Dear Tagg,
Before I say anything else, let me just say - please, please, please keep being so darn happy!!! I honestly cannot get enough of your smile, your laugh, the way your eyes lock on mine when it's just you and me, the way you bury your head into the crook of my neck when you are being shy and/or tired, the way you now notice me from across a room and start crawling to me in a mad dash. I. Can't. Get. Enough.
The past three months have flown by. Okay, let's be honest, the past nine months have flown by as well. Come on, little sir, slow down just long enough for me to breathe in these fleeting moments just a little longer. I sometimes panic at the thought of you and Holland growing up too quickly, and me not being able to do anything about that. Life - why does it have to go so fast when you don't want it to?
Since your six-month mark you have begun to look a lot more "Eppley" and your hair fades to a lighter shade of blond every single month. During your seventh month you started crawling, but mostly it was a scoot backwards - you got yourself stuck under furniture quite a bit. Then, during your eighth month you really figured it out and there was no stopping you. And, that same month, you pulled yourself up using a chair I was sitting on so that you were standing for the very first time. To say you were proud is a definite understatement.
Also, in your eighth month, you drank an entire bottle. Once. And you haven't done it again since. Naughty! You are a very good and quick nurser though, so I'm not too entirely bugged about your lack of interest in a bottle. But, be warned, little buddy, three more months to go and it's no more boob for you. We've been giving you a sippy cup lately - you chew on the nipple, and if we're lucky a little water or juice spills into your mouth now and then. Oh my. Just like your sister was - you anti-bottle-sippy-cup babies!
Now that you are eating food more consistently, you nurse first thing in the morning, before both of your naps (one around 9 or 10am and the other around 2 or 3pm) and then again before bed. You are pretty great at picking up small objects with your finger and thumb resulting in your love of eating those little baby food puffs, mostly the banana and the sweet potato flavors. As far as baby food goes, you gobble down prunes (I know, I know. You are constipated a lot though, so this is a good thing!), sweet potatoes, yogurt, green beans, carrots, bananas, and rice cereal (if it's made with juice). You look at me like I'm crazy, as you spit it right out, every time I try to feed you sweet peas. You'll learn that peas are of the Gods - you will. Oh, also just like your sister, you love yogurt melts! Just this past month you've started smacking your lips when you are hungry or see someone eating...even if you aren't hungry. It's really cute.
So, one would think with your new-found love of food that you would be a little chunk. But you aren't. At your nine-month appointment you weighed 18 lbs. (10th %) and you were 28.8 inches long (not quite 75th %), your head circumference was 18.1 inches (below 5th %). So, not as off the charts as your sister, but still a lean little machine. You are still wearing size two diapers, you skinny little thing, and wearing 3-6 month clothes. I'm thinking of pulling out the 9 month clothes just so we can get some use out of them. Ha!
In your seventh month we took a trip to St. George and stayed in the Pace Family get-away for a few days. It was where your great Grandma and Grandpa Pace lived for a while and then kept as a vacation home. We're happy to get to use it now and then. In your eighth month we went to Grandma Maggie's in Eagle, Idaho. This was your second trip to Idaho and you did a great job on the long drove! And this past month, we had the Eppley Family Reunion and stayed at Grandma Lucy's and Grandpa's house in Salem for almost a week. You've slept there a lot and you do it like a champ!! Three really fun trips!
You still adore Holland and think that she is pretty funny. You love when she gets on the ground and rolls around with you. And for the most part, the two of you love to play together. But, when Holland tries to ride you like a horse, well, you don't so much love that! In fact, you scream every time. I would too, little mister, I would too! But, amazingly, you are never upset for long - ever. What a gift!
You love to play with whatever Holland is playing with, even though that really bugs her at times. She's learned to hand you something in return if you try to steal her toy...but all you really want is what she already has. I find it quite funny - for now, anyway. If she builds a tower, you knock it down. If she lines up her bath toys each on their own washcloths, you pull them off. If she puts the train track together, you pull the pieces apart. It's all in love, buddy, we know. You'll both learn some give and take in the years to come. Believe me.
Water. You LOVE water. You love water parks, the tiny splash pool in our back yard, the tub and the shower. You love to be tickled, under your neck and the inside of your thighs really get you giggling.
Your quickly increasing mobility makes you want out and about more than sitting in that once-upon-a-time great entertainment center - the exersaucer. But, you're still willing to chill in it while you watch Daddy work in the garage. You are pulling yourself up on furniture more and more. You've even started crawling up stairs...and falling down a few as well. Speaking of your mobility, it's landed you quite a few bumps and bruises. Darn the darn. We are convinced that you are going to be an early walker. But, we'll see about that.
It's so much fun to watch you learn and grow. But, hey, I have an idea - stay little just a little longer. And, please, don't grow up too quickly. You hear me, little mister?
Love,
Mommy
p.s. Here is your progression over the past three months, you little cutie.
Before I say anything else, let me just say - please, please, please keep being so darn happy!!! I honestly cannot get enough of your smile, your laugh, the way your eyes lock on mine when it's just you and me, the way you bury your head into the crook of my neck when you are being shy and/or tired, the way you now notice me from across a room and start crawling to me in a mad dash. I. Can't. Get. Enough.
The past three months have flown by. Okay, let's be honest, the past nine months have flown by as well. Come on, little sir, slow down just long enough for me to breathe in these fleeting moments just a little longer. I sometimes panic at the thought of you and Holland growing up too quickly, and me not being able to do anything about that. Life - why does it have to go so fast when you don't want it to?
Since your six-month mark you have begun to look a lot more "Eppley" and your hair fades to a lighter shade of blond every single month. During your seventh month you started crawling, but mostly it was a scoot backwards - you got yourself stuck under furniture quite a bit. Then, during your eighth month you really figured it out and there was no stopping you. And, that same month, you pulled yourself up using a chair I was sitting on so that you were standing for the very first time. To say you were proud is a definite understatement.
Also, in your eighth month, you drank an entire bottle. Once. And you haven't done it again since. Naughty! You are a very good and quick nurser though, so I'm not too entirely bugged about your lack of interest in a bottle. But, be warned, little buddy, three more months to go and it's no more boob for you. We've been giving you a sippy cup lately - you chew on the nipple, and if we're lucky a little water or juice spills into your mouth now and then. Oh my. Just like your sister was - you anti-bottle-sippy-cup babies!
Now that you are eating food more consistently, you nurse first thing in the morning, before both of your naps (one around 9 or 10am and the other around 2 or 3pm) and then again before bed. You are pretty great at picking up small objects with your finger and thumb resulting in your love of eating those little baby food puffs, mostly the banana and the sweet potato flavors. As far as baby food goes, you gobble down prunes (I know, I know. You are constipated a lot though, so this is a good thing!), sweet potatoes, yogurt, green beans, carrots, bananas, and rice cereal (if it's made with juice). You look at me like I'm crazy, as you spit it right out, every time I try to feed you sweet peas. You'll learn that peas are of the Gods - you will. Oh, also just like your sister, you love yogurt melts! Just this past month you've started smacking your lips when you are hungry or see someone eating...even if you aren't hungry. It's really cute.
So, one would think with your new-found love of food that you would be a little chunk. But you aren't. At your nine-month appointment you weighed 18 lbs. (10th %) and you were 28.8 inches long (not quite 75th %), your head circumference was 18.1 inches (below 5th %). So, not as off the charts as your sister, but still a lean little machine. You are still wearing size two diapers, you skinny little thing, and wearing 3-6 month clothes. I'm thinking of pulling out the 9 month clothes just so we can get some use out of them. Ha!
In your seventh month we took a trip to St. George and stayed in the Pace Family get-away for a few days. It was where your great Grandma and Grandpa Pace lived for a while and then kept as a vacation home. We're happy to get to use it now and then. In your eighth month we went to Grandma Maggie's in Eagle, Idaho. This was your second trip to Idaho and you did a great job on the long drove! And this past month, we had the Eppley Family Reunion and stayed at Grandma Lucy's and Grandpa's house in Salem for almost a week. You've slept there a lot and you do it like a champ!! Three really fun trips!
You still adore Holland and think that she is pretty funny. You love when she gets on the ground and rolls around with you. And for the most part, the two of you love to play together. But, when Holland tries to ride you like a horse, well, you don't so much love that! In fact, you scream every time. I would too, little mister, I would too! But, amazingly, you are never upset for long - ever. What a gift!
You love to play with whatever Holland is playing with, even though that really bugs her at times. She's learned to hand you something in return if you try to steal her toy...but all you really want is what she already has. I find it quite funny - for now, anyway. If she builds a tower, you knock it down. If she lines up her bath toys each on their own washcloths, you pull them off. If she puts the train track together, you pull the pieces apart. It's all in love, buddy, we know. You'll both learn some give and take in the years to come. Believe me.
Water. You LOVE water. You love water parks, the tiny splash pool in our back yard, the tub and the shower. You love to be tickled, under your neck and the inside of your thighs really get you giggling.
Your quickly increasing mobility makes you want out and about more than sitting in that once-upon-a-time great entertainment center - the exersaucer. But, you're still willing to chill in it while you watch Daddy work in the garage. You are pulling yourself up on furniture more and more. You've even started crawling up stairs...and falling down a few as well. Speaking of your mobility, it's landed you quite a few bumps and bruises. Darn the darn. We are convinced that you are going to be an early walker. But, we'll see about that.
It's so much fun to watch you learn and grow. But, hey, I have an idea - stay little just a little longer. And, please, don't grow up too quickly. You hear me, little mister?
Love,
Mommy
p.s. Here is your progression over the past three months, you little cutie.
