sport-o

Amazing how a baseball cap makes a booboo look like a real little boy. John picked this up for Paudie at the Red Sox game Tuesday night and I must say, it really suits him.

This pic was taken on our back deck. We bought the walker at a garage sale - they aren't easy to find in stores. I know a lot of docs hate them - not sure if it's the risk for tumbling down the stairs or concerns of putting too much pressure on baby's legs - but Paudie loves to motor around it so there you have it.

Paudie went to the beach for the first time last weekend and it was a smashing success. Not only does he love sand, he appears to at least for now, know better than to eat it. He is content to just sit and let it sift through his hands. We have a sandbox out back and he was playing by himself in it for close to a half hour the other night which was totally awesome for us. Paudie is into everything right now. It's exhausting to have to keep pulling him away from the TV and other sharp cornered/heavy objects -no matter where you sit him, he can make his way back to wherever he is not supposed to be in about 5 crawling steps. Damn 1920s colonial.

We are road tripping to see my family in upstate NY for the week. Will be great from everyone to see and get to really interact with him. Everyone but the dog that is since they are the same size and weight now. He - Paudie, not the dog - actually waved last night and did some crude hand clapping. John and I were ecstatic. It's like we don't really believe he is going to make normal developmental milestones. Not sure at what point that disbelief will end for us. I suspect slash hope his 1st birthday which is only about 9 weeks away.

Paudie still sleeps with us and refuses to drift off before 9:30. I wonder if this all falls into what our ped referred to as creating a 'vulnerable child.' Hmmm...

Paudie gets inked

Check out Paudie's tat. He got his temp ink at a lemonade stand fundraiser our good friend Ivy had at her house two weeks ago. He looked pretty badass with it and I had to wonder, is this a sign of things to come? Anyhoo we finally scrubbed it off this week.

Things are quiet in Paudie land. We think his two front teeth are going to be making some noise soon. Eating still is lackluster. Doc said not to worry and just keep on him with different options. At 9 months, Paudie clocked in at over 31 inches (99%) and 21 lbs (55%). To quote the good doctor - okay so I'm paraphrasing - giraffes have baby giraffes. I guess I understand that intellectually, I just wish he loved food as much as we do.

Nights are getting easier - we finally have given up and just let him stay up as late as he wants, usually 9:30. I know, not great parenting but we just got tired of making him angry for two hours as we try to enforce an appropriate bedtime.

unsteady yet strikingly overconfident

Those terms come to mind to describe Paudie these days. He has learned to pull himself up into a standing position and can even make his way around the perimeter of his crib and pack n' play - just barely. He often gets sidetracked by a toy and as soon as one hand goes off the edge, the wobbling sets in. Knees like rubber. And then he's down. But his overconfidence is inspiring. He only started to stand on Monday and last night he was trying to climb up the outside of the pack n' play. Maybe it's a boy thing, but it was pretty brazen I thought considering two days ago the best he could do was roll and creep.

I can finally say that teeth are coming. I know I've been talking about them for a long time but they are on their way - you can't exactly see the pearly whites, but you can feel them - very sharp and seemingly ridiculously crooked under his gum. If one were to refer to normal teeth as horizontal in nature, I would characterize what I see in his mouth as vertical. Sort of Appalachian-like. I guess he probably will inherit my bad teeth. While my husband was blessed with perfectly straight teeth, I was not so lucky. I was one of those adolescents with way too many teeth in all the wrong places. Teeth upon teeth. Had to have 4 adult teeth removed even before braces. It's all really unfortunate as I am sure braces will cost about $5000 by the time he is ready for them. We may have to send him to a makeover show for some free dental work instead. Lumineers anyone?

We are off to the doctor on Tuesday morning. I like well visits. I like our doctor, he makes me feel calm and normal. Which is huge these days. My main questions have to do around our boy's poor eating habits. And the gagging which has returned as of last week. Two full-on barf sessions last week spurred by puffies. We went to Ikea this weekend and picked up some full body suit bibs - sort of like straight jackets. If we can't prevent the barf, perhaps we can just make the clean up a little bit easier for ourselves.