The Dickinson Boys: 9 months old!

Big Luke is 9 months old as of last week! On Monday he had his 9-month well-baby check-up. He was 19 lbs, 2 oz and 30 inches long. He's in the 93rd percentile for height but only 27th for weight, which is a drop from where he was at 6 months. We think his low weight may be related to some tummy problems he's had recently. The doctor wasn't too worried yet but our goal is to bump that number up a bit before his 12-month check up. He's a beanpole just like his big brother! Everything else at the appointment was good. We're going to get a little more aggressive with creams for his eczema. The improvement we saw after switching his formula was short-lived. His skin is improving, though, with the warmer weather.

Luke now has four teeth and he has been trying his hand at some table food. So far he's had muffins, waffles, dinner rolls, watermelon, bananas and (bad parenting alert) a Papa John's bread stick. He's still at the point where he'll mash the food, chew on it a little and spit it out. He doesn't swallow much of the table food we give him but he's getting better. This evening at dinner he was working on a blueberry muffin and he crumbled it and rubbed it all over his head. It was everywhere- stuck on his face, in his ears, in his hair. But he had fun. His new skills including waving bye and pushing up onto all fours and rocking. He hasn't quite crawled yet but he can occasionally inch forward. Luke makes a lot of sounds. He says "da da" a lot. Every once in a while he'll say "ma ma" but not often. Sometimes he's quiet and observant, usually when Will is around. Luke watches Will very intently. But other times Luke is a little chatterbox.

Luke's biggest news is...[drum roll]...he has slept through the night FOUR nights in a row!! All of the sudden he started taking a big bottle before going down (he used to just do 4-5 oz) and he sleeps until at least 6:00 am. I'll gladly get up that early if it means I don't have to get out of bed for feedings in the middle of the night. I did have to get up for Will one of those four nights, but I've been surprised at how much better I feel just having uninterrupted sleep. This is about the age Will was when he started sleeping through the night so I'm crossing my fingers that we don't regress.

We've been spending a lot of time outdoors this past week since the weather has been so nice. Unfortunately, our allergies are starting to kick in so we've had to cut back a little bit. We were all under the weather this past weekend but I'm still not sure if it was a cold or a bad bout with allergies. Will has been riding his tricycle a bit. He's getting better at it but our neighborhood is a little too hilly for him to really get going. We went to the park today where the paved track around the playground is flatter. He rode for a while but was soon distracted by the playground equipment.

Will continues to entertain us with what comes out of his mouth. He says things like "oh dear" and "oh my goodness." One evening David was getting Will ready for bed and Will said "what a day!" Yesterday Will was playing with his rolling Elmo bag that he uses when we're traveling and he told David (in his own way) that he wanted to go on an airplane. David asked where he wanted to go and suggested places like Disney World, the beach or Hawaii. Will said "go Alagama." He still remembers our trip to Montgomery! This past weekend David was getting on the treadmill and Will said "Careful, Daddy. Hurt yourself." Finally, when I tell Will that we're going to the library for story time he often repeats "listen and be quiet, listen and be quiet." When I tell him we're going to the gym he says "be nice and share." If only he took his own advice!

Will's newest fascination is the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs. We got him a couple of Easter DVDs and he loves The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town. It's the old one from the 70s with Fred Astaire. But Will doesn't mind the 35-year-old animation. He walks around saying "Easter Bunny is coming to town!" And he talks about Easter eggs, jelly beans (which he's never had) and "chocolate Easter Bunny." This afternoon I got out his Easter basket and some plastic eggs and he was entertained for quite a while. He went around the house giving eggs to various electronics, like the TV and his nebulizer machine.

Will has played a little basketball on his hoop in the garage and some baseball outside with Daddy. When Will makes a basket on his goal he likes to jump around and yell "Go Cowboys!" I've had some trouble getting him to eat much lately. He's so active nowadays that sometimes he hardly has the focus to eat. I feel like I'm constantly offering him food. He's doesn't seem to have much awareness of being hungry- he's too busy playing. We did have one of his favorite foods tonight- corn on the cob- so that got his attention.

So far (knock on wood) we haven't had much in the way of sibling rivalry. Sometimes Will ignores Luke but other times he seems to want to take care of him. This week the babysitter mentioned that she put Luke down on the floor to get his lunch ready. Will must have known it was Luke's lunch time because he went to the dining room and wheeled the highchair into the kitchen. Then he went to the diaper bag and got some of the snacks I keep in there for Luke. He brought them to the kitchen and put them on the high chair. He was getting everything ready to feed Luke! Sometimes he's concerned about feeding Luke and he'll talk about "Cookie's baby food." Occasionally he'll talk to Luke and pat him on the head. But he doesn't like when he's playing near Luke and Luke reaches for the toy Will is playing with. I've learned that I have to scold Luke for taking a toy away from Will just like I do Will when he takes a toy away from Luke. When Luke grabs Will's toy and I don't say anything, Will looks at me with a huge look of injustice. He gets these wide eyes like he's waiting for me to remind Luke to share. So I do. Fair's fair.

This week David's parents are visiting so the boys will get to spend time with their grandparents and their dog, Daisy. We may even dye some Easter eggs a little early since I know that Will is anxious to "color Easter eggs." Here's hoping he thinks they're cool enough that he'll actually eat them!

Rainy day meant no sand table time outside. I made this "cloud dough" for Will to play with out of flour and baby oil. It's like a cross between sand and play dough. He had fun with it for a while but the play time had to be cut short when he started launching chunks of it across the kitchen with the measuring cup.