Peter had his 9 month appointment today. Here are his stats:
Weight: 17 pounds 6 ounces - 8th percentile
Height: 29 1/4 inches - 80th percentile
He is still tall and skinny (just like his Dad) and the doctor is still not concerned. He says it's better to be skinny and healthy, though Peter will definitely be a whole milk baby when he turns one. He can and does have pretty much anything we eat. He even likes some foods that aren't typically kid favorites like lamb curry and sauerkraut and bratwurst. The other day we gave him whole peas that were extra from the chicken pot pie I made. He really liked them, but they were a bit frustrating. He would try to pick them up but they would roll away from him so he ended up squishing them to get them into his mouth easier.
There normally aren't any shots associtated with this checkup but Peter got the first half of his flu vaccine and we will go back in a month so he can get the second shot in the series and also the H1N1 vaccine.
Peter is still a very happy baby. He is becoming more aware of strangers and getting upset at them. He REALLY didn't like the doctor today and the other day he REALLY didn't like my friend Danielle. Both instances were interesting to me because he had had previous interactions with both of them. So who knows why they made him so upset. He doesn't "crawl" yet but he does a mean army crawl. He is also figuring out how to push himself up. I think he may monkey walk (hands & feet) before he does a proper crawl (hands & knees).
We finally got a gate large enough for our den/office and Peter seems to be okay with it most of the time. There have been a few times where he was playing in the living room and I was doing something on the computer with the gate closed and he crawled toward me crying because I was on the wrong side of the gate.
We still swaddle Peter to go to bed but he's typically out of it before he falls asleep in his crib. I think even though he's all over the crib when he sleeps swaddling helps calm him down.
Peter's newest favorite toy is his car seat; he likes it when I leave him in there unbuckled because he will try to buckle himself back in. He has even gotten upset when I took him out before he was ready.
"Come on Mom pick me up!"

"I was just trying to get to the food on the floor in the kitchen."

"I knew I threw these on the floor for a reason."

"Somehow this is keeping me away from the yummy computer cords."

"Something isn't working quite right."

"I love my car seat!"
