Cheeseburger?

So while I was out playing broomball one night last week, Charlie had his first meat. John decided to slip him a bit of his McDonalds cheeseburger. I wish I'd been there to see his expression. I wonder what else the boys did while I was out?..... I was out a lot-- our Fountain Square team made it all the way to the championship game before we lost, so I had 4 games downtown last week.

Charlie is now pulling up to stand on anything that will hold still long enough for him to do so. Poor Lucy has had more than a fistfull of hair pulled on as he tries to use her to steady himself. He has also discovered the back door. He likes to crawl over to the door, pull himself up, and look out the window, often banging on it for emphasis.

It looks like Charlie is getting at least one of his top middle teeth, so he's been drooling like crazy. He's also sticking his tongue out a lot, probably feeling the different feel of the teeth.

The separation anxiety that typically sets in at about 9 months is definitely taking hold. There are some times that I just can't walk through the room without picking him up, or else he starts screaming. There are still times when only John can comfort him, though, so I don't worry too much about him being only mama's boy.

Grandma Connie came over this weekend to spend time with Charlie for her birthday. He showed her how he gets food all over his face while eating with his hands, and then we cleaned him up in the bath. They had lots of giggles together, and she saw how fast he moves on all fours now.

I'm taking Charlie back to the doctor this afternoon to look at his ear, which he's been pulling on again since yesterday. He wasn't sleeping well at all this weekend, and I wonder if the infection hasn't returned.

What a great weekend!

Charlie had a great weekend with his Aunt Taylor and Uncle Rory, who just returned home last night. We started the weekend by picking up Charlie at daycare on Thursday on our way home from the airport. Taylor and Rory got to see him out on a buggy ride, and met some of the teachers in his room, as well as some of the other kids. They also got to see their first diaper blowout. After picking up Charlie, we met John at Cheesecake Factory and had a great dinner. They even gave Charlie a little plate with a sliced half banana and some soft bread. He flirted with a girl in a highchair at the next booth over. I think he enjoyed watching all the people dressed in red for Valentine's Day.

On Friday John and I took the day off work, so we dropped Charlie off at daycare while we all went to lunch and a movie. We were disappointed in the movie (Jumper) but lunch was tasty and it was nice to go out without having to worry about a sitter for Charlie. That night Rory went out with Beth for a belated Valentine's Day date, and Taylor hung out with us at home. After a dinner of Montgomery Inn (a Cincinnati favorite), the three of us had a late night just talking and catching up.

On Saturday morning, Taylor helped us give Charlie a bath, and was "baptized" with a golden fountain when we were dressing him afterwards. She was then officially a full-fledged aunt! On Saturday night we got a sitter and the adults all went to dinner and a movie. We tried a new Mongolian BBQ place nearby, and saw a much better movie (No Country for Old Men). I came down with some sort of intestinal bug that evening, but made it through the night.

On Sunday I was down with my stomach issues, and Taylor was a little under the weather with a cough, so we scrapped our plans to go out and instead sat home and visited indoors. That evening, John and I had a broomball game -- against each other -- and because we were short on women, Taylor subbed for my team. She had an assist, which was better than I did that night! John's team won in the end. Most of us were tired after returning from the rink, but Beth and Taylor went out with the broomball crowd for a while.

On Monday (Presidents Day holiday) we went ahead with the postponed plans from Sunday, and took Charlie to the Newport Aquarium. Beth had been before, and John had been for work functions, but none of the rest of us had ever been there. Charlie really enjoyed watching a small turtle swim around a tank, and was fascinated by the birds overhead in the trees at the rainforest exhibit. Otherwise, I'm not sure if he might not have enjoyed looking at the other people as much as the fish in the tanks! After the aquarium, we took the gang to one of our local BBQ joints (Jim Dandy's) for some takeout on the way home. That night I had a broomball game on Fountain Square downtown, so we all went down to Rock Bottom and they had a bite and a beer while I played.

On Tuesday, John and I took another day off work, and I took Charlie in to daycare for a while so we could have some more adult time together. We watched another movie-- this one on DVD that had just come out (Michael Clayton). Rory did some work, and then it was time to pack up.

Lucy will certainly miss all the attention she received while our visitors were here. She loves company!

Charlie is almost through with his last doses of antibiotic for his ear infection. I haven't noticed him pulling at his ear so much the past couple of days, so I hope it's finally gone for good.

Hope to have some new photos posted soon.

Upward Mobility

Charlie is now pulling himself up to standing on a regular basis, and can stay there for a pretty long time, as long as he's holding on to something steady. He continues to crawl all over, and his favorite target is Lucy's water bowl (of course!) Any shoes with laces, and fluffy scarves are also fair game.

On Tuesday we had a "snow day"-- Charlie's daycare was closed due to the icy and snowy weather. We took the opportunity to take him back to the doctor, because his cough had returned after switching to the second antibiotic for the ear infection, and he had started wheezing pretty badly. The ear infection was still present, so they switched him to yet another, stronger antibiotic, and suggested we use Charlie's breathing machine a few times a day for the wheeze.

After a couple of days of the new medicine, Charlie does seem to be feeling much better. Yesterday he drank all of his bottles at daycare, which is a vast improvement. He still tugs at one ear occasionally, but he's sleeping better, and seems happy and himself.

Rory and Taylor arrived with no issues yesterday afternoon. Lucy is thrilled to have company, especially since they're "dog people." Charlie wasn't sure what to make of 4 people coming to pick him up at daycare (instead of just one), but he has adjusted quickly, and has already shown Taylor how he laughs.

Four Wheel Drive

Charlie is crawling up on all fours now pretty consistently. He has abandoned the one hand, one elbow, drag my legs around method of mobilization. As a result, he moves much faster. Last night, he got to the edge of the carpet between the family room and the kitchen, and hesitated a moment before venturing on to the linoleum. Once he got over that line, however, it was a short stretch to Lucy's water bowl!

Twice now, he has also played "tug of war" with Lucy and one of her stuffed toys. He laughs and laughs when she gently pulls it away from him. Luckily she has learned from playing with us adults that she only pulls as hard as you pull back, so she's really gentle with Charlie, and the play lasts as long as Charlie's attention span will hold.

Charlie had his 9 month appointment at the doctor this morning. His ear infection is not cleared up (although he's back to sleeping through the night and his cough and runny nose and stuffy head are gone). So we'll be trying a new antibiotic starting tonight. He got two shots, and had a toe prick to test for anemia.

He's growing quickly-- up to 22 lbs 3 oz with all his clothes off (80th%), but he's still a little "short" at 27.25 inches (25%). His head continues to be at Robenalt/Knepper proportions, 18.25 in (75%). He is in mostly 12 month clothes now, although the legs are too long on all of his pants.

He also had his 9 month review at daycare yesterday, and we learned that he is where he should be developmentally (which was confirmed by the doctor today). Soon they will start teaching him basic sign language to communicate words like "cup" "cracker" "more" etc. He's already perfected the shaking his head to indicate he doesn't want something.

Charlie has also been pulling himself up to full standing position at least a couple of times a day this week. Won't be long until he's "cruising."

More firsts

Charlie has his first ear infection. After a week of dealing with his cold symptoms that just never got better, I took him to the doctor on Saturday. Sure enough, despite lacking the more obvious symptoms of an ear infection (fever, pulling at his ear), he had one. He's doing well so far, since getting on the antibiotics. He's still waking up some in the middle of the night, but he'll take a bottle then and go back to sleep, instead of just screaming in discomfort from his coughing.

Charlie also had his first trip in the child seat of a shopping cart on Saturday, and two more on Sunday. We used the neat seat cover that Grandma Knepper gave us for Christmas. Charlie loved going to the grocery store-- so many colorful things (and other kids!) to look at. I also took him to Babies R Us to buy a new carseat. We had confirmed his weight at the doctor's office on Saturday morning, and sure enough, he's too big to be using the other one anymore.

Charlie enjoyed his first Superbowl yesterday, also. I'm not sure he knew what to make of the older boys playing with his toys, but he had his first dose of the Mike Ruthemeyer "kid treatment" and seemed to enjoy that.

Less than 2 weeks until Uncle Rory and Aunt Taylor come to visit. I'm sure Charlie will have lots of fun with that!