Desmond is NINE Months Old!

Wow. It's almost like he's all grown up.  Definitely not a baby anymore, and we are working on not calling him "Baby Desmond," lest he be scarred for life.  

 

• Teeth: Still just the 4.  And boy are those top two crooked and widely-spaced!  But they do their job, so we'll just hang tight and see how his other 8 top teeth come in and push the first two into place.
• Hair: It's really growing in.  He's got an interesting little cowlick in the front, and the sides are technically over his ears. But it's just a few wispy little hairs, so we just push them back.  I'm not anticipating a first haircut for another month or two, maybe not even until after his first birthday.
• Weight: Desmond seems to have missed the memo about slimming down after you start crawling and cruising everywhere.  There is still a LOT of him to love. Good thing his chunky thighs are so unbelievably cute!
• Height: Still crazy tall.  No surprises there.
• Sleep:  OK. I'm finally ready to admit we're seeing some improvement.  Desmond sleeps through the night roughly half the time. (Sadly, Desmond's sleeping half seems to coincide with his big brother's NOT-sleeping half.  Oh well.)  When Desmond does wake up at night, it's usually because he's hungry, and an 8-ounce bottle settles him right back down.  So, still a ways to go, but much better than a couple of months ago. 
• Food: Although the size of his thighs would make you think otherwise, Desmond isn't really a huge eater. He's all about his formula, but most purees he could take or leave.  As for "real" table food, he's had a few things to gnaw on - pancakes, french fries, those baby cheetos and wagon wheels.  He always wants your food, but tends to make a face and spit it out if you give him a taste.  We've tried to give him tasty things in his mesh feeder, but he's usually much more interested in chewing on the handle. 
• Verbal: Desmond is a babbler! A big babbler!  It's hilarious.  And he'll grunt back and forth with you.  Blowing raspberries is one of his favorite activities.  And there's lots of "BAH BAH BAH! BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH!"  Of course, he's still not using any kind of consistent sound for anything specific (e.g., "mama" or "dada"), but we are pleased with his vocal skills.
• Gross Motor: As previously mentioned, Desmond is standing unassisted for brief periods of time.  He is still apparently unaware that he has this skill, but occasionally he forgets and stands for a few seconds. (We think his record is somewhere around 10 seconds so far.)  He is also a master at pushing the push/riding toys all over the house and deck.  Several weeks ago, we tried to have him do that, but they just got away from him, so that is progress.
• Fine Motor: Now that Desmond is willing to eat the occasional cheerio (OK, he really eats a lot of cheerios), his pincer grasp is developing nicely.  We've tried to give him some nice fat crayons to play with, but he's much more intersted in eating them than he is in scribbling with them.
• Books: No real favorites. He still enjoys reading Bath Time in the bathtub every night, and we've recently added Water, Water, Everywhere to the bathtime fun. (You know we love him, because we've read those books nearly every night for almost TWO YEARS. So we must be really concerned about making sure he hears at least one or two stories every night.)  We are also reading quite a few of the That's Not My... series.  He definitely understands that he's supposed to feel the fuzzy/bumpy/smooth/rough/squishy/whatever parts.


• Likes & Dislikes: Hmm.  Let's see. Desmond likes making raspberry noises with his mouth. He likes splashing in the bath.  (REALLY likes splashing in the bath.)  He likes his bead roller coaster toy. Like for his big brother is hit or miss, but he really really likes it when they play together.  And boy does he like being held!  Sortof.  More like he dislikes NOT being held, but he's awfully wiggly in your arms, seemingly wishing he could be doing something much more exciting. 

Overall, he is a super-happy, super-healthy, super-smart baby. (Yes, he's still a baby. Just not a BABY baby.)  He still has the most gorgeous eyes you've ever seen, and he is getting ever more playful. (He does peek-a-boo with the curtains! It's so cute!)

And now, on to the official photos.  Desmond was not in the most photogenic mood for this shoot, and of the 84 photos we took, these were the best ones. Really.

OK, this one is pretty cute.

Good grief, Mom. Are you done yet?

Demonjello finally succumbs to the minor injuries he's been sustaining for the last 22+ months. Handily enough, Dr. Dex Cooley, Cardboard Baby Specialist, was on-hand to lend his expertise.*

This is never chaotic. Not at all.

Oh look! Desmond is still tall! Not that you'd ever be able to tell, since he wouldn't lie straight. And Demonjello is now missing his neck, so it's extra tough to compare. And a random toy made it into the photo. Epic photo shoot wins all around.

Demonjello Head!

* Demonjello will be visiting a more experienced reconstructive surgeon sometime between now and September 24.