Today was Edward's nine-month birthday. After taking his "official" nine-month photo in the familiar spot on our couch, Mary took advantage of some great Indian Summer weather this afternoon to get some outdoor shots of Edward. He's grown quite adept at posing, and even has a ready smile most of the time as well. He seemed to enjoy this outdoor session, lazing about in the too-long grass and the growing number of leaves scattered in the yard. He sees a place to play, I see impending work. One day, he'll get to share in that with me. Enjoy it while you can, Ed!

His schedule is back to normal after traveling on Sunday. He had a good visit with a lot of relatives that haven't seen him in quite a while, so he had changed quite a bit in the intervening months. He enjoyed playing with his cousin, Bailey, as well as the many others gathered for lunch.

Edward is growing so quickly that he has nearly grown out of his car seat. So, we bought the next size up, which he'll be able to use for a few years. We'll install it much like the other one, rear facing, until his first birthday; then he'll finally be able to turn around and see where he's going instead of where he's been. He gave the seat a test drive tonight, and will take it for a real drive this weekend for a trip to see cousins, an aunt and uncle, grandparents and great grandparents.

After the seat testing, Mary took the opportunity to give Edward a hug. No one would dispute the fact that Edward loves his mother, as evidenced by yet another over-the-shoulder picture here.

However, no guy ever wants to have his Mom slobbering over him in public, even if the only witness is Dad. So, understandably, Edward balked at her next move, when she planted a wet one on his cheek. This is a rarity, of course, as even at his crankiest (yes, believe it or not, Ed is occasionally cranky), a view of Mom is all it usually takes to bring a smile to his face.

A major breakthrough in Edward's world today--literally. After gallons of drool and months of gnawing on everything in sight, he has a tooth. It may be a few days (weeks?) before it's visible in photos, but I felt it this afternoon--it's definitely there.

In anticipation of his emerging set of choppers, we've been giving him a few more finger foods in addition to his diet of milk and pureed fruits and veggies. He likes to feed himself so much that even while receiving a spoonfed meal, he's rooting around on the tray for things he can pick up. He still loves the Veggie Puffs and will bypass other things on tray to get to them and shove them in his mouth by the fistful. He also seems to like grapes now that I've loosened up and realized I don't need to cut them into microscopic pieces. I seriously think I cut them so small at first that he couldn't even see them to reach out and pick them up! Overprotective? I can't deny it.

The cheese hasn't gone over too well so far-- shredded cheddar and mozzarella as well as tiny cubes of Monterey jack have been rejected with a lovely gagging noise. So subtle. I may try American, but those three are what we had on hand. I did find some little crackers that are not baby food, but are thin enough for him to gum. They are shaped like bunnies (shout out to KG in AZ!) He's getting the whole wheat variety--I know I'm a tyrant Mom. But I figure as long as I have sole discretion I might as well try to establish a taste for something relatively healthy. He'll be bombarded with kid-directed marketing soon enough and start making demands.

He is also entertaining himself (and his parents) with some new consonant babbling ("ba ba ba" "ma ma ma" etc.)

We had a pretty quiet weekend here, which was OK by us. It meant a lot of play time. Of course, we took pictures. Top to bottom: Edward humors us by wearing his tag toy as a hat (note the drool); Edward gazes across the room while standing against the ottoman; Even Edward himself is amazed that he can hold up the tag toy with one hand and keep his balance with the other gripping the ottoman.

The green Osh Kosh overalls got raves at daycare this morning, even if John was a bit skeptical. John himself favors a much more subtle color palate--anything other than khakis or jeans with a button-down shirt is a bit exotic. Maybe if we start early, Edward will have a more open mind. Then again, maybe John's fashion sense is a strong reaction against the 70s-era photos in the family albums and these photos of Ed will start the cycle all over.

We had a quiet weekend except for Saturday night when we thought another ear infection was flaring up. Edward was screaming, only comfortable rocking upright in our arms. This has previously been a sign of ear pain. So we called our friend to say we would miss her going away party (we'd been planning to attend in a split shift as the departure as well as the party came with too little advance notice for securing a babysitter) and got ready to head to the ER around 8:30. That early in the evening we thought we'd be safe from the drunks. As we were getting ready, Edward let out an enormous burp followed by some gas and was suddenly a new man--er, baby. We got him settled back in bed, waited to see if it would take, and then I headed over to the party. After an hour or so, I came home and John went. So all's well that ends well. Ed did wake up two more times in the night, but he's been fine since then so we think we're in the clear for now. Thank goodness we didn't schlep all the way to the ER only to have him burp himself to sleep!

This week's mystery: Why does Edward eat more at daycare than at home? On weekends, Ed usually nurses between 9 and 9:30 a.m. and then takes a nap for about an hour. When he wakes up he doesn't demand another meal until noon or later. At daycare, he eats at about that same time, sleeps at some point in the morning for 20-30 minutes, and then has a second bottle between 11 and 11:45 or so. I thought maybe I could leave a larger volume bottle for his first meal and that would carry him through the morning, but he didn't finish it. Might keep trying this approach, though I cringe at the thought of sending milk down the drain given how hard I work to produce it!

Another potential remedy will be introducing a third "solid" meal at midday. I'm hoping to make this a meal of finger foods (rather than another spoonfed meal) so I've been introducing some different items that he can pick up. Blog readers saw how the watermelon went over like a lead balloon last week. Today we tried "veggie puffs" and he loved those. Still, it's hard to see how anyone, even a baby, could get full on air-puffed pieces. I am also thinking of trying some cheese shreds this week. But just one new thing every three days or so to ensure he doesn't have a bad reaction. It all seems so bland, but I guess you can't be too cautious.

We have been reminded that it has been several days since the last photo was posted here, so first let us apologize for being remiss in our duties. It has been a busy week coming out of the holiday weekend. Edward had the chance to visit his Grandma and Grandpa Kenyon and Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Askren. He had a lot of fun with all of them, and I think it's safe to safe they with him. Here he plays with Great Grandpa, while to the left he shows Great Grandma just how big he's getting. He's a handful!

He also took the time to laze about with me while I took it easy doing some reading for work (really). It isn't often that he is content to lay around and not be moving, so we take advantage when we can.

All of that play can make a fella dirty, so baths are a necessity. About the only time Edward still feels small is when he balls himself up while we dry him off after one. Here he has contorted himself to allow for some slobber application on his freshly cleaned foot.

That is probably putting the cart before the horse, because one key reason Edward needs to bathe frequently is his habit of trying to wear as much food as he eats during mealtime. Mary decided to experiment with some fresh watermelon this week, cutting some into tiny pieces to give to Ed. As you can tell, it's an acquired taste. It got easier once she introduced Cheerios to the mix, combining the two for an odd dessert.

Finally, here's some video of playtime from tonight. Ed is growing quite adept at pulling himself up to standing position, and we anticipate (fear?) that he'll soon be much more mobile. Otherwise, it's getting easier and easier to coax a laugh from him (until he gets tired and/or bored and goes the other direction, as you'll see here).

Edward is ready for the Hawks home opener tomorrow. Well, ready to watch, anyway (or listen, as the game is, controversially, not available on local cable!) He clearly has a ways to go in learning to throw, rather than eat, the ball!

Actually, it's not even the first Iowa football game of his young life, since he was with us for the Outback Bowl in January. None of us remember much of it though, as that was back when we were feeding him every two hours around the clock. Forgive us if that whole month was a blur!

We've had a couple of chilly mornings this week--hooray for fall! I do love this time of year, even if some people find it depressing to anticipate the cold months. I welcome the return of jeans and fleece. Edward is well stocked in that department thanks to his cousin as well as some forward-thinking friends, who gave gifts at birth that he's just now growing into. We tried yesterday to capture the darling fleece jacket stitched by our friend Vickie but ended up with mostly just socks (from neighbors Bill and Tania.) Those were a huge hit at daycare--people came from other classrooms while on break to take a look! This morning we managed to get an upright look at the jacket before heading out the door to work and daycare.

Hope everyone has a restful long weekend! We will visit Ed's grandparents and great-grandparents. Fun for all!