6-month stats - but no pics

Saul had his 6-month plus appointment last Monday, January 5. He weighed in at 19 lbs, 12 oz and was 27 1/2 inches long. His head circumference only keeps getting bigger, though I don't recall the measurement.

Despite how sure I was that he would be in the 90th percent, his height was in the 73rd percentile and his weight in about the 75th percentile. We don't have the exact weight percentile because the computer at the doctor's office only put him in at 19 lbs, 1 oz - that was the 68th percentile.

Most importantly, he's very healthy, happy and doing all the things he should be doing at this age. It's only a matter of time before he's crawling!

The Wheels are Turning

I really, really wish that others could have been witness to the Saul play I observed. Or I wish I'd thought to grab the video camera. The next series of pictures just doesn't do the scenario justice . . . .

Grandma Beth, Aaron's mom, gave Saul this cute little wooden rattle toy. It's cylindrical, with a head that pops out of either end when shaken - accompanied by a nice, not obnoxious wood clinking. The toy proved challenging to the little guy trying to slobber all over it. Gravity would cause a head to drop out the bottom, which Saul immediately recognized as slobber worthy. But, but the time he got the toy up to his mouth the head would be gone, but would have shifted and popped out the other end. He could see it happening! He still slobbered plenty on the toy, but you could tell that he knew that he wasn't chewing on the prize. So, he'd tried to grab ahold of the head as he raised it to his mouth, but by then it was so slobbery that it would just slide through his fingers as he would reach his mouth with the toy and the game starts over. Poor guy! I doubt Grandma Beth ever intended for this to be such the challenge. Despite the evening drawing to a close, Saul never whimpered, cried or otherwise indicated frustration. Those wheels in his head just kept turning and his determination was obvious. Hmmm . . . which side of the family is that from?

Christmas Morning with Saul

Santa was a little lame this year, but we figure it's the only year he/she can get away with it. We never did manage to get the tree in the house. We got a live tree and Aaron put it in the garage to dry out so we could bring it in last weekend. But, then the weather got nasty and it was slick and the tree is heavy and then there was a snow drift IN the garage. Then I decided that it would be cool to decorate it Christmas Eve, but then we didn't. By Christmas morning Aaron suggested that we could bring it in and, well, the motivation was gone. I just couldn't see putting that much effort into it when we would simply take it back down four days later. There are plenty of other things to spend time on this year.

To be even more lame, Saul only had one thing in his stocking from Santa and it was pre-owned, used, re-gifted, whatever you want to call it. In fact, he'd pre-slobbered it, though I guess this means that we knew he would like it! Michelle got the rubber giraffe (Sophie) for Claire (see picture below). Saul showed his affection by slobbering on it so much that Michelle just gave it to him. I'd planned to get him one for his stocking, but he just couldn't wait and then the weather got bad and I didn't get to the store in time. So, for the sake of it, we still placed Sophie the giraffe in the stocking, partly because it just looked so cute and I wanted a picture to prove that we did something. And, more importantly, I wanted a picture to show off Michelle's handiwork - she made the beautiful stocking just for Saul.

Then, Saul got his one big present, an activity cube. The plan is for Santa to leave presents unwrapped. The cute pajamas he's wearing are part of another tradition we're hoping to start - wearing Christmas pajamas all day. And he did wear them all day! I just made sure to change his diaper extra frequently to avoid any leakage.

Saul's First Christmas Eve

Saul's first Christmas is one we will remember for a number of reasons. First, it's his first Christmas. And, second, it's a real white Christmas. We had a low key couple of days, which is what we aimed for, but the weather made them even quieter. It just wasn't safe for Aaron's parents to come across town Christmas Eve, so we hung out with Michelle, Jeff, Claire and Ingmar and Krista. Here are a few Christmas Eve pics.

Unwrapping his first package.

Look! It's a soft elephant on wheels from Auntie Michelle!

Saul squirming on Krista Saul's lap (yes, Krista's last name is Saul).

Escaping the house

Yesterday was day 8 of "arctic blast 2008". We don't have television any longer, so we're counting on others for the appropriate name for this year's storm. All I know is that by yesterday we just needed to get out of the house and move. Fortunately, the strong east wind had died down and we were able to get out without worrying about causing Saul too much discomfort.

We packed him up in the hiking backpack, all bundled in his warm snow suit, and marched off to Jim & Patty's for coffee and a pig newton (modern version of pig-in-a-blanket). Jim and Patty are the original owners of Coffee People, a classic Portland coffee spot from before Starbuck's, and provide tasty coffee drinks and treats like coffee cake. After getting fully caffeinated and rested, we moved on to Marian's to drop off a little gift and the check for Saul's day care. As we were leaving Marian took these pictures:

And we then made our way to the local market for a few groceries and the walk back home. Saul did great! He talked, he kicked his heels, he rubbed my head and he took a nap. Then, the last three blocks he final cried and let us know that he was done. When I got him all unbundled and his diaper changed I found that his poor feet were red and colder than I would have liked, so he got a nice bath to warm him up. Maybe we should go do it all again today -- he slept six hours straight last night, the longest he's gone in weeks!

Saul in a sweater

In keeping with the intended play on words, it's finally time to post a picture of something yarn-related. Of course, Saul's also involved. Here's a picture of him in early October wearing a newborn-sized sweater I made for him before we knew just what a big kid he would be. I only forced him to wear this long enough for me to take a few pictures as proof that he actually wore it. I have a larger version in the same pattern that I'll need to be sure to document soon.

(Note to self: don't make super warm sweaters in newborn sizes for June babies!)

Contrast II

Another example of Saul's growth as seen through the position in which he sits in his high chair. This top picture is from Saturday (12/13)--the kid probably thought he was being followed by the paparrazzi this weekend! The bottom picture is from mid-August. I think it's time to remove the little infant head rest from the chair.