40th Percentile?!?

Benjamin just turned 9 months old (can you believe it??) and we went to the doctor for a check up. His stats are 20lbs, 28 1/2 inches long, and a big head! (I can't remember the measurement, but he is in the 80th percentile.) For weight, he is only in the 40th percentile, down from 65th, and for height he is in the 50th. After all the stress people have caused me by exclaiming how BIG Ben is for his age, my little guy now has to eat more potatoes, red meat, and high fat dairy according to our pediatrician! I asked him if he has seen our little one's "beer belly," as I like to call it but he just snickered. I'm not quite sure how much more our piggy can eat. He still takes in 32 ounces of formula AND three meals a day with 2 snacks. Ben's almost entirely on table foods. Last night he even had some pot roast. In the end, though, I'm sure there is nothing to worry about and his drop is probably due to the fact that he now crawls around like a maniac! He literally does not sit still unless he is eating or sleeping.

Without further ado, our NINE MONTH OLD, then and now:




As you can see, it was A LOT easier to get a picture back in the newborn days...but that smile is priceless!

Big Boy.

As you can see, I finally got around to adding a header to my blog. I've been dying to do it forever but didn't know how. Someone on my message board pointed me in the right direction and voila! I used www.scrapblog.com and if you have never visited that site, you should! It's amazing. I'm working on a scrapbook of Ben's 1st year on there. I'm more of a computer type of girl than the real scrapbooking deal, so the site is perfect for me!

On to Ben...I finally got some pictures of my big boy standing up. I let go of his hands sometimes and he stands by himself for like 2-3 seconds and then realizes what is going on and starts to topple over.




He has gotten very clingy lately and has started to show attachment toward me. It is cute at times, but it has been very difficult to get things accomplished with a baby attached to my leg or crying amongst his toys until I pick him up. I'm glad that he gets time with other kids and caretakers at daycare, so hopefully he will have a good combination of independence and love for his parents. :-) When I drop him off in the morning, he laughs and smiles as we enter the school and has no problem going to Fran or Jessica, his teachers. Thank goodness...I don't think I could handle my little guy crying for me and be able to walk away!

Sickness.

Ugh, we have been dealing with a terrible bug the past two days. Ben is throwing up, not eating, the whole nine. Strangely, though, he's still pretty happy! Thank goodness for Wonder Pets. If you look closely, you can see Ben's Ming Ming behind him.




In other news, our little baby is growing up! He now pulls himself to standing position. He tries to climb up EVERYTHING now and falls over quite a bit. I swear he is going to give me a heart attack before he even turns 1. I don't have any pictures of this milestone yet (mainly because I'm hovering behind him like the paranoid mom that I tend to be), but I do have a few cute ones to post.

Doesn't he just look like such a BOY now rather than a baby?

And for those of you wondering about our darling Nibbles, here is a picture for you. He's doing well, pretty much ignores the baby, unless Ben is eating, in which case the dog is his best friend!