Bruiser

On Thursday Calum had his 8 month check up which was a little delayed due to all the snow we've been having lately (worst winter in decades, aren't I lucky?!). Before we went I was genuinely thinking that Calum had slimmed down a bit but it turns out I was wrong. Our little boy isn't so little! His stats are:

Weight: 25 lbs 8 oz (99th percentile)
Length: 73.5 cm (75th percentile)
Head circumference: 49.1 cm (99th percentile)

So as the nurse nicely put it, his weight and head size are proportionate with each other but his height isn't.... Basically, our kid is a touch taller than average (not sure how this happened!) but is overweight and has a massive head! Oh, and as if this wasn't enough we have been told that he is no longer to go in the Jumperoo (Mom's lifesaver and his favourite toy of all) because he's spent so much time in it that his calve muscles might not have formed right which is why he only stands on his tippy toes and not flat like he should be to help for walking later on. He might even need physio to fix the problem! Oh, and his hips might be out of line a bit as when he was laid on his tummy the rolls in his bum cheeks weren't symmetrical!

To cap off a great appointment Calum decided to bash his head on the nurses' desk causing her to run off for a cold compress, me to look like a bad Mom and Calum to get his first ever bruise smack dab in the middle of his forehead (as kind of seen in the photo above). Looks like our little boy is going to be quite the bruiser, literally!

Happy 9 mos today to my cheeky little monkey. To celebrate he kept us up from midnight until 3 a.m. last night. Like Daddy, he knows how to party like a rock star. Happy Sunday!

Change

I've been a bad blogger lately. The past few weeks have been a period of change for our little family, it just seems like everything is happening at once with Mark's job, my job, our London flat and our new house. The only constant in our life these days seems to be Calum. He's such an easy going baby that he seems to just roll along with the punches whilst making us laugh along the way.

One thing is for sure, he is a cheeky little monkey. When looking through pics to post from this past month it was hard to find any where he wasn't doing his new pose or flapping his arms around with excitement. He's even got a few different grins and has started to learn how to make us laugh-most often by splashing water on us from his cup. Taking Calum out for dinner has started to become a little embarrassing.

Yesterday Calum and I went to baby movie (Sherlock Holmes) and another Mom and her baby, a boy a little older than Calum, sat down next to us. Calum spent almost the entire movie staring at the little boy and squawking at him. It's not uncommon for Calum to scare his friends in our baby group by shrieking at the top of his lungs, reducing them to tears. Let's just hope this is a phase and doesn't last!

At Nana's house last week Calum started backwards crawling. He hasn't perfected it at home quite yet but he's certainly giving it all he's got. With that nicely padded little bottom of his he's also become a great little butt crawler, able to get anything just slightly out of reach. At Mass on Sunday he entertained everyone in the back 10 rows of pews with his constant raspberry blowing. It's now getting embarrassing to bring Calum to church!

Never the less, our little comedian and attention seeker makes these sometimes difficult and stressful days all worthwhile. After all, we're doing it all for him now, aren't we?

On the subject of change, I wanted to post these two pics below. Other Moms probably know the tinge of sadness you get when you realise your baby has grown out of a certain stage of clothing (not because you have to put them away but because they are getting bigger and you can't make them stop!). Somewhat miraculously I was able to squeeze Calum into a 3-6 month shirt I had taken photos of him in back in September. I can't believe the change in him! He's like Benjamin Button-getting better with age, not so chubby and with more hair!

Jan.18, 2010-Almost 9 mos
Sept. 11, 2009-4 and a half mos
The happiest moment of my day, going into Calum's crib in the morning
Playing the water splash game (see the snow outside?! SO glad it's gone!)
Doing the arm flap after his bath. There is a matching top to these pjs but unfortunately Calum's forearms are too big to stuff into it!

Sightseeing

Just before Christmas my Mom came to visit, her second time to see me since I moved to London in June 2006. The last time she came I was 3 mos pregnant so running around London (and Paris) was a bit exhausting and we probably didn't get to do as much as we wanted. This time things were different because we had Calum and no longer live in the middle of the city. Never the less, we saw a lot in time she was here and it was so nice to have her.

The first night my Mom was here we got snow, a pretty rare occurrence where we live. It was so pretty and really Christmas-y but didn't do us any favors in terms of being able to get out and about. The snow stayed for most of her visit and with the BA strike we weren't really sure if she would be able to make it home, but all worked out in the end. We spent a few days in London, going to Notting Hill/Portabello Road market, walking the Thames and having lunch at our favorite little place-Brown's on Shad Thames, seeing Buckingham Palace (a first for me!) in the FREEZING cold, shopping Harrod's and seeing the world famous Selfridge's Christmas windows, having dinner at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants and spending a day in Canterbury where we saw the amazing Canterbury Cathderal.

Even after more then three and a half years of living here, I'm still amazed at all of the things there are still for me to see and do. There is so much history here that I don't think I will ever again be impressed with the history of things in America. The Canterbury Cathedral was founded in 602!

Before my Mom left (on the 23rd) we had our first Christmas where we were spoiled for presents. My Mom even managed to buy things Mark like which is next to impossible since he is notoriously hard to buy for! It was a great way to start the holiday and I'm really looking forward to Christmas in Seattle next year.

(My Mom wasn't included in the pics below by her request!).

London Bridge at night
View of the city from the Thames
Freezing at Notting Hill
Canterbury Cathedral
Inside the cathedral
Inside the cathedral, from 1679!