Oh, Just Things...

What the hell do you title a grabbag of random information? I rest my case.

Simon had his 9-month checkup today. He'll be 11 months old in 10 days, but his doctor was booked solid until now. His weight is still off the chart, but he's now an exciting 16 pounds, 0.4 ounces! The doctor says he's following his own growth curve and is doing fine. He hasn't grown much lengthwise. He's 27.6 inches long. There was a big (and surprising) growth spurt in the last month, however: Simon's head has blossomed to 18 inches in circumference, putting him in the 50th percentile. My little monstro is average-sized somewhere!

In the doctor's waiting room, Simon was gregarious and ready for action. He wanted to go up to all the little kids and... what? I don't know, play with them, I guess. There was a two-or-three-year-old boy playing with one of the waiting room activity blocks, and Simon walked right up to him and said, "Aa-eh!" This is his all-purpose word, said in a rising tone. It usually means, "I want that!" The little boy was shy and didn't know what to make of Simon. The boy's older brother said to him, "Dile 'hi,'" ("Say 'hi'"), but the boy just stared at Simon. Simon wanted to be walked around the waiting room so he could look at everything. He went up to a couple of babies and toddlers in their strollers and made noises at them. None of the other kids were interested in being his friend, but the parents found him charming.

Inside the examining room, things changed. Simon was crabby. He didn't want his clothes taken off and he didn't want anyone touching him. He didn't even like just waiting for the doctor to come in. He just wanted out of there. He got a flu shot at the end of the visit, and of course he cried, but not any harder than when the doctor was examining his ears. In fact, he calmed down faster after the shot than after the ear check.

Simon has learned how to clap his hands. He's very proud. If you ask him, "Can you clap your hands?" he stops what he's doing and claps. He also says ball ("bah") and "baby," but not reliably. He sometimes calls everything "bah." But he knows what I'm talking about if I say, "Where's the ball?" And if I say, "Simon, where's the baby?" he looks around the room for the baby doll and smiles at it.

Yesterday afternoon Simon did not want me out of his sight. I got Michael to watch him while I took a shower, and I could hear Simon crying from the other room. While I was washing my hair, Michael opened the door and carried Simon into the bathroom so he could see Mommy. I wasn't pleased. I can't even take a shower in peace. And it didn't calm Simon down. He wanted me to hold him and he was still crying. Stressful. So I rushed my shower, barely dried off, got mostly dressed, and took Simon in my arms for a few minutes. Geez! I asked Michael why he couldn't let me enjoy a few minutes alone, and he said that Simon wouldn't stop crying for me. Is that a good reason? I don't think so.