Dr. Seuss says...

So, I've pretty much loved books my whole life (all 9-and-a-half months of it), especially my Dr. Seuss board books. I recently became a fan of "The Tooth Book," because I have two teeth of my own now!! That's right - my two bottom teeth finally sprouted! Mommy sneaked some pictures while I was having fun in my jumper.




































You can see my two bottom teeth in these pictures - they help me chew
on my Cheerios and other yummy things!


And as you can see, I love my Dr. Seuss books :)



































Otherwise, I've been really busy pulling myself up on the furniture and practicing slowly side-stepping up and down the couch and coffee table. Mommy and Daddy say I'll be walking soon, and I can't wait! Then I can finally get to all that hard-to-reach stuff on top of tables. That stuff is much more interesting than my toys.

I had my latest 9-month check-up last week, and I'm 17 lbs, 9 oz! Mommy and Daddy say that their muscles are getting big from carrying me around because I'm getting bigger and heavier, so the way I figure it, it's really a win-win situation - they get a workout, and I get lots of attention and get to be carried around! Sometimes, though, I let them have short breaks while I play on the floor or in my pack-n-play. I gotta keep working on my crawling and walking muscles, after all!

Well, I need to go work up my dinner appetite - I see a water bottle on the coffee table that I'd like to knock over onto the floor and play with. Until next time!

Milestones!

What a month! It's been a long time since my last post, but believe me, I've been really busy! Not only have I learned how to CRAWL (yes, you read that right), but I've also become an expert at eating Cheerios :) But I thought that since I'm turning 9 months old tomorrow, I should take a few minutes to fill you in and share some pictures...


















I have the greatest rattles - they make all SORTS of noise!



















Pardon my drool :)















I still really like playing in my jumper!


So, I crawled for the first time on April 30th. Mommy and Daddy kept trying to hold me on their laps, but I knew that if I could get on the floor and try to crawl again, I could do it. So I squirmed enough that Daddy let me down on the floor, and I did it! I crawled about halfway across the living room - Mommy grabbed the video camera and got some footage, but we haven't figured out how to post it. Sorry, folks - I'll make sure Mommy and Daddy get video up here soon! In the meantime, here are some pictures :)
























































Crawling is really hard work! I have to take a breather every now and then...


Also, I got to try Cheerios! They're pretty fun to eat, and they feel really good on my gums. I've been concentrating so much on crawling that I haven't had much time to devote to my teething endeavors. So, I'm still all gums... for now :)






































Anyway, I should be getting to bed - using my muscles so much with all this crawling makes me really sleepy! Until next time!

The Joys of Teething...

Well, folks, I was officially 8 months old yesterday, and I suppose the only thing I have to say about that is that it HURTS! My teeth, or the things that are apparently supposed to "sprout" into teeth, hurt so badly that Mommy and Daddy had to break down and get me something to help with the pain. Luckily, Mommy's friend Miss Trisha (my online friend, Zoey's, mommy) recommended Hyland's teething tablets. They help me feel okay enough to get some sleep, thank goodness! And Mommy and Daddy let me try chewing on some frozen mango today, which felt pretty good. Usually all I can do is find the nearest thing that will fit in my mouth and CHOMP down - usually that's my own hand, but my blocks work pretty well, too.



















































I couldn't decide which color block was better to chew on... so I tried
all three!





















As you can see, teething is NOT fun. It does NOT make me happy.

Anyway, things have been pretty busy around here otherwise. I got to spend some more time with my cousin, TJ - he's still too little to play with me yet, but Daddy says someday he'll grow big enough to come over and play. I can't wait! I'm also still practicing being up on my hands and knees, but it's really hard work, so my practice sessions are pretty short. Mommy and Daddy took some videos of my practice, just in case I get the hang of it - then they can get it on film and post it up here! So... stay tuned, because it won't be long!


Until then, here's hoping there's some sunshine to break up this rainy April!

Onward and Upward! Also, a Special Welcome!!

So it's been a little while since I was last able to fill everyone in on what's been going on here. There's sooo much to tell. I guess I should just jump in with both feet and start. I was having a little trouble with my solid foods and I wasn't feeling too well as a result. Mom and Dad started feeding me more fruits (which you will never hear me complain about ;-). They also started giving me new bottles, filled with apple juice and pear juice. I can't get enough of that stuff, let me tell you! Mom went to the market and got me some squash so I could try something new since we are avoiding peas and other "binding" ( that just doesn't sound good at all ) foods. I really enjoyed the squash, so Mom got me more. I think I am starting to catch on to things here. I let Mom and Dad know I like something... they go get me more of it!!! I can live like this. Speaking of the good life, I got some sweet relief for my aching gums. Zwieback toast!! It's the first food I have eaten with my own hands! It's REALLY messy, but OH SO GOOOOD!!!! I also tried some celery but Mom and Dad just laughed at me. Apparently I was making some kind of "face", whatever that is? All I know is I wasn't about to keep chewin' on that. Something about it just didn't sit right with me. Maybe I'll give it another try later.

Mom had a friend from college visit, named Jeff. We all got to go to lunch at the Potomac Grill and met another friend from college named Liz. Everyone was really nice. I hope I get to see them again soon.

As for that special welcome that was previously mentioned... the highlight of the past couple of weeks has been the build up leading to the birth of my new cousin T.J. My Dad's brother's first baby boy. He was born on March 18th, weighed 7 pounds even, and measured 19 and a 1/4 inches long, same as me when I was born except for the weight. I haven't been able to meet him yet because of some rule the hospital has about "non-sibling" children under a certain age not being allowed back in the labor and delivery department. Something about germs or something. I don't know. Uncle Tarl, Aunt Rosemary and T.J. are all home now so we are planning a visit over to their house real soon. I can't wait!!! Mom and Dad already got to meet T.J., but I think they are pretty excited to see him again!

When we weren't running around getting new food and juice, or going to the hospital to see family, we have been having a blast rolling around on the bed and floor. I am starting to figure out I can use my arms and legs at the same time when I am belly down, but not for very long yet. I still get where I need to go. One way or another. When I get tired of rolling or working on my crawling posture, I like to fly around the house. Dad seems to like it too!. Sometimes I think he might be sillier than I am. Mom's always laughing at us, so I guess neither of us are doing too bad. Are we?

Jump Around, Jump Up, Jump Up and Get Down!

The past couple of weeks have been a blur, sometimes pretty literally! I've spent much of my time lately jumping, bouncing, kicking, rolling, reaching, grasping, and even dancing (with Mommy and Daddy's help, of course), so time has sort of flown by. And I had my first visit to the eye doctor, which made the way I see things fuzzy for a couple of days, so I'm not sure if I really even know what happened for a while :)


I really love my jumper, now that my knees can bend when I touch the floor, because I can bounce for a long time and not get tired! I laugh all the time when I really get going, and most of the time Mommy and Daddy join in.



This is me, doing what Ronin's do best! :)


I can also tell that I'm growing up to be a big boy - you wanna know how? Because Mommy and Daddy let me try to drink from what they called a "sippy cup," and it looked sorta like what they drink out of... only it also kinda looked like what I drink out of. Anyway, Nana D was happy to help me out!




































This is my cool green sippy cup - I'm not sure if I quite like drinking out
of it as much as I thought I would. At least I look cool...


I can also tell I'm getting big because my mouth hurts all the time! Mommy and Daddy say that I'm "teething," and I get the impression that "teething" is only something very grown-up kinds of babies do from everyone else's reaction to learning that I'm doing it. It gets better when they let me chew on this little blue ring from the freezer, though, so it's not all bad all the time.


I also got to try a new food - prunes! They're very different from everything else I've tried, all dark and sweet. So, for those who are keeping track, I've had rice cereal, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, peas, bananas, and now, prunes. Mommy says I get to try things called "peaches" and "squash" soon, which must be good because she and Daddy get pretty happy talking about it.



















Prunes are pretty good, and they leave really cool stains on everything, too!


Another interesting day was the day that Mommy and Daddy took me to the eye doctor. They said that my eyes dilate differently - I don't really know what that means, but all I know is that I see everything pretty well for me! Anyway, the doctor was nice and all, but she kept turning all the lights off and shining a really bright light at me, which was really strange. And then she put drops in my eyes, and that was really awful! After a minute it was okay, but then everything got really fuzzy, and she started shining that light in my eyes again! I was glad when the whole ordeal was over, and she told Mommy and Daddy that my eyes are okay, they just maybe formed a little differently before I was born. Unfortunately, I have to go back to that place in a few months - I hope I don't have to get those drops again, or deal with that bright light!



Anyway, I gotta go practice my rolling - apparently they say it'll help me "crawl," which I overheard will let me finally get to go where I want to go myself! Until next time!

Happy (Belated) Half-Birthday to Me!

Well, ladies and gentleman, drumroll please.... I'm a whole Half-Year old now! Yesterday marked 6 months since I was born! I wanted to post something yesterday but I was partying a little too hard and lost track of time :) Here I am, sleeping it off...




















Mommy and Daddy also explained that yesterday was Valentine's Day. In the spirit of the holiday, I thought I'd post some pictures to see if I can get any dates, since that's how Mommy and Daddy met.



















Hi! I'm Ronin. I like fine dining...



















I like to laugh...



















...and I like surprises and learning new things! Like here, when I found out
that I'll need to get girls flowers and stuff on Valentine's Day when I get older!

A Messy, Busy Week...

Mommy and Daddy said I only have a few minutes to write my post tonight, since it's already past my bath time, but I wanted to pop a couple of pictures up so that everyone can see what a messy week it's been. We've been really busy this week, and the normal schedule hasn't been so normal. But I've been pretty happy all week since the Steelers won the Super Bowl!

I've also been happy because Mommy and Daddy have been letting me have solid food every day. I got to try sweet potatoes this week, which are pretty good, but much thicker than the other food I've had. Daddy even let me try a little banana - Daddy has to make it for me since Mommy gets nauseous around bananas, but I thought they were pretty good!


















This is me, enjoying my peas. I like pears better, but Mommy and Daddy
say I need my vegetables, too. At least they're a really cool green color, as
you can see!




















I like eating solid food - it makes me feel like a grown-up!


I've also been working out my legs during my tummy time, and I think I'm figuring out how to put my knees up and push myself off the floor. Mommy and Daddy keep saying that I'll be crawling soon, but I'm not sure what that is, so I'll just keep trying to push along on my knees until I figure it out :)




















I recently figured out how to get my socks off, thank goodness - one of my
favorite things is being barefoot. Apparently, I even take them off in my sleep....

Well, it's time for my bath now - bath time is so much fun so I don't want to miss it! Until next time!