9 months and 37months

I apologize in advanced for the long post, but there is just so much going on lately that blogging has taken a backseat.  I try to do my best to capture everything, but since Eric's philosophy is one of which involves only mental memories, I do what I can.

First I'll start with Mallory. I love thinking over the past month to see how much they've changed.  It's so easy to get caught up with the daily life you don't really notice how quickly things change.  Mallory is so independent these days from picking out and putting on her clothes, to brushing her teeth, buttoning, showering, you name it.   She has also become quite the little negotiator (I have no idea where she got that from!), however, unfortunate for her, she got my logic. While I do have logic, it doesn't always have factual backing which doesn't work for Eric. 

Again, I am not surprised because it seems to be this way with everything, but Mallory had her magic switch button with dance this month.  All of sudden she is doing all the moves and having so much fun, which is a step up from the hesitation and nail biting.  Don't get me wrong, she is not perfect at it, but she definitely has the routine down and has a blast.

Mallory weighed in at 40lbs and was 40 inches tall. Both above the 95th percentile.  I really wonder how tall she will get.  We got her her first golf set - four clubs and a little bag.  Eric got a good deal at a golf expo and we got them in red so both kids could use them.  Mallory has so much fun at the driving range.  Her face just lights up when the ball goes flying.

Last, the latest thing I've been bribing her with...wait for it...vitamins.  Does that make me an awful parent?  She has become obsessed with her "vitamin in the fridge."  It's actually a chewable fish oil tab (which I can't imagine tastes that great - but she must think it does), so I'm not sure why it's so great, but she now knows she cannot have it in the morning until she is ready to walk out the door.  If we accidentally forget it, she will realize it as soon as we get to school and it's a very traumatic realization.  I guess I'm just glad it's that and not something else.

We got her a new electric princess toothbrush. For the longest time she could not figure out how to turn it off.  The day she figured it out, it was non-stop, "watch me Mom" as she turned it on and turned it off.  Here is a little video.  You can see in her face the sense of accomplishment.

If you can ignore the hair in her eyes, here is Mallory playing the piano.  My favorite part is that she is humming along. 

Now onto Jared. I think 9 months must be the time when they start getting to be more of a little person that interacts.  He has given up on the baby food and will only eat finger food.  He loves avocado, carrots, cauliflower, you name it.  Anything he can pick up on his own he wants.  He also gets mad if you are eating and he is not.  I knew he would come around to it. 

Jared had his 9 month appointment and he is doing great.  He weighed in at 21lbs and 28-7/8 inches tall.  Both are just above the 50th percentile.  His head was 19 and 3/4 which is still above the 95th percentile.  Most wouldn't think anything of this, but we have had to stick with mainly button down shirts because if you get clothes in his size, the hole for the head isn't big enough.   Finding hats is also difficult because when you buy the 2-3 year old hats, they don't have straps that keep them on.  Sometimes it would be so nice if all kids were the same shape and size.

Jared is getting so close to crawling.  The picture below shows his new skills.  The bucket in the back is also his favorite thing to play with.  He loves dumping toys out of buckets.  It's nice because Mallory likes putting them back in, of course after telling him it wasn't a good choice to make such a mess.  Entertainment for both of them. 

Jared also likes pulling himself up on the table and grinding his teeth.

 

I do realize all babies do these things, but I love how accomplished they look.  Here is Jared giving his wave.  He will stop anything he's doing to wave at someone.  Don't mind the food all over his face.  Life skills can't always be captured when they are picture perfect.

This last picture shows Jared's first bonked noggin. First he hit it on the giraffe at school, then leaned forward at the table to get something he dropped and hit it on the edge, and then tumbled forward onto the tile while attempting to crawl.  Poor kiddo.  Maybe gravity just pulls his head down since it so big :)