No Business Like Snow Business

O. was so excited to wake up to snow yesterday morning! He and Ray even built a small snowman in the front yard after school. And yes, he's wearing his rain boots. Apparently I'm in denial about winter, so he doesn't have snow boots yet! He didn't seem to mind; he just thought it was hilarious that he had to put on two pairs of socks.

Elsie seemed to like it outside, too, once she figured out that, yes, she could move with a snowsuit on. She seemed quite skeptical at first!

O's Monster

Back in July, I made a monster for a swap. Owen instantly fell in love with it and requested one of his own. It was originally slated to be orange, but by the time I started knitting it last month, he decided it should be green (inspired by his new Mike Wazowski love, I'm sure). I used a different pattern by the same designer, since the first little guy was quite small. It took forever, but he's finally done! Part of the problem was that O. kept swiping him to play with after each limb was sewn on. :) When he was complete, I handed him over, O. hugged him and said, "He's my best friend." And that is why I spend a month working on a silly project.

Nine Months Old!

Elsie had her nine month checkup today. She is 29.2" long, which is the 94th percentile, and 17 pounds, 5 ounces, which is the 25th percentile -- at least on their charts. On the WHO charts, which are based on breastfed babies, not a combo of BF and formula-fed, she only dropped a few percentage points (since breastfed babies' weight gain typically levels off more after six months). I will stay off my soapbox for the moment, but it irritates me to no end that they don't use the breastfed chart for breastfed babies! We'll be trying to encourage solids more without pushing it too hard, since her physical therapist said that if we try to force food into her mouth it could exacerbate an oral aversion -- if she has one. She does fine once it's in her mouth, so we've been putting some on her tray and smearing some on her hands. Most of it just ends up in her hair, but she does take a lick here and there. The pediatrician gave us a few suggestions, and I'll also ask during PT this week. I'm less concerned now that I was able to look on the WHO chart, but we'll still work harder at it. Other than that possible issue and her ongoing developmental delays, her health is great. She is sweet and smiley most of the time, although she's in a separation anxiety phase at the moment, so poor Ray can rarely hold her if I'm around without a tearful outburst.

More Pumpkin Muffins

O. and I decided to change things up a little yesterday and make these Starbucks-inspired pumpkin muffins. I've never had the originals, but they were soooo good (and considerably less healthy than Granny's recipe). We halved it, since I only have one muffin tin, used all whole wheat flour, plain cream cheese and sprinkled them with walnuts. Owen loved pushing the cream cheese chunks into the batter almost as much as he liked eating them!

Celebrate Babywearing!

Today's the first day of International Babywearing Week. My local group is celebrating by holding a walk on Sunday at the mall (Crazy Wisconsin weather! I'd much rather have it outside), putting up a display in the library's children's section, and collecting slings for No Mother Left Behind.

I'm so grateful that I stumbled upon TheBabyWearer and Jan Andrea's DIY site while looking for Bjorn reviews online when I was pregnant with O. As helpful as carriers were with one baby, they've been indispensable now with two little people! Plus, anytime I can avoid hauling the stroller around, I'm pretty thrilled. If only there were a Salsa Babies class around here instead of Stroller Aerobics....