Ambulatory

You know that first moment in "2001: A Space Odyssey" when the apes realize that they can use clubs as tools and in slow-mo they jump around in ecstasy with their new-found evolutionary skill? I had that moment last week watching Mason inch forward on all fours. What that cinematic encapsulation represented was the lurch in my stomach of glee, wonder, curiosity, fulfillment, and success caused by watching this milestone of development for my child: the crawl.
For months we have watched him rock back and forth on his hands and knees and roll around the floor thinking, "Any day now." Now...that day has come. Gone are the 15, 20, 30 minutes that we could leave the room with him in the middle of the floor happily playing with his bevy of toys surrounding him on a mat and not worry about checking on him (but, of course, we still did every 5 minutes just because we are paranoid.) Gone are the days of unlocked cabinets and our lovely glass top side table. Welcome to the baby-safety zone.
Not only is he crawling (not full-speed yet, but he can cross a room in about a minute if he wants to), but he is also sitting up from a crawl proficiently and pulling up on almost everything. He has two additional vertical feet to explore with his gaping mouth and drooling tongue, after all, let alone the inside of cabinets, Zola's dog bed, and several low-lying bookshelves.
At least we can take solace in the fact that winter is over and we don't have to worry about a certain "hot wood stove incident. "

Mason - 9 Months

Holy Moley - where did 9 months go? As long as he was in the womb, he has now been in the world. He still kicks, doesn't hiccup as much, and continues to shake his head side to side (pre-birth is was an oh-so-comfortable grind into my pelvic bone). But how that little bean has grown!
At this week's check-up he was 21 lbs, 28" long, topped by an 18" head, so his growth has slowed quite a bit. I think his two bouts of sickness - first the flu, then croup with a week of hard-core teething in between tempered his appetite and his weight is starting to plateau. But don't worry, he's still got plenty of blubber for two babies!
It doesn't seem as though much has changed this month other than that he is feeding himself very well (LOVE Cheerios), drinking eagerly out of a cup, standing on his own for a good 3 seconds, and has finally found the CRAWL! Although it's more of a shuffle forward for about four strides, he is crawling and even moving from all fours to sitting with ease. He's not so svelte that we've had to lock cabinets, but we figure it's only a matter of days.
He now has two big top teeth (we say they are McElwain teeth with an Olivier gap) and two little bottom ones that he likes to grind and grimace. I didn't think that he could get any cuter than his toothless grin, but the buck teeth look does him justice. His feathery, straw-colored hair is long enough that it is style-able into a very fine mohawk 'do. We think it is hedging towards curly (yeah!)
New fun household toys: plastic hangers, the plastic baby food ice cube tray and lid, those little plastic salsa containers as Mexican restaurants, daddy's slippers, the cap to his sippy cup, and mommies feet.
He is definitely a ham and finds his stride at about 8pm each night when he gets crazy active and entertaining. Then he crashes at about 8:30 and falls asleep soon thereafter. Ah, so fun...
He is wowing us with his fabulous yoga moves - he strikes a mean Pigeon and Warrior I pose. He sometimes cries so forcefully he farts. And he continues to do what we call his Stevie Wonder head wag (I know, so un-PC). Mason ever-amazes us.