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• Not only is Paul now pulling himself up on the edge of his crib (he’s standing there waiting for Daddy in the mornings), but he’s also walking along the edge of the couch if there is something he wants to eat (like expensive electronics). Here’s a video of the standing (I couldn’t get him to walk along the couch with the camera going; as the camera is an expensive electronic with a flashing light, he’d rather watch that). It takes about a minute to load.

• If he’s not too tired (i.e., cranky), Paul will turn the pages of the bedtime story when I tell him too (sometimes he’s extra eager and turns the page too soon).
• Paul has turned in to a master imitator. I coughed and he coughed (and laughed). I turned off the blender and he started making “whirring” noises. I read him a story with a lion and made a lion noise and he growled too. It’s quite cute.
• Along with the imitation, Paul has started copying words. I said “Let’s go eat” and he says “Eeech” (Daddy thinks I’m imagining that to be eat, but I think it is!) and I say “Bye Bye” and he says “ba ba.” I say “water” and he says “wa wa” (again, Daddy thinks I’m imagining this).
• For a few days, I held him in my lap as I emptied the bath water. “Bye Bye water” we said together as I dried him off. The next day and for every bath since then, he goes straight for the drain and pulls the plug. Any suggestions for how to get him off that particular habit? I’m very tired of 2 minute baths, and that’s holding him screaming while I scrub his body before I let him lose to empty the tub.

Paul is almost completely weaned. I decided to start last Tuesday night because his five-tooth biting was bloody and it was not fun. (He did it again Thursday and my decision was reinforced.) I was going to go slowly (i.e., eliminate one feed a day for a week and then eliminate the next feed for a week, etc.; I’m only giving four feeds anyway), but I think my body is ready to wean because as soon as I cut one feed, I was out of supply for two feeds. That makes me think that my supply has been low for a while and Paul’s biting was a way of saying, “I’m still hungry, and there’s nothing else here!” Now I’m giving him one feed a day (one week later!), and it also will soon be gone. Paul also seems ready. He likes the bottle and gets excited when I’m preparing it. He knows he is separate from me now, and I think holding the bottle himself is more fun than special cuddles with Mommy. *Gasp!*

I’m sad that the special baby cuddle moments will be gone, but Paul is obviously eager to be a bigger boy now. Sigh. Nine months has gone so quickly!