july fourth is supposed to be the day of four F’s — fireworks, food, friends, and fun.  but sadly, mommy and daddy haven’t seen fireworks for the past couple of years.  last year, it was because they stayed  home with koda, just in case he got frightened by the loud firecrackers (like most dogs do).  he was oblivious.  this year, nobody got to watch fireworks because they didn’t come out until way past my bedtime.  i guess it could be awhile before i get to see my first fireworks show.

but fireworks or no fireworks, nothing stops daddy from firing up the grill on the 4th of july.  daddy especially likes to grill steak.  and since steaks have eyelashes (and mommy is an anti-eyelashitarian), daddy had to call in backup.

luckily, uncle henry, uncle paul, and auntie leeya were up for the job!  chloe came over too, but she didn’t really help with the steak.   she and i mostly just played together — and what a fun time we had!

the last time chloe and i hung out, it wasn’t all that fun.  back then, i was a little preoccupied and self-conscious about being a pinhead.  but tonight was different.  we played together in my playpen and i shared my toys with her.  she kept blabbing about something that i couldn’t understand (typical girl, right?), so i had to shush her a couple of times.  i challenged her to a race, and she beat me by a mile.  then we had a re-match, and she beat me again!  i think she has a couple of distinct advantages:  (1) she doesn’t get distracted multiple times on the way to the finish line (like i do), and (2) she “crawls” using one knee and one foot!  (wait a minute…  is that cheating?)

so, on our 4th of july this year, we had lots of food, friends, and fun — but no fireworks.  3 outta 4 ain’t bad, right?  maybe we’ll hit the fireworks show next year 🙂

happy 9 month birthday to me 🙂

things i like:

• magic puffs (they are magic because they always put me in a good mood — no matter how unhappy i am)
• beef stew (daddy got mad because mommy has never made beef stew for him)
• froyo!  (mommy shares her froyo with me and i looove it!  but don’t tell anyone because i’m not supposed to be eating that stuff yet)
• “diving” and swimming (stay tuned for the video!)
• watching things spin (especially my clothes in the dryer)
• crawling backwards down the stairs
• opening and closing things (doors, drawers, containers, anything)
• buttons on other people’s clothing (i play with them for a little while, then eventually try to eat them)
• being tickled
• making “brrrrrt” noises with my lips (like blowing raspberries but without sticking out my tongue)
• watching mommy dance

things i don’t like:

• walking (i always fall down — and crawling is much faster, anyway)
• loud machines (vacuum cleaner and electric food mill are scary, but koda’s barking doesn’t bother me)
• people who stick needles in me and take my blood 🙁
• going to sleep when there’s a party going on

for about 3 months now, i’ve had a regular bedtime around 7:30pm.  and for the past two weeks, i’ve been sleeping through the night with only one midnight feeding.  (this just happens to be right around the time that mommy went on her last business trip.  coincidence?  i think not.)  this is my nighttime schedule:

• 6:00pm:  dinner
• 6:45pm:  bathtime (every other day)
• 7:00pm:  change into jammies, brush teeth
• 7:10pm:  bedtime stories
• 7:20pm:  nursing and singing
• 7:30pm:  zzzzz
• 12:30am:  midnight snack
• 6:00am:  rise with the sun

sure, i still wake up during the night sometimes, but mommy has learned that if she doesn’t come running, i almost always go back to sleep in less than a minute.

so this is great news, right?  well… sort of.  my predictable schedule works to mommy’s and daddy’s benefit most of the time, but it can also put a damper on their social life.  back in the day, i could go anywhere, anytime.  and if i got tired, i would just sleep — no matter where i was.  but now that i’m older, i’ve not only become set in my ways, but i’m also a party animal who doesn’t want to miss out on any action.

over the weekend, mommy and daddy brought me to a wedding reception.  they hoped that i would be so excited by all of the activities that i would be wide awake and wide-eyed with awe until i passed out from exhaustion — just like when we go to sharks games!  the wedding reception was beautiful and perfect, and it seemed like it was going to be a successful outing for us… until about 7:30pm.  i got sooo tired, but i refused to sleep.  where was my crib?  where was my bernie bear?  and why was i wearing slacks instead of my comfy footed sleeper?  plus, i didn’t want to go to sleep and miss out on the party!

i fought to stay awake for another hour and a half, but i was fussy and squirmy and very unhappy about not being allowed to climb and crawl around.  i think the only reasons why my aunties and uncles didn’t shove me into a closet are because (1) the music was almost loud enough to drown out my occasional screams and (2) i was pretty handsome in my fancy shirt and slacks.  daddy had to take me outside of the reception area (away from all of the fun festivities) before i finally fell asleep.

so…  what to do?  mommy and daddy think that i need to learn to adapt to different surroundings so that they can continue to take me places without causing a commotion.  i think that they need to adapt their social calendars (even more than they already have!) to revolve around my schedule.  i’m pretty sure that i’m gonna win this one.

i went to the doctor for my 9 month checkup today.  i was just fine in the waiting room, and i was even okay in the exam room while on mommy’s lap.  but as soon as mommy laid me down on the table with the crinkly paper, i started having flashbacks of the big needles that have been stuck into me while i was in that very spot.  waaahhh! i hate that place.  i wriggled and squirmed, but to no avail.  i knew i should have spent more time practicing running so that i could have bolted outta there.

but to my surprise, no shots 🙂  yay!  the nurse weighed and measured me, and the doc looked into my ears and pressed by belly like usual.  mommy was a little sad to hear that i am “falling down the curve”, but doc said not to worry because i look great.  here are my current stats:

• weight:  18 lbs 14 oz  (27 %ile)
• length:  28.5 inches  (64 %ile)
• head circumference:  45.5 cm  (60 %ile)

notice anything odd?  i did!  how the heck can i be 27 %ile for weight when i still have all these arm/leg/neck rolls and multi-chins?!  and more importantly — my head finally caught up with the rest of me!  i’m no longer a pinhead!  hooray!  10 points for you if you picked up on that 🙂

so, i got a clean bill of health, and then i was home free.  or so i thought.  but instead of heading home, we went downstairs to another office.  i had never been there before, but i had a feeling it wasn’t going to be pleasant.  i would be right.

i sat on mommy’s lap and she held me tight so i couldn’t move.  mommy held my wrist, extending my arm so that the inside of my elbow was exposed.  a lady came and said that i have great veins, so this was gonna be easy.  what?!  WHAT was gonna be easy???

the lady stuck a needle into my arm, and i started thrashing around like a shark.  she wiggled the needle around inside my arm, into like 5 different positions!  waaahhh! she eventually pulled the needle out and bandaged me up.  whew.  she must have given up, so i was all done, right?  wrong.  she was just calling for backup.  needle lady said i was sooo strong and moving my arm sooo much that another guy had to come in to help.  so with three people holding me, she stuck a needle into my other arm and TOOK MY BLOOD!!!  waaahhh!

(apparently, 9 month olds get a standard blood test.  maybe if i turn out to be anemic, daddy will feed me steak!)

mommy says that i must have gotten her veins.  she is always being told that she has great veins, but she ends up getting poked 2x more than should be necessary.  during this whole ordeal, mommy looked so sad and kept telling me that she was sorry.  do you think she was apologizing for giving me her veins or for letting needle lady steal my blood?

last month, we celebrated boy’s day.  and apparently, yesterday was the opposite of boy’s day because all the boys were honored except for me!  gung-gung…  uncle jamie…  daddy…  but not me.  it must have been old guy’s day.

cousin zoey and her family came over to our house for the old guy brunch celebration.  i was an excellent host!  i invited zoey into my playpen and handed her different toys that i thought she would like to play with.  i even tried to giver her a flower, but it was stuck to my exersaucer!

she must have had a good time because she left her bib and burp cloth at my house.  i heard that girls do things like that when they like you so that they have an excuse to see you again.  girls are so coy.  (yay, cousin zoey likes me!)

don’t tell anyone, but i tried on her bib today.  i heard that boys sometimes do things like that when they like a girl.  i didn’t think anyone saw me sporting the pink bib, but mommy caught me in the act!  she told me not to be embarrassed though cuz real men wear pink 🙂

i am crazy.  i climb on everything, crawl all over the place, grab/pull/bang on everything that isn’t mine, and screech like a pterodactyl.  now you know why mommy calls me a madman.

yesterday, my buddy logan came over to visit, and when he arrived, his daddy announced him as “psychopath”.  he is not as crazy as i am yet, but i know he’ll get there soon.  and when he does, he’ll have the hair to match.  look at that wild ‘do!  i have hair envy.  i miss the fauxhawk i had when i was 3 months old.  *sigh*.  those were the good ol’ days.  my hair has gotten boring in my old age.

while logan was here, he kept stealing all my toys (actually, mommy was giving them to him), but i kept snatching them right back.  i have to show him who’s boss while i still can.  even though i’m 6 months older, he is going to be bigger than me very soon!

madman and psychopath — what a great pair we’ll be as we grow up together, huh?  and with names like those, we could have promising futures as WWE stars, dontcha think? 😛

until now, i have only been swimming for fun.  but today, i started my professional training.  i have 2 full years before the summer olympics in london.  that’s plenty of time, right?

i will be taking swim lessons all summer at the almaden valley althletic club (AVAC).  it’s almost 30 minutes away from our house, but it’s well worth the drive.  they have an indoor pool specially designed and configured for swimming lessons, and it has a retractable glass roof.  it’s nice because we can enjoy the natural sunlight, or move a few feet to find shade when the sun gets too hot or too bright.

i know there is an ongoing debate about swimming lessons for babies.  those who argue against it say that they give children and parents a false sense that the babies are safe in or near water.  but we know that’s not the case.  mommy and daddy wouldn’t leave me unsupervised near water.  duh.  those who support swim lessons for babies (like we do!) just think it’s a good idea for them to be comfortable in the water.  plus, it’s a fun way to cool off in this heat wave!

mommy was pretty confident that she could help me be comfortable in the pool on her own (without the lessons).  however, she was not so confident that she would be disciplined enough to actually take me to the pool every week.  so, off to AVAC we went!  in addition to the beautiful (and very clean) facility, AVAC also has a lot of toys and teaching tools that we wouldn’t otherwise have access to.  check out the flat floating hippo that i am sitting on.  he helped me learn how to jump into the water learning forward (instead of jumping straight in and conking my head on the wall behind me).  we also practiced crawling out of the pool safely, floating on our backs, and holding our breath underwater.  that sounds like a lot for a little kid to do in one lesson, but i had so much fun and can’t wait for next week 🙂

about month ago, i wrote about how daddy, the sleep master, sleep-trained me.  mommy went away for two days, and when she came home i was practically sleeping through the night.  yay, right?  yeah, well, that didn’t last for long.  i quickly reverted to my twice-nightly waking/feeding schedule and it seemed like that’s just how it was going to be.  mommy was ok with that.

and it’s not that i don’t know how to soothe myself back to sleep when i wake up — i do.  mommy always lets me fuss for awhile to see if i’ll settle back down.  but when i stand up, bang on my crib, and let out a blood-curdling shriek, she comes running.  sucker!

about a week ago, i started waking up earlier and earlier from my first long stretch, and then more and more frequently throughout the rest of the night.  i still have my 7:30pm bedtime, but instead of sleeping until 1:30am, i started waking up at 12:30am, then 11:30pm.  then the other day when the blood curdling started at 10:30pm, mommy decided it was time to make some changes.  cuz apparently when i don’t sleep well, mommy doesn’t sleep well either.  imagine that.

THEORY A:  hungry mungry  

• problem:  mommy thought that i might not be getting enough to eat during the day, causing me to be hungry mungry at night. 
• plan:  i am now being stuffed.  instead of eating 2 small meals and a small snack each day, i am getting 3 large meals and a big snack! 
• verdict:  FAIL!  this hasn’t changed my sleeping patterns, but i think my pants are starting to feel a bit tight 😛 

THEORY B:  separation anxiety

• problem:  i have definitely entered the separation anxiety phase.  (mommy and daddy say it better be just a phase!)  so when i wake up at night, i want mommy to hang out with me and feed me.  but am i really hungry, or am i just nursing for comfort?  that’s the mystery.
• plan:  when i wake up at night, mommy is going to wake daddy up and have him check on me.  they hope that since i won’t expect daddy to feed me, i’ll just go back to sleep.  after a few night of this, i’ll learn that mommy is not going to nurse me every 1-2 hours, so i’ll stop waking up so frequently.  that’s the theory, anyway.
• verdict:  TBD.  daddy is very excited about his role in this plan 😛

THEORY C:  daddy the sleep master

• problem:  mommy is such a sucker for my screaming that her plans are destined to fail.  she’ll undoubtedly give in and come feed me because she can’t stand to hear me cry. 
• plan:  i think mommy just needs to go away for a couple of days and let daddy work his sleep master magic on me again. 
• verdict:  TBD.  mommy is going on another business trip next week.  i’ll let you know how it goes!

my grandma has been telling all her friends that i am sooo smart and that i’m going to be a doctor someday.  i’m not so sure about that.  neither mommy nor daddy can stand the sight of blood, so if i inherited their squeamishness, i’ll never make it through med school.  however, i’ve been exploring other career options, and i’m starting to get some ideas about what i might wanna be when i grow up.

i can be a wheel rotator.  i love wheels.  most boys like things that have wheels — like cars and trucks — but i prefer the actual wheels, themselves.  i am immediately drawn to any in sight, and i like to spin them around and around.  even though i have many toys at home, i love it when daddy brings my stroller into the house so i can sit next to it and spin the wheels.  what fun it would be to have a job rotating wheels all day!

or, i can be a data backer-upper.  daddy has spools and spools of CDs and DVDs, and i love playing with them.  he tries to tuck them safely away under the console table, but i always manage to crawl under there and pull them out.  i heard a rumor that those DVDs are actually filled with daddy’s pirated music, movies, and software, but i don’t believe it.  i’m sure that the hundreds of DVDs in our house are merely backup copies of mommy and daddy’s personal data files.  i think i could be a good data backer-upper like daddy.

by the time i am old enough to have a job, i wonder if there will be a demand for tire rotators or data storage engineers.  what if automobiles fly instead of riding on wheels and all data storage moves online?  maybe i should look into being a doctor, like grandma says.  anyone want to volunteer to be my first patient?

happy 8 month birthday to me 🙂

things i like:

• climbing the stairs
• crawling around everywhere
• holding objects in my hand and sliding them along the ground as i crawl around
• standing up (still need to hold on to something for support)
• banging on everything
• having my tummy tickled
• chicken!  (i haven’t tried steak yet)
• biting and chewing real food like a big boy
• babbling (“ba ba ba”)
• shrieking in a high-pitched tone (mommy calls it my pterodactyl screech, daddy says it’s my normal talking voice)
• kiddie foam pit
• jumpy house

things i don’t like:

• strangers holding me (however, i have a very good memory and am perfectly happy with people that i’ve met before, even if i haven’t seen them in a very long time)
• when mommy or daddy leaves me (separation anxiety has definitely set in)
• sippy cups (still don’t get it)
• kiddie ball pit