When September Ends...

...Daddy will be done being trauma chief!!!! He had an easy month until the last weekend. It was a perfect storm of mandible fractures that ended with a 93-year old with a shattered face. Fun! Actually, Daddy got to set a broken nose so that was really cool. He gets to do plastic surgery in November so he'll get more experience with that sort of thing soon enough.

Macy and my aunt and uncle visited us yesterday. I showed Macy my favorite toy in the world. Mommy has never seen me make this particular face before. My brow is furrowed. I don't remember what made me do that. It was probably something Aunt Claudia was doing.
Uncle Matt and Macy tried to steal my supper. I held onto it really tight!

Macy is fun to snuggle. I like to sit in her lap. Apparently Leif falls asleep when she holds him, but I find her far too interesting.
I managed to break down the baby gate yesterday also.
What? You really think you can keep me where you want?
Emily stopped by again because her mommy had to pick up her car.
She told Mommy to stop taking pictures. Look at how much taller she is than me!

Mommy let me chew on the spoon this morning. I tried and tried, but I couldn't leave any teeth marks.

I found some alternate uses for the bumbo chair. It works as a massage table...
...a play horse...
...a stepping stool...

...a cooking chair (somehow I think there's got to be an easier way to stir)...
...platform shoes...
...and a photo prop! I bet you didn't know I get so much use out of it, huh?
The Buddy was really scared I was going to hit him with the spoon. Oh, and I'm standing on my own more and more every day.

Two Words

I have a series of two word phrases that will illustrate the last two days:
-Mandible fractures (that Daddy fixes all hours of the day, all day long)
-Daddy's birthday (which he celebrates by fixing mandible fractures, catching up on paperwork, and doing who knows what else)
-New tooth (bottom left)
-No sleep (for Daddy, lots of sleep for Mommy and me)
-Mommy crazy (from not getting any breaks from me, even though I'm on my cutest behavior)

That is all. I'm still bruised, but it's starting to turn yellow.

New Trick

Look at what Mommy taught me how to do! Daddy went down the list in What to Expect the First Year and told Mommy to work on this milestone since I hadn't done it yet. I just needed a little guidance. Yay!


This picture is begging for a caption, but Mommy can't come up with one that is appropriate.

Yes, there are some pictures of Mommy. She loves to flirt with Matthew. He ran all around the living room in his diaper.
This table was the best $12 Mommy ever spent. Once Upon a Child rocks!
Emily stopped by with her mommy and she played with the table too. She was really happy, but Mommy caught her making a funny face. I'll get to see her at football games.
Hamming it up, as usual.
It was raining puffs from heaven. I played the roll of Euclid.

Mommy told me that we get to see Macy on Monday and we're going to go to Chili's. You should go to Chili's on Monday too because it's a special day where 100% of profit goes towards childhood cancer research. Click on this link to find out more and tell everyone you know!

Standing Strong

Mommy finally got a picture of me standing up on my own. She couldn't resist taking a picture even though my bruise looks just as bad today as it did yesterday. I was so full of smiles that she took some extra pictures. Oh, and a really rude dude at Walmart asked if my bruise was a birthmark yesterday and then glared at Mommy when she said it was a bruise. That's exactly what Mommy was afraid of for some reason. Bruises happen...that guy must not have any kids!

Beaver

My latest masterpiece is this fashionably carved mission style table. Mommy is glad that we have cheap furniture since I'm slowly personalizing every piece. The police came by on Saturday morning to let us know that a neighbor complained about our vicious dog. I was terrified the entire time I rode on his back.
We've been enjoying the lovely weather these days and spending time outside.

Mommy was busy watching Newton the dog the last few days so that's part of the reason she hasn't been keeping you updated. Newton is hilarious and was a good boy except when he distracted me from bedtime.
Mommy hasn't taken any pictures of me since Sunday because I have a badly bruised face. She doesn't want to see pictures of it in the future because it makes her so sad. I fell down when I was cruising and landed on the middle of my cheek. It instantly bruised and is now about a quarter or so in size and dark purple. I hope it fades soon!

I slept for almost 15 hours in the last 24 hour period so I'm making up for it today. I barely slept over half an hour for my morning nap and my date with Matthew got rescheduled for tomorrow.

In other news, I'm really good at cruising these days. I can do a circuit around the living room if Mommy lays on the floor to use as a guide. At least when I fall, I fall face first (I'm being facetious).

Animal!

I'm a wild and crazy girl. The latest thing I've chewed is the entertainment center. I think it's much cuter this way. People are always surprised when they see how much hair I have when they see me in person. Maybe this picture shows it off a little better. It's very curly at the base of my neck and Mommy loves to run her fingers through it.
I'm a very serious girl....
...with constantly changing moods.
I like to eat flowers,...
...cheerios, and cheese! I eat a ton these days. I had two cubes of apple and cinnamon with mommy milk and oatmeal, an egg yolk, and a bunch of cheese and cheerios for breakfast. It's amazing how much food I can eat.

I also talk with my mouth full and make funny noises while I eat. Mommy ignores my antics, but she couldn't ignore it when I covered her with carrots the other day.
The Buddy helps with the clean-up process.
This is my new favorite face to make. I usually only do this when I'm in the swing outside, but I thought it would be fun to do during breakfast this morning.
Mommy is really getting into following the sleep plan so she bundled me up this morning to take me out into the morning light before my nap. I can't believe this adorable outfit still fits!
She really didn't want me to be cold and I won't keep a blanket on in my stroller. She'll have to pull out the Bundle Me (toddler sized) soon.

And just because they're so cute...
I'm continuing to do well with sleep. Last night I slept about 9 hours for the first stretch of sleep and then a couple of hours more after I nursed. Mommy's book told her that 9 month olds don't need to eat between bedtime and 6am so I'm afraid she might continue to follow her book. She's pretty boring in the early morning anyway. She doesn't make eye contact, turn on any lights, make any noises, or touch me any more than necessary. I really don't know how she can resist snuggling me.

Swinging

Matthew took me to the park for our date today. I enjoyed swinging. Check out my cow legs!
Here's the hunk.
Matthew's mommy is hilarious!
My biggest news is that I'm sleeping well. I slept from 7:30pm - 6am last night with just a whimper here and there that didn't require any help. Mommy is applying the ideas from Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby and I'm eating more and not working on any new teeth. I'm getting good at going to sleep on my own. For instance, Mommy put me down for my afternoon nap and I stood up and screamed, but I fell asleep within five minutes. Pretty good, huh? I'm so much happier when I'm well rested.

Daddy was carrying me last night and he fell down the stairs and hurt his arm. Grandma H fell when she was carrying me the other day and hurt her arm too. It's like they're trying to protect me or something. I bet they're too busy admiring my beauty to watch where they're going. Hehehe...

Mommy did some shopping yesterday and bought my Halloween costume. Now she needs to figure out where to take me so I can wear it. Also, she figured out my current shoe size since it's starting to get colder and I like to be out and about. Can you believe I'm still a size 2? That's supposed to be 0-6 months size, but I have teeny little feet. Maybe I'm going to be petite like Grandma D.

Park Photos

Gavin stayed overnight on Friday and we woke up and played together on Saturday morning. Do you like my shirt? Iowa State played Iowa. Unfortunately, ISU got second place. Oh well, better luck next year.
It's cold out today so Mommy put me in my cute sweater for my walk. We decided to take some pictures before it got too cold.

Mommy stopped taking pictures once I started chewing on the rusty bridge. Ewww...
I'm still working on getting more teeth. Look at what I've done to my crib!
My arm is my next victim.

Oh, and Mommy can't take a shower while I'm awake anymore. I kept trying to climb into the tub and landing on my head. Look at my terrible bruise.

Mommy hasn't been updating you as much as usual because she was busy hanging out with Daddy this weekend. He wasn't very busy with work even though he was on call. So far, this trauma chief gig isn't too bad.