Halloween

We dressed Huxley as a Wookie for Halloween, although he was commonly mistaken for a lion. He was adorable in his costume! We didn't go trick-or-treating with him, but had him great all trick-or-treaters who came to our door. There weren't too many so he mostly roamed the house and played with his toys. The highlight of the evening was when he scared a little girl. He peeked around the corner of the door and started to venture outside to really greet the trick-or-treaters and ended up scaring a two year old girl. Her parents had to reassure her that he was only a baby and wasn't going to attack her. 

Next year I'm sure we'll be hitting the neighborhood getting candy for the little guy. We'll have to get another Wookie costume for next year. He was just too cute in his costume. Have a look for yourself.

Huxley's first birthday

It's a little over two months away, but I couldn't help myself from thinking about it and doing a little planning.

I'm trying not to go overboard, because I know how easily he can be overstimulated which leads to setting off his early warning system which then leads to an explosion.  After last week, the last thing I want is a cranky Huxley.

Here are some ideas I've come up with so far:

When:  Saturday December 27th

Where: Here

When:  Open house from 1pm - 5pm

Activities:

• If the little guy allows, all attendees could have their pictures taken holding him.  If he cooperated the lucky guest(s) would receive their pictures in the mail after the party. 
• A table would be dedicated to telling the story of Huxley's first year through pictures - I was thinking we could carry this tradition on for many years - like until he's 16 and perhaps much longer.  When his friends come over for his party, we could have pictures of when Huxley was first brought into this world to 16.  It'd be great.
• All guests could sign the back of a photo of Huxley showing they attended his first bash.
• We could also do handprints so we could compare the size of his hands from year to year. When he does turn 16 we can see just how tiny he was. 

Of course Huxley's mood will dictate what gets done and what doesn't.  Feel free to comment on these ideas or suggest your own.

Baby Genius

Huxley's learned how to open his gate.  At first I thought it was a fluke, but he's been doing it every day for the last month so it's probably not a fluke anymore.  He doesn't try to go down the stairs once he opens the gate.  He just likes to open and shut the gate.  It's like a door - he just wants to swing it back and forth - for now.  

Crib-mates

We bought Huxley these cute Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore stuffed animals.  I'm not sure exactly where Eeyore is right now, but Pooh is securley cuddled in Huxley's arms.  He's been falling asleep clutching Winnie the Pooh.  Of course by morning Pooh looks like he's been thrown all around the crib.  It's quite cute.  

Huxley's 9 Month Re-cap

Well, I'm a little late with this post, but I got wrapped up with mid-terms and can finally take a breather now until my research papers are due.  Until then, I'll continue my procrastination and update the blog with all things Huxley.

Standing up:  This is his latest and greatest trick and at times a great annoyance - like when I'd really  like him to sleep  but he decides it's time to stand up in his crib and babble on and on even though it's 4am. It's very cute.  He's been pulling up like crazy on anything and everything he can and can't grab onto.  He'll go up to a leg of the table and try to pull himself up or he'll use my legs.  Of course, with this new mobility means a few bumps and bruises here and there.  

Throwing:  He's developing quite an arm and loves to fling sippy cups and spoons across the kitchen.  

Fits:  Now that he's mobile, he gets his mind set on making it to the electrical cords and gets a little testy when you veer him off his path.  If I pick him up he'll arch his back and cry.  He has a sixth sense about where all the electrical cords are in the house.  I've put pillows to block the cords underneath the computer, but he still knows they are there.

Babbling:  He babbles non-stop and even sings in the car.  For entire car-rides, even long ones, he'll say "ahhhhhhhhhh," take a small breath, then, "ahhhhhhhhhh."  He also likes to say mumumumum.  No dada yet, but we are working on it, I promise.  

Outings:  He's been continuing his classes at Gymboree and they are a lot of fun.  He gets to steal toys from other babies and have his toys stolen too.

 

Crawling:  He's really got this crawling thing done and has some speed to his chubby legs.  When he sees something he wants he'll zip right over to it.   Sometimes I pick up all dangerous objects(dog food, leashes, shoes, etc) from the kitchen floor and let him roam.  He'll end up doing circles around the island.  I've even given him several tupperware cabinets to play in.  Baby proofing turned out to be quite expensive, so I just moved a lot of

 baby friendly items down to his level instead of buying baby proofing necessities for all cabinets. 

Miscellaneous super abilities:  Opening his baby gate - he's done this about 4 times now.  Shutting doors and making kissing sounds.  

Fun Facts - Month 9

Food he's tried: Cereal, actual rice, spinach, plums, carrots, mango, tortillas, bread, crackers, cherrios, cheese, macaroni & cheese, applesauce, yogurt, granola, papaya, avocado, banana, blueberries, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, chicken, spaghetti, turkey, pears, & peaches.

His favorites: Bananas, oatmeal, and squash

His not so favorites: Yogurt and avocado

Number of Teeth - Way too many - 6. Now that he has uppers, brushing his teeth has gotten dangerous. He really hates have his teeth wiped off and he will bite my finger to pieces if I can even get it inside his mouth.

Tricks:

• Sits
• Rolls over and crawls away while being changed
  
• Crawls
• Says Mamama
• Laughs when daddy tries to get him to say dada
• Drinks from a sippy cup
• Drops his spoon and sippy cup on the floor a zillion times. I know he's doing it on purpose when he flings it over the side of the chair as soon as I give it back to him.
• Pulls himself up to stand
• Claps
• Trying to crawl out of his baby bath tub
  

New Toys: Some linky toys that are supposed to entice his sense of smell, but seem to only entice Buffy's sense of smell. He also got an activity center he can pull himself up on.

What comforts him when he's upset: Being held, looking out the window, playing with the blinds, and playing with the dogs.

What makes him smile/laugh: Buffy and Spike, strange sounds, being tickled, and momma and daddy singing to him.

Ounces he devours/day: 32

Ounces/feeding: 7-8 ounces

Number of feeding: 4/day

Clothing size he's in: Mostly 18 month but some 12 month

Diaper Size: Size 3 but about to move to size 4s.

Nickname: Huck or Hux
Favorite toys: His ducky, bath toys, musical keyboard thing because he can pull up to a standing position on it.

Favorite book: His Elephant Alphabet Book and the Jungle Book.

Favorite Nursery Rhymes: Hickory Dickory Dock, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Pop goes the Weasel.

Number of Naps: 2 naps - morning nap is normally an hour and a half. The afternoon nap can range from 45 minutes - 2 hours depending on when he woke up in the morning.

Bedtime: 7:30pm

Bedtime Ritual: I read him a book, turn on some lullabies, and give him a bottle.

Waking Time: It's been quite varied lately. He's taken to waking up at 5 am. I hope this is only a phase.

Likes:  Electrical Cords, Blinds, doggies and anything belonging to them.

Dislikes:  Being detoured from his destination, having his teeth brushed, nose cleaned, or face cleaned.

Huxley's 9 Month Stats

Huxley had his nine month check-up on Monday.  He got two shots (Hep B and Flu) and he got pricked in the finger to test his iron level.  He drinks a lot of formula so his iron level was normal.  He's on target for everything else and even a little ahead of schedule on babbling.  He babbled and squirmed the whole visit, until they stuck him with needles.  

Here are his stats:

Weight:  22 lbs - 77th percentile

Length: 29 1/2 in - 82nd percentile

Head Circ: 46 1/2 cm - 79 percentile

He has to go back in one month to get another flu shot.  The first time babies get a flu shot they have to get two.  His next visit with the doctor will be at his one year check-up.

Crawling in motion

Just a random video of us torturing Huxley.