because he took his first nap from 8:30-11 this morning, instead of just 8:30-9! (me too ) He also ate for almost 20 minutes, which he hasn't done in a long time.

I stood Caspian up on my legs this morning and realized that his head is above mine when I do that now.

One more bit of proof that Caspian's a redhead like his mommy -- inexplicable bruises below his left knee. I get bruises all the time and wonder where they came from, and I am equally stumped at his!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Caspian crawled across the bed yesterday! Well, it wasn't really crawling so much as a flopping of sorts. I put my cell phone, his paci, and the sock he'd pulled off about half the length of the bed away from him to see what he would do. He started out on all fours, hopped his knees forward, then stretched out on his belly and see if his hands could reach yet. He repeated it a couple of times before he could actually reach. He also pulled himself into a stand using our back pillow. It was a pretty exciting afternoon.

He's started "weird laughing" in his sleep again during his naps, and it really freaks me out! He hasn't done it in so long, and it sounds like a weird gasping noise at first.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Mini-Updates:
  • He loves to explore strands of my hair. He'll pick up a piece with his fingers, then run his fingers all the way to the end of its length. He holds it up and examines it closely -- sometimes one strand, sometimes a whole hank.
  • He's very responsive to "Let go, please" (thank goodness). It works with toys, straps, cats, human flesh, whatever. I used it consistently, even when he was tiny, instead of just saying "no" and prying his fingers open. It's less frustrating for everyone when we differentiate between the generic "no" and a specific desired action. And it works!
  • Whenever you bounce him on your knee or in your arms, Caspian hum/growls. He starts up when the bouncing starts, since he's realized that it makes his voice vibrate!
We just got back from a trip to Virginia to introduce Caspian to his remaining great-grandparent (Charlie's grandma) and to see Stuart and Steph. The trip was great, but we're all beat. Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday morning were all spent driving, and Saturday was a whirlwind of driving and shopping. It wasn't intended to be a relaxing vacation anyway, but it's exhausting going-going-going for six days and not even getting a weekend at the end of it. Caspian actually slept through the night on the trip, every night but one! That was nice. He also flirted with every single person we encountered. We went to IKEA with S&S, and it made me glad we don't have a house to furnish -- so I don't regret IKEA being so far away. We got a few awesome things, though. It's so cheap there!

On the trip back we encountered every possible weather condition: sun, cloudiness, high winds, rain, sleet, hail, and snow! Caspian slept for 3½ hours, woke for 30 minutes, slept for 2½ hours, woke for a couple hours, then fell asleep again. Charlie and I kept checking on him to make sure he was okay, but we think he must just be growing. I actually got to ride up front for most of the return trip (for the first time in 9 months), so when Caspian woke up he couldn't find me. Even though I called to him and told him to look in his mirror, he kept craning his neck to see the captain's chair next to his.

He's working on teeth #4 and 5, on either side of his current top tooth. Now that two teeth connect, he's always clicking them together when he's thinking.

I was writing about his not having had a dirty diaper since Easter (and that all the car travel might be partially resposible), but he had TWO thoroughly poopy diapers in a row last night! Hooray for poopy!

Click on "search inside" to see an excerpt of this hilarious new book: Porn for Women

Oh my gosh! He just now took one crawling "step" (knee) forward...but that foot hooked onto the other foot, so he couldn't crawl any further. I'm sure it wasn't anything, but still...