Ewan: 9 Months Old. Sheesh.
I actually owe an update from his 8-month mark as well. Where does the time go?
9-month stats:
Height: 29 3/8″ (85th %ile)
Weight: 20 lbs, 6 oz (50th %ile)
We have an all out army crawler. Ewan goes at it full speed, one little chubster forearm in front of the next with his toes digging into the ground behind him for traction. He does get up on all fours now and rocks a bit, but he hasn’t taken off yet. His pediatrician’s prediction is an all-fours crawl in about 10 days. We’ll see…
yoda ewan, the army crawler.
black spidey & yoda. the dynamic duo.
His biggest accomplishment has been transitioning from our bed and nursing ALL NIGHT (seriously folks, about 8-9 times a night. I thought I would die from sleep deprivation.) to his own crib in his own room. I had a breakdown moment with him one afternoon and called his ped’s office in near tears. The kindest nurse, Nancy, talked me down and through what needed to happen. Afterwards, I sent out an email of distress to a most incredible group of moms that I’m a part of and received some much needed support, sympathy, empathy, and stories of the same stuff. It’s hard to do this away from family, I have to say, but I finally feel like we’ve cultivated a “village” of friends that are invaluable to us. So, after a good, hard cry myself, I put Ewan in his room for his afternoon nap and sat outside his door to talk him through soothing himself to sleep.
Amazingly, while it took him about an hour of being very unhappy with me, I was able to stay calm and encouraging and he did it! He fell asleep on his own and slept for about 20 minutes. Great start!
the crib. and the fancy mobile that MIGHT also be kind of scary.
That night, he fussed, but didn’t cry, for about 30 minutes, then slept for about five hours, nursed, then slept another five! We’ve been on the same road, even with a couple of full nights of sleep, ever since. We’re so proud of him. He’s so proud of himself, too. After his first night in his room, we all praised him so much that he started laughing, then burst into tears within about a minute as if to say, “I DID IT. It was HARD, but I DID IT,” then began laughing again. It’s hard for a little guy who finds great comfort in his people, but not really his things. He’s such a social little thing.
showing off the grill: two new teeth at the bottom. :)
Ewan had his first illness during his 8th month. He had a quick fight with croup, which we nipped in the bud right away with a doctor’s visit, and then about 3-1/2 weeks later he woke up with a fever that persisted for about 48 hours. We got through that, though a little sleep deprived again (we couldn’t really sleep because we kept checking on him), and noticed that he had also cut a new tooth. Ewan is now a proud snaggletooth with two teeth on the bottom and one busting through up top.
Hank discovered that Ewan LOVES to sing. Ewan will stand on Hank’s lap while Hank plays songs from his computer, then he breaks out some singing during the chorus of the songs. It’s HILARIOUS. He’s very serious about it, with a resounding, “Oooooohhhhhhh”, then jumps up and down during the rest of the song. He and Holden have all but stolen Hank’s new acoustic guitar and love to beat on it (not too hard) and strum the strings. Hank’s prediction is that Holden will be our ball player and Ewan will be the one drawn to all kinds of music. Holden, however, insists that we’re going to start a band. Brings to mind another musical family who’s name started with the letter “P”. Come on. Get happy. :)
ewan the forlorn, watching from the doorway as daddy & holden have a snowball fight.
Food is an absolute love of Ewan’s. He’s eating nearly everything now, especially whatever Mom’s having (in more ways than the one). He’s particularly fond of deli sandwiches, soup of all kinds, and chicken enchiladas. Of course, he wouldn’t be our child at all without a sweet tooth, so I have to bring out the muscle if I’m sneaking a cookie and he catches me. There’s no distracting him.
yum. i don't know what this is, but it's delicious.
He’s starting to associate some sounds with things, such as “Daa” for the dog, Oscar, a very loud yell of “OOOHHH” for Holden, and Hank’s working on him for “Da” for Daddy as well. We’re pretty sure his first real word will be a form of Holden’s name. It’s amazing, this love they have for each other. They both absolutely light up when they see the other. How do you even touch a love like that?
this pic's a few months old now, but it's a goodie!
Speaking of Holden, he’s doing really well. He’s had some good snowball fights with Dad lately, he’s staying pretty healthy, and he’s working on a mile-long wish list to mail to Santa. Here are a couple of pictures of him mailing his letter to Santa last year:
running, with letter to Santa in hand, to the mailbox. december 2008.
showing his letter to Santa, before send off.
stuffing his letter to Santa into the outgoing mailbox...
...and the letter is on it's way to the north pole! yeehaw!
Holdenisms:
While Ewan was getting ready for his bath last night, Holden exclaimed, “Look! Twinkie Birds!” (In actuality, there were two Tweety Bird bandaids on Ewan’s leg from vaccinations.)
And:
“Dad, is Mom your life?” (Holden, bless him, thinks “wife” is pronounced “life”. How fitting!)
about to get nailed by a snowball from daddy.
throwing as hard as he can!
a direct hit!
P.S. Holden has a schoolmate who is in ICU in Denver, hospitalized with complications from H1N1 and asthma. We’ve had a lot of conversations with Holden about her; he’s so concerned about her. Please put her and keep her in your prayers. We look at our boys and are so overcome by our love for them and the fierceness that we feel about them. Our hearts are breaking for her parents and her poor little body. Her name is Lia, and we know that your thoughts on her would help tremendously.
