Gumby

Kyle is so super flexible and loves doing the splits. I wanted to capture this phase because eventually these moves will hurt and walking will just be way more fun. Enjoy!

How do I get to mommy?!

Kyle loves his new Christmas toy-- he likes to make out with the monkey too. Haha.
But now that he's mastered standing and cruising on it, he wants to know how to get over it and to mommy. He's gone head first over it a couple times so I'm sure climbing over it is next.

Sigh. Boys!!
(ignore that he's pantless-- the church slacks were far too constricting for serious play!)

Sick times

Kyle had been fighting a cold for a week now and either he combined it with another bug or this one just went downhill real fast. He looked so sick on Sunday that we skipped church. The next two nights were real rough with only a few hours of sleep for everyone. We kept him home from daycare and took shifts working from home. I've now got the bug and feeling quite awful. Hoping I can make a full recovery soon-- Kyle's well on his way to his normal self so that's encouraging.
(I've got to give credit to moms and dads who work from home with kids as it is extremely difficult to get much done. Makes me thankful for daycare despite all the germies).

Big boy bath

Tonight Kyle upgraded from his infant tub in our sink to a bath seat in the big boy tub. He had become too much of a splasher often flooding our kitchen so it was time.
He had a blast splashing and playing with all the new bath toys. Bath time just got 3 times longer though. No complaints though!
Here are a few pics from his tub time tonight:

Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY

While Dave's family was in town, we all took a day trip to the zoo for Free Zoo Day. It was a bit chillier (50s) than it had been all week but we bundled the little man up and had a wonderful time strolling around the park. Kyle's favorite animals were the Sophies (giraffes) and penguins. He crashed about 20 minutes before we left and fell asleep in his stroller (a rarity these days!).

Mommy's favorites were the artic fox and the wolves. Dad enjoyed watching the Siberian tigers "fight" over food. What a fun time we all had!

Christmas with the Shoemakers

Dave's family came out the week after Christmas and left this past weekend. We had a blast opening gifts, playing card games, enjoying deliciously home-cooked meals (thanks Diane!) and going to the zoo together. Here are a few pictures from the week (zoo pictures forthcoming):

9 Months!

Seriously, where has the time gone? Our little man is 3/4 of a year old already! It makes me sad to think about how fast time is flying by and how his first birthday is just around the corner. I surely will miss this stage but I am sure that each new one will bring much joy also.

Kyle had his 9 month well visit on Monday and weighed in at 18-7 and measured just 27 inches in length. The Ped measured him again just to confirm the nurses measurement as he was a bit surprised that Kyle didn't grow in length at the same rate he would've expected. Kyle barely makes the charts for height (5-10th %) but is middle of the road in weight. Ped says he's eating and thriving very well but just might be genetically destined to be short. Hopefully he's just waiting for his time to start growing upwards. :) He's still exclusively breastfed and is now eating 2 meals of solids each day. He has lunch at daycare and eats a bit of what we are enjoying for dinner (chicken, pasta, or a vegi) along with his mashed up fruits & vegis. He still nurses about 6 times each day on top of the solids.

Kyle has perfected the sit, is an expert backwards crawler, rotates extremely well on his tummy, rolls over like it's childs play, and gets up on all fours, but other than an occasional crawl forward isn't all that enthusastic about crawling. He loves to stand using props and can "walk" with an aid on hardwoods, but struggles on the carpet. His fine motor skills are amazing-- he's a pro at the pincer grasp and can manipulate multiple toys in his hands switching them back and forth (but often just bangs them together to make loud noises... silly boy!). He's rather talkative-- his favorite sounds are ra, la, ba, ma, and sometimes he says "gigy" when we refer to the girls as doggies. He says mama occasionally (but doesn't associate that to me) but often just strings together random gibberish. He loves playdates, does well with other kiddos, and is super friendly even to random strangers. An all-around great baby we have! :)

Kyle's loves this month include: the hand biting game, mommy staring as Austin Powers in the escalator game, peek-a-boo, prunes, yogurt, pears & bananas, shoelaces, standing on furniture, drawstrings, banging any two objects he can find together, being tickled behind the ears, rice puffs, wrapping paper, bows, and boxes, knocking down stacked toys, screeching, his xylophone, raising his arms for mommy to pick him up, doing the splits, green things, and making music from anything he can reach. His dislikes include the changing table, that whole crawling thing, and being separated from mommy.

Kyle is truly the biggest blessing for David and I. He's honestly a perfect baby. Rarely fusses (and when he does, it's because he really needs something), sleeps incredibly well, is always smiling and laughing, and is a total charmer (I mean, really, can you beat those cute chubby cheeks and toothless grin?!).

Here are some pictures from his 9 month birthday... enjoy!