062309:DEAR AUGUST: NINE MONTHS.
dear august,
what a fun month this has been. you seem like such a different baby.
aaaahhh– you’re actually such a little boy! have i said that before? i am sure that i have. and i’ll just keep saying it until you really understand what i’m saying, become miffed, and let me know that you are not a little boy, and that you are a BIG boy. it is no question that will happen. it’s just when.
and too soon.
but yes.
this month was so fun. and full of firsts.
like EASTER. your mother, being the stickler for holidays that she is, definitely went all out and dyed eggs with you (you watched and smiled). and the easter bunny most definitely came and left a basket full o’ treats on the dining table. you cried when you saw it. yes. it was that beautiful.
you’re so sensitive already.
your daddy and i thought we’d do something spontaneous for easter and go to monterey.
tangent: please be spontaneous, son. and find someone that will be spontaneous with you. it’s wonderful and fun and oh so adventurous. i want your life to be filled with wonder, and fun, and adventure. over-flowing even. 
/tangent.
monterey is a beautiful little city in california. we went there when we were pregnant with you. so, i guess that’d make the easter trip your second time going. monterey has a wonderful aquarium there. we thought it’d be fun to visit as you’d shown a fascination to the aquariums in wal*mart. ;p daddy and i had been to the monterey aquarium one other time so we spent much of our time there watching you take everything in. you were soo fascinated. it’s so exciting to watch you see things for the first time.
the day after easter, we decided to make it a full weekend and see the redwood trees at muir woods. it was daddy’s first time going, too (i had went with auntie angel and her friend a.k. when they visited last year). we hope to take you back to see these places again. california is a great state full of beautiful, beautiful sights and neat experiences. if it never happens that you make it back here with us, i hope that you come here. whether alone, with friends, with friendly strangers, or family. it’s definitely worth it. and if you drive, take i-10. it’s beautiful.
this month, you also got to meet your mom’s mom (your grandma) for the first time. she came to see you for several days that went by in a flash. the first time she saw you, she was getting into the back of our car to sit with you after we had picked her up from the airport.
she put a twenty dollar bill in your hand.
yes. when i went back to pull you out of your car seat, you were just holding on to that cash and looking at me like you didn’t know what to do with yourself but you liked it. it was hilarious. supposedly, the money thing is a filipino thing. whenever you bring a baby to visit a relative for the first time, they are supposed to give you money. or something. that’s what your grandma told me. and i have no problem with that. we’ll see how long we can milk that one. ;p but yeah. her being here was so amazing. and crazy. and absolutely beautiful. there is nothing like seeing your mom hold and love on your baby. and boy did she ever hold and love you a lots.
while she was here, we took her to the usual san francisco spots that we’ve taken all of our visitors but we also went to sacramento for the first time (it was mommy and daddy’s first time, too) where we got to meet your auntie anita and her daughter and kids.
when we dropped grandma off at the airport, and i went to get you out of your seat, you were sitting there…with yet another twenty dollar bill in your hand. looking at me like you had no idea where it came from. oh, your grandma. she is one of the most generous people i know. she gave you so much more than the forty bucks you held in your little hands.
this month also brought you to your first baseball game. while daddy’s worked at cornerstone, he’s been able to score some pretty amazing seats to oakland a’s games. neither your dad nor i are huge sports fans but we do love the atmosphere at baseball games so we were excited to take you to your first one. our houston family and friends probably threw a fit that your first game wasn’t to see the astro’s. but yeah. it was such a cool experience. we got to sit in second row seats behind third base. the people working guest relations were so smitten with you that they give you a little oakland a’s bear and posed with you for a picture before we left. you make friends everywhere you go!
this month you got yourself two more teefs. your two, top, front, teeth. it’s so strange seeing four little teeth when i look in your mouth. or just even when you smile big. i really didn’t think they were going to come in so quickly. but they have. and you’re still as cute as ever. you also have a mean bite on ya’, too. i think you’ve drawn blood on your father once. thankfully we haven’t had too much of an issue with the biting while nursing. i was really nervous about that one.
it’s been neat watching you notice and learn new things. you’ve become a lot more aware of strangers. where you used to give anyone a big, welcoming smile, you now just give most of ‘em a blank stare. it’s kind of hilarious when they’re really getting into trying to make you smile and you just stare back at them unamused. sometime if they catch you off guard, you’ve even started crying. it’s so different than the way you used to be. however, i know that you are becoming more aware of your surroundings and the people around you. so, this is a good thing.
you can roll over from back to stomach now. and you’ve started rotating to get a better look at what’s around you (or to keep tabs on mommy and daddy). i was so tickled the first time i noticed this. i left you on your tummy facing one way for just a bit and came back to you facing the other way with an amused and triumphant smile on your face. cheeky little monkey.
you seem to be taking to napping in your crib pretty well. your favorite sleeping position is on your side.
you’ve caught onto the idea of cause and effect. you’re quite the fan of peek-a-boo and you’ll catch on to things like me making a certain noise when you touch a certain part of my face. and what’s really cool is seeing you take one thing in your hand and clanking it against something in the other hand. and then the pleased look on your face after noticing the nice, loud CLACK that you’ve created. i love it. it’s so hard for me to bring myself to quiet you down when we’re in environments where repetitive, loud clacking is probably not appropriate. so, we try to avoid those sorts of places if possible.
phoebe cates is learning to trust you more and more every month. this month, she’s actually hung around you long enough for you to pet her. we’re working on a gentle pet and you’re doing pretty well with it but, of course, sometimes you get so excited and a little stroke soon turns into a fierce grabbing of the hair with a wild look in your eye. …and phoebe’s out of there. it’s progress, though. we get so happy to see you two getting along. she already loves you even though she is cautious of your erratic baby movements. we know this because she still checks on you whenever you cry loudly. it’s cute.
this month we had a little bit of a scare after your nine month check up. your first two measurements were normal. weight at 19 lbs 15 oz and in the 46 percentile and height at 28.5″ inches and in the 66 percentile, however, your head circumference was at 18 3/4″ and in the 97 percentile. there was no real concern until she compared your current measurement with your previous head growth recordings. she said that, even though you were right where you should be developmentally, that there was more rapid growth than she was completely comfortable with and, because of that, she wanted to do a head ultrasound. thankfully, the head ultrasound produced nothing but normal readings…and an interesting hair-do from the jelly they put your head for it.
we were SO relieved and thankful. turns out the big noggin is not just a typical big baby head but also it’s in genetics. your father has a biggun’, too. i share this with you because it was a big deal in our lives for a week or so (we were a mess with worry…and then relief)…and also so that you have this record should your potential babies have big heads, too.
you love to drink water. you’ve sort of upgraded to a straw. and i say, “sort of” because you’re not really sucking from the straw so much as you’re letting the water just fall into your mouth as we hold the straw to your mouth. it’s still cute, though. you get so excited whenever you see us get the straw ready.
speaking of this, you don’t really like drinking water any other way than straight from the glass (as we hold it) and as mentioned with the straw. you don’t want anything to do with the bottle or the sippy cups we have for you. oh well. you may just oohh and ahhh us and go straight to a glass. you amazing baby, you.
my favorite moment of this month would probably have to be getting to see you really click with your dad. you two have become real buds. i really noticed this when watching him throw you on top of his shoulders while you laugh and excitedly grab at his head. or in the way that you get excited and bury your face in his shirt when he holds you. and the way that he just melts when he looks at you. it brings me so much joy to see the two of you together. i can’t wait to see the years bring you even closer. there are so many lessons and fun to be had. he is crazy about you, son. he loves you so, so much. seeing him as your dad is just another way that i am so proud to be married to him. y’all are my beautiful boys. and i love you both so much.
happy nine months, little prince.
love,
momma