Toffee Overload

Before Christmas, Scott and I decided to make toffee for all of his co-workers and for an excuse to go around and meet the families in our neighborhood. 24 batches of toffee later... I looked less enthusiastic than I did while making this first batch.

Fortunately subsequent batches set up better than this one did. Using a candy thermometer made a world of difference. We finally bought THE LAST THERMOMETER ON EARTH after searching 7 different stores one Saturday. It was worth it.

That silly raffia stained my hands.

And when we stacked all the boxes, we realized it also left two large red stains on the carpet where I was assembling the boxes. That was much worse than silly. Even that old standby, Spot Shot, won't get it out.

Weight Limits?

Scott will always be the "fun" one because of stunts like this.
And this.

The Importance of Socks

Ian was climbing up the wall while I was doing the dishes. He had a sock stuffed in his mouth and would climb down and replace it whenever it fell out of his mouth.

9 Months (almost)

Ian already had his 9-month well check, so we will just pretend he has reached the 9-month milestone, though it isn't for a few more days...

Here are the stats:
Weight: 19 lbs. 9 oz., 25% (how did this happen?!)
Height: 28 1/4", 50%
Head: 17 3/4, 45%

So, our chubby baby is no longer off the charts. And actually, he lost weight since his last appointment. He also hasn't gained more than a pound or so in the last 5 months, and babies typically gain steadily during that period of time. Therefore the Dr. wants Ian to come in next month for a "weight check" to make sure he's doing Okay. She did say Ian looks incredibly healthy, so this is just a precaution. Often larger babies turn into their "actual selves" about 6-9 months, which is probably what Ian is doing. It is very strange to see him below the 50th percentile though.

The pediatrician kept remarking that Ian could do all kinds of things that he "wasn't old enough" to be doing. What a little show-off he is. :) Many of these skill emmerged while we were on our CA trip.

About a month ago, Ian starting giving "high fives". He will do it for strangers and friends alike, and he seems to get a pretty big kick out of it. While in CA, Ian started clapping! When we say "clap, clap, clap" he'll perform his talent. He also likes to clap while he's nursing. I appreciate knowing he likes the meal. He also began to use crawling to explore his surroundings, not just to chase after cell phones. And once he figured that out, he hasn't sat still. Ian also seemed to figure out what "dad" is. While eating dinner with friends one night, he looked at Scott and suddenly began stammering "dad!" with extra staccato on the last "d". Scott and I were thrilled. Ian is also mastering turning off light switches, and can locate and point to switches in the room. He often points to things that he wants, and grunts. (His "pointing" looks like the ASL sign for "k", but with the fingers curled in a little. He always does it like that.) Ian also mimics some of the phrases we say regularly. We think he is brilliant. :)


A few days ago I left Ian in his room while I walked down the hall to put a load of laundry in. I returned no more than 60 seconds later to find he had pulled nearly half his baby wipes out, one at a time. He pulled the rest out while I went and got my camera. :)