ocelot

Leif had his 9 month appointment today. He's now 28 and 3/4 inches and 20 lb 4 oz (75th and 50th percentile).

The doctor said he's looking healthy, he seems precocious and very social, and he'll probably walk early. None of that is much of a surprise!

He had to get a shot and a finger prick today, after being told last time that he wouldn't have to. Luckily, he's too young to understand and feel betrayed.

Leif is now eating everything he can get his hands on (edible or not!), crawling everywhere, pulling up to standing, walking holding on to furniture or our fingers, sitting down gracefully if we let go of him while he's standing, and babbling constantly (he sometimes seems to say "mamamama" purposefully, though that may just be wishful thinking!). Last week we had a bit of nice weather, and he got a chance to play outside in the grass for the first time.

Since about 5 months, he's been able to make this indian yodeling sound by saying "ahhhh" as we pat a hand over his mouth. About a month ago, he figured out how to do it on his own by rubbing his arm over his mouth. A week or so ago, he started doing it just by moving his tongue back and forth. Pretty talented - I can't figure out how to do it! He knows what he's doing, too - we'll start it by patting a hand over his mouth, and he'll continue with his tongue after we stop.

He's also been quite fussy lately. He wants to be carried around most of the time, preferably by daddy unless he's hungry. We think he's realized that daddy isn't around quite as much as mommy. Quite frustrating! We're spending a lot of time with him in the sling, singing and dancing to Broadway soundtracks. We hope it's just teething, and that he'll get over it soon. Either that, or the weather improves so we can take lots of nice long walks (it's chilly and rainy again this week).

I finally finished the rest of the pictures from February and March. They're at Leif's Website. Bathtime! is the first set of new pictures since the last update.