Baby Hamster Ball

Two Cool Dudes enjoying our picnic

Relaxing by the water

BUSTED!

I'm in the market for a baby hamster ball. Why hasn't someone invented one? You mean to tell me millions of parents have been through this crawling stage and no one has thought of it?? Brenden started inching along two weeks ago and now he's blazing along and into EVERYTHING. He has no interest in toys anymore. There's no need to go to Toys R Us - he's thrilled to chew on a lamp cord or rip up piles of paper. He loves to follow me around the kitchen and pull on my pant legs, and if I open the fridge he tries to crawl in there and gets mad when I pull him out.

We're definitely still adjusting to his newly-discovered mobility, but Brenden is more fun than ever. I can't fold laundry without Brenden unfolding half of it during the process, but it's still easier than having to hold him 24/7.

He has also started saying "mama" and "dada." I know he doesn't know what he's saying, but I love it when he says mama.

In addition to adjusting to our new routine with Brenden, my work has been really demanding the last couple of weeks. I've been working extra hours to keep up. Not a lot of hours, but even a half hour extra after Brenden goes to bed puts me behind on the stuff I need to do at home. It's exhausting.

As you can see from the pictures above, we went on a nice picnic on Saturday. It was wonderful to sit by the water and enjoy the peace and quiet. Brenden was pretty mellow and had fun watching some older kids play and watching the waves when we went closer to the water.

Here's a cute video of Brenden crawling.

Emerald City Comicon

Adam and Max dorkin' it up at the Comicon

We went to the Emerald City Comicon today, and it was crazy! On one hand it was neat to see so many people all dressed up and having fun, but it was way overcrowded and hectic. Adam didn't get to do most of the things he was looking forward to because the lines were too long. It was hard to walk through the convention hall and several times I was nervous that Brenden was going to get knocked into. He did great in his new Ergo carrier. It was a splurge but it's way more comfortable for both of us.

Brenden was so good and patient today. He was so calm and laid-back the whole time, and when we had lunch he sat on his blanket and ate and played quietly until we were all finished. He started to fuss when he got tired, but as soon as we walked out of the convention hall he konked out in his carrier.

He is still a very big boy! We had his 9-month check up yesterday, and he's 36 inches tall (97% percentile) and 22 lbs, 10 oz (75% percentile). He's thinned out a lot now that he's crawling and always on the move. His doctor says his development is right on track. I was concerned because he's not eating finger foods and he gags if we try to give him the chunkier baby food, but the doctor said to let him take his time and not worry about it.

I really like our pediatrician. I get worried about the littlest things, and she's always reassuring. It's nice that I have friends with babies the same age, but sometimes that makes it a little harder because I can't help but compare. I wouldn't change a thing about Brenden, but I worry that we're doing something wrong if he's not able to do something another baby is. Tami's daughter Paityn is only 5 days older but much further along developmentally. I never thought I'd be a pushy parent but I realize I fall into that trap sometimes.