Puerto Rico

Last month Jared took a 5 day trip to Puerto Rico. The longest we've ever been apart was when Jared went to Spain for 6 weeks, I was actually able to go for the first 10 days. So you'd think after 6 weeks, the 5 days in Puerto Rico would seem short, but I don't care if it is just one night, it's still too long for me! It doesn't get any easier being apart from your best friend. But we were excited that Jared was accepted to be on a discussion panel at a conference there.

He was leaving on a Wednesday and the day before we thought his flight left at 6pm so we were going to just go to bed and then do laundry and pack Wednesday morning. I went to bed at 11pm and Jared still had some stuff to do, then at 11:30pm he came in and told me his flight left at 6 AM. He was flying out of LAX so he had to leave at about 3am. He packed quickly and tried to get some sleep. In the rush we forgot a phone charger, but luckily his phone lasted until the day before he came home. Jared actually had a connecting flight from LAX to Miami and Drew Barrymore as well as Justin Long ("Hi I'm a Mac") were in his plane! Besides the conference Jared saw some cool forts on the ocean. Here are some online photos.

Max and I stayed busy. Really, we only came home for naps and then we were out of the house as much as possible. All my friends were really great and checked in on me. We went to the playground a lot, to our community play group, church music group and church play group. We did some Christmas shopping and Aunt Meri (Jared's younger sis) even came and spent an afternoon with us and helped me get Max ready for bed. We had Sunday dinner at the White's. We're so thankful for the internet because while Jared was gone, Max started crawling and I was able to get the video up on the blog for him to see.

9 Month Interview with Max!

(*portrait by Michelle Pomeroy)

Max, how did your 9 month check up go?

- It was great! I crawled all over for the doctor and showed him I could go back to sitting. He says I'm developing great. I only had to get ONE shot this time and I only cried for a minute. I actually want to take this moment to say I've had two flu shots and didn't cry with either of those! They also weighed and measured me:

23lbs 12oz (90th percentile) (the first time I've been on the charts since my 2 month appt!)
28.5 inches (70th percentile)
**as far as head circumference goes, I can't remember the exact measurement, but the Dr. did say it is "big", of course it is, I have a big brain because I am one smart dude!

**When they weighed me at my flu shot appt the week before my check-up, the nurse said I was 24lbs 7oz, I don't think I lost weight in one week, I think she was just in a hurry and wasn't as accurate that time.
What are your new tricks?
- crawling, I'm getting pretty fast. I like to follow mom everywhere and crawl around her legs while she's cooking or doing dishes.
-pulling up. I'm pretty good at this, just in the last couple days I've been able to reach higher surfaces like the little table mom put the Christmas tree on, big mistake mom! I also can stand up in my crib now. When I pull up I bang on the surface of what I pulled up on with my palms.
What do you like to do?
- play with just about anything, and put it in my mouth! I especially love anything that makes noise and cardboard boxes like a diaper box or cereal box.
- I love to open cupboards too, and then take out anything that might be in them.
- I like to play on the playground by my house with my friends. I crawl around with the kids my age and watch the older kids. Sometimes my friends Evelyn and Jilly take me down the slide with them, I love it!
- I still love bath time!
- I also love to look out the window and watch the cars, birds, and bikers.
- I like to be outside, play in the dirt and explore.
- I also love to Talk, babble and sing!
How many teeth do you have?
- 4! the bottom two and the top two. Mom had to put away some of my toys, like my books, so I don't take chunks out of them and watch me close when I play with the cardboard boxes.

What are you eating these days?
- Lots of fruit and veggies, small chunks of them sometimes instead of purees as well as your typical Gerber baby cereal. I've also moved on to meat occasionally, bread, crackers(i can feed these to myself!), cheerios, rice krispies, pasta, cheese (though I had a weird reaction to dairy, mozzarella seems to be ok), and occasionally mom will give me a bite or two of table food. The other day she gave me a mashed pinto bean, it was SO gross! I thought I was going to cry!
What is the coolest thing about being 9 months?
- I have officially been on the outside of mom for as long as I was on the inside!
- Another cool thing is that I rarely spit up anymore. I was one of those babies who spit up ALL the time, so it's nice that I actually smell like baby soap most of the time, and not spit up!

What makes you laugh?

- Daddy when he picks me up and tickles my belly. Mommy when she makes funny faces at me. I also think it is so funny when people throw toys in the air or spin them around!

What are your least favorite things?
- Getting dressed.
- Getting my diaper changed, hold still? me? no way!
- Getting into my high chair, I fight mom and dad on this one every time. I just don't want to be confined!
- Long shopping trips. I'm done after about 15 minutes.

What are you currently working on?
- Drinking from a sippy cup and picking up my food and getting it in my mouth.
- Cruising
- Clapping - I do it when I feel like it

What is your sleep schedule like?
- I sleep from about 6pm-6am but am still up one or two times between the hours of 3am and 5:30am.
- I also take two naps. Naps make me a happy kid!
What is your favorite song?
- Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam and I am a Child of God.

(*portrait by Michelle Pomeroy)

Just your typical craziness . . .

This has been a crazy week. They're re-doing our roof and the workers, though friendly, don't seem to know about nap time. Needless to say it has been pretty loud. Yesterday it got so loud that Max was actually scared. He just wanted me to hold him and wouldn't let me put him down for a couple hours. He even just layed on me and let me rock him for a few minutes, he hasn't done this since he was tiny, it was sweet. I don't mind the cute cuddles of course, but it is just hard to do anything or even get ready to go out the door. Finally when the ladder was removed from our porch I dashed outside to the car (no makeup) and drove to the beach, Max was a little grumpy from missing his 2nd nap but he always is happy at the beach, it is so cute. Especially now that he is crawling, he chases seagulls and of course manages to get a few handfuls of sand in his mouth. Actually, in the past few days the following things may or may not have gone into Max's mouth:

- Sand
- Vanilla Brown Sugar Body Wash
- Rust flakes that tend to accumulate under our sink (one of the downfalls of CA living)
- 3 French Fries from In-n-Out (am I a horrible mother?)
- Dirt from the gym floor at church ("licked the floor" was how Jared put it)
- bunny poops on the playground (they live in the bushes near by, but I really think I got them out of his hand in time, thank goodness)
- my flip flop (that I used to smash a spider with earlier that day)

Now that Max is crawling I'm really starting to see the little boy in him. Loves the dirt, loves to explore, but he still looks behind his shoulder to make sure I'm close by before he goes too far.

I really hope to do a post on Thanksgiving and an official 9 month update, hopefully this week!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of comments from me on all your blogs my friends, I'm still reading!