9 month check up = 6 weeks of anxiety

UPDATE:  We knew that John also has a big head, which sort of lessened the worry - but it turns out that as a baby, they were concerned about the size of his head too... and tested him for hydrocephalus.  He has clearly turned out just fine.  So hopefully all this will yield the same results.  

Had Colin's 9 month check up today.  I went this one alone, thinking "oh hey, all the other ones have been crazy straight forward and not a big deal... questions, poking, prodding, a couple of shots.. and we're out".  I should have known better!  Today was the day they did the blood test for hemoglobin and lead.  That meant a finger prick and a LOT of blood.  Then two shots in his poor little leg!  Poor Colin was screaming, I felt so terrible for him.

Now, I get to freak out for the next 6 weeks while we wait to go back to get his head remeasured.  I don't know if it's been abundantly clear, but my son has a HUGE head.  It has always been huge, and our last appointment prompted a triple check to make sure it was actually measured correctly.  Today, only twice - but then a comment of, "hmmm... well, I think it's better to check his head again in 6 weeks instead of waiting for his 1 year.  If it's still growing we might need to do an ultrasound."  Absolutely NOT the time to go to an appointment by myself.

About to be the longest 6 weeks of my life.

And not to mention that he only grew 0.25" in the last 3 months.. and dropped down to the 37th percentile in height.... But hey, at least his weight is still right on his own little curve and on track to maintain his 18th-20th percentile.  

Who knew a little 17lb 12oz baby boy could instill so much anxiety....

Latest stats on this handsome devil: 28" long, 17lb 12oz

Tomorrow is 9 months - so let's catch up on 8

I realize that I begin almost every post at this point with "holy balls the time is going by so fast I can't keep up".... but honestly, holy balls the time is going by so fast I can't keep up!!!  Tomorrow is Colin's 9 month appointment.  How is it possible?  He's essentially been "out" as long as he was "in"!  

I guess quite a few things have happened in the last month.  Let's get the rundown... This will be a ridiculous photo dump.  Sorry kids.

Colin said "dada" - although he doesn't necessarily do it on a regular basis, he can do it.

He dressed up like an elf.

Decorated his very first Christmas tree... no good pictures... there's always next year?

Colin had his first Thanksgiving - and he looooved the food.  He had a particular soft spot for green beans and mashed potatoes.  

 Met Santa!  (I know him!)\

Went to his first concert (the DePaul Community Chorus - Christmas at DePaul) and slept through the entire thing --- until the woman started singing.  He really likes it when ladies sing.

Had his first snow day!

 And is slowly working on getting in his 4th tooth.  I'm looking forward to that tooth just getting in already because Colin teething is a drain on all of us.

Oh and of course - he just generally gets cuter and cuter.  Sure, you might say I'm a bit biased, but I think there is some truth there.  

Chillin' on the couch at IKEA.  What a cool looking kid.

And that's our 8 month wrap up.  We have Christmas coming up in month 9, which comes with our first airplane ride with a baby.  We are about to be "those people" on an airplane.  I'm super nervous about it, but hopefully we'll be okay.  We are flying on a Saturday and on Christmas Day, so hopefully we can avoid most of the crazy travelers and everyone will be exceptionally nice to us.  Luckily it's only about 1.25 hours gate to gate, so we at least won't have to deal with it for very long.  

Otherwise, everything is pretty status quo.  I'm on "house arrest" because I sprained my foot stepping off a curb.  Let me just send a word of warning - texting and walking is not a good idea.  I'm just happy that Colin didn't get hurt since I was carrying him - but luckily I was carrying him in his infant seat so he didn't really fall.  I would have felt so terrible.

He's still not crawling, not that I'm complaining.  It is a lot easier to watch a baby that is in the same spot you left him.  He loves to sit, he loves to stand, but he does not like to lay on his belly.  So I'm not entirely sure how to entice him to crawl quite yet.  He did finally start to understand that he can roll for things, and he stretches out for things like it's his job when he's sitting.  I think we are close, but we've been saying that for about a month now, so who really knows.  

The weather has turned and it is officially winter outside.  It's crazy cold out, and makes it really hard to leave the house.  We still have months of this, so hopefully we get acclimated quick, otherwise it's going to be a long season indeed.

Finding time is like ... stacking BB's in the wind

That second half would make my mother proud.  She always had such weird sayings - that being one of them.... and "so..so.... sew brass buttons on toilet paper" when I would use "so" as a filler it would drive her crazy and so she would kindly point out that using "so" was as useful as sewing brass buttons on toilet paper.  You're welcome.  Ha.  Fun fact, I still use "so" as a filler - apparently her tactic didn't work.

But honestly, I'm being a little neglectful these days, and unfortunately it's getting into my non-blog life.  I'm still trying to find the opportunity to take 8 month pictures of Colin!!!  I only have like 10 days left of him being 8 months, so I really need to jump on it (make sure to read that like you're singing).  

I have a million things I have wanted to write, but I have to remind myself that this is more of a glimpse into our lives and less of a diary.  So I need to start focusing.  I haven't even really visited here in a while, and started rereading some of my unpublished posts.  It's interesting to see what stayed in draft, kind of a backwards peek at what was going on and how I was feeling - and remembering why I didn't want to share.

But now I would like to get back on track ... with everything - photos, blogging, cleaning, life.  We have Drinksgiving coming up this Saturday, so we have everyone coming over with enough food to feed a small army and we'll be heating up the smoker with turkey and maybe a ham.  Should be a delicious weekend, with some excellent lunches in my future.  

Now that I've put together a complete mash-up of unrelated thoughts, I will end with a few pictures picture that our friend took of us last weekend.  It was FREEZING, the wind was whipping around, but I was excited to get a few pictures with the City behind us.

Thanks to Chris Sommers at StudioCRAFT Photography for our photo!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/studioCRAFT-Photography/151187694999695

www.studiocraftdesign.com