blackmoondog

Sure you've come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open mates, and hold on tight. With both hands, if you please. Thar be squalls ahead, and Davy Jones waiting for them that don't obey.

We pillage, plunder, we rifle and loot,
drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho,

We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot,
drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho,

We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack,
drink up, me 'arties, Yo Ho,

Maraud and embezzle and even highjack,
drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho,

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me.

We kindle and char and inflame and ignite,
drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho,

We burn up the city we're really a fright,
drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho,

We're rascals and scoundrels, we're villains and knaves,
drink up me 'arites, Yo Ho,

We're devils and blacksheep, we're really bad eggs,
drink up me 'arites, Yo Ho,

We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do well cads,
drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho,

Aye, but we're loved by our mommies 'n dads,
drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho,
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me.

Hoo Boy. This month's a doozie. But in a (mostly) good way.

Miss Zoe is officially mobile. Crawling. Pulling up to standing. Cruising. Oy.

In the pic above she was chasing me as I was crawling backwards trying to take her picture. Every time I told her to stop moving, she giggled wildly and headed right for me. Now that the forward motion is working for her, Zoe is picking up speed. Just in time for the Diaper Derby at the local harvest festival!

Below is the view I return to *every* time I leave her in the crib for any amount of time. Thankfully, we dropped the mattress to the lowest setting. It was astonishing to see how quickly standing and cruising started after the forward crawling began. Babyproofing has commenced in earnest at home and the pets are rather nonplussed.

This month also brings us teeth. Plural. In addition to the two bottom center, six new teeth are in the process of coming in and three of these (all on top) are through the gums and becoming more visible every day. This has made nursing a little uncomfy but (*knocks wood*) so far we haven't had any biting nastiness. Alas, she's made up for it with continued scratching and pinching -- why can't babies fingernails grow in when they're old enough to understand being told not to scratch Mama's tender arm flesh?

Zoe made her longest car trip to date on Labor Day weekend when we visited our friends in Guerneville. Even though it was a short dip, she absolutely loved splashing around in the Russian River. She also took her first few forward lunges at their house. Other than the usual sleep havoc and a fit of hysterics for about 45 minutes (from San Francisco to Mountain View), the trip was a success. Next we'll see how well she does at Disneyland in December (for *my* birthday :).

At her 9 month check-up today Zoe was pronounced beautiful and healthy but mildly anemic. I'll be adding more iron-rich foods to her solid meals in hopes of avoiding having to give her supplements. Since there seems to be some gluten sensitivity in the family and because she was sensitive to dairy via breastmilk, the pediatrician recommended that we delay introducing those and some of the other allergenic foods until after Zoe is at least 18 months old.

"Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:"

Number of teeth: 5, center bottom, center and just left on top
Number of teeth waiting to burst from the gums: 3, 1 top, 2 bottom
Weight: 17lbs 3oz
Length: 26 3/4in
Clothing size: Too big for 9 months, not quite big enough for 12 months
Sitting up?: Old news.
Crawling?: Oh yeah. And gaining speed.
Standing?: Pulls up on anything she can get her hands on. But not letting go yet.
Walking?: Assisted by the LeapFrog walker borrowed from friends. Doom.
Travel in September: Russian River/Bay Area for Labor Day and back to the Bay Area the weekend that followed. LA was planned but scrapped for the third weekend.
Foods: Primarily still nursing but we've switched from purees to finger foods. Faves are butternut squash and cheerios. Though the cheerios have to go since it turns out that oats have gluten. She'll be very displeased.
Likes: Watching big kids run & jump, hanging upside down, splashing in the tub
Dislikes: Diaper changes that don't feature Mama singing "Yellow Submarine", too many times in & out of the car, waking up alone