happy nine month birthday, alden! you serious little man, you.

month eight was a rough one. poor alden spent most of it with a grumbly, sad belly. last weekend was the horrible finale (we hope!) and he's feeling much better now. we all are. ah, except for those pesky teeth--they just won't stop coming in. he's working very hard on numbers five and six right now. five just cut through tonight, making settling down more of a chore than it's been in a long time.

oh right, we may have neglected to mention that sir has outgrown his need for the moby wrap and yoga ball! that's right! around the 8 month mark, alden started acting very grumpy and wriggly when i'd tuck him in to be bounced to sleep. one night i finally took the hint (or gave up? hard to remember which) and just stuck him in bed to nurse. lo and behold--he fell asleep! the next day, i tried it at nap time and what do you know? he fell asleep! it's so refreshing.

of course, then he fell out of bed. we won't go into the details. suffice it to say that he fared FAR better than his poor old moms, who was an absolute wreck. the crib was promptly put together and when he refused (and continues to refuse) to do anything but stand and scream in it, pillows and blankets were piled at the side of the bed where he fell. this weekend, the bed goes on the floor. sigh. we haven't lost faith in the crib just yet, but it's going to be a long transition, i think.

apologies for the lack of posting around here. bun is more active than ever. just today he learned about cabinets--that they open and hide all manner of forbidden treasures. he's also learned that filthy trash cans and the toilet make excellent drums. he definitely has a percussive bent. and a rebellious one. it's going to be tricky to keep up with him and help foster his need to explore instead of accidentally stifling him with no-nos and worrying.