Tyson - September 2012 - 9 Months

Tiger, Tiger...we've kind of been through the ringer with you this month.  I've been convinced you are teething for the last 2 or 3 months now, and yep, still nothing.  Why do I think you're teething, well because you continue to be a pretty miserable guy the majority of the time.  But then you make this face...

...and everybody is in love with you again.  Yes, more sniffyy face.  We love the sniffy face.

You give smiles every once in a while too.  This was on one of our walks to the Ranchos park.  We actually had dad home for a day or 2 and he went with us and let you have his hat for a few minutes.  You'll be such a cute firefighter someday.

I knew you were getting too big for your infant carrier, so I finally broke out the bigger carseat this month.  You like that there isn't a canopy on this one and quite often when I look back at the big kids I can see you doing your best to look up at me.

You still don't like to "crawl," but you're getting there.  You can army crawl with the best of them though.  That's half of the problem, you get up on your knees and go a few "steps" before deciding you can drop down on your belly and go faster.  Your dad just laughs when you make your way down the hall, and it really is funny to see you wiggle away at mach speed.

One Sunday when dad was gone we happened to have a lemon sitting around the kitchen and decided to have a little fun....

I think that one might be better than the sniffy face.

On another one of our trips to the park (dad's been gone a lot lately...), you must have been in a goofy mood because I laid you down in the grass and you just started laughing.  It was pretty dang cute.

We went to Hurricane at the end of the month and spent 3 nights there.  On Saturday we talked Aunt Lisa into going into St. George with us, and she rode in the car with me and you while the big kids went in Grandma's car.  We had fun shopping until we got to the fabric store and you got the look on your face that means we're in trouble.  I was lucky that I had diapers and wipes in the car and ran out to get them while Aunt Lisa braved the smell for a few more minutes.  I headed back to the restroom at the back of the store and got you strapped onto the changing table.  As I got the wipes out and started cleaning you up I realized I was in big, BIG trouble.  I have NEVER seen a blowout quite like that before, especially from you.  In the end I ended up plunking your bare bum on the edge of the sink and doing my best to wash you off before throwing on a new diaper and your shorts.  The shirt you were wearing, a cute brown and blue onesie that I was SO excited to put in your baby clothes quilt, ended up in the trash.  There is a point of no return for clothes that have been pooped in, and that poor shirt was well past that point.  So Aunt Lisa and I hauled you around in shorts without a shirt on like white trash while we finished our shopping, and look, she still dared hold you after we got home! (With a new shirt by that time...)

Dad finally made it home after 18 days in California, and you weren't quite sure what to think about him and his beard.  This was after he'd been home for a little while and actually decided you'd let him hold you.

Two nights after he got home he left again for the muzzleloader hunt, and the next day after school you, Logan, and I headed up too.  You'd been having a bit of a fever and were pretty grumpy, but I figured you could be grumpy at home or grumpy camping and either way I'd be holding you most of the day, so away we went.  (That right there is the difference between your first kid and your third kid.)  You actually did pretty well, although the second night you did wake up about once or twice an hour, which led to everyone else in the trailer being pretty grumpy on Sunday.  Once again, though, the sniffy face helps us all put up with your crap.

It turns out that you probably had roseola, a virus that gives you a fever, makes you irritable and lose your appetite, and then breaks you out in a rash.  We had a well-check appointment for you today (10/1) and Dr. Ott is pretty sure you had/have all the symptoms.  You weighed in at 20 pounds and 28-1/2 inches long, which is about 50th percentile for both.

Ok, so you are grumpy and you wake up a lot at night and you are clingy (and heavy!), but boy do we love our Tiger boy.  Your smiles and sniffy face and giggles are worth all the grump we get.  I'm excited to see if you decide you want to crawl or if you end up going straight from your super fast army crawl to walking (and that can wait quite a few months).  I'm also curious when you'll finally get that first dreaded tooth.  For now though, we will enjoy our favorite 9-month-old, because this is the last time we'll have one in our house blowing raspberries, blowing out diapers, and pulling hair.

Love you Tiger,
Mom