Faster than Superman

What's faster than a speeding bullet? Apparently tooth #5 (that might explain why we got so little sleep this week)! This morning, Karston had four teeth. Late this afternoon when his grandparents came to visit, he had half of tooth number five showing. By the time I saw him this evening after work (and truly wretched traffic), he had five full teeth showing! For nursing at night, especially as much and as ferociously as he's been nursing at night this week, I miss the toothless days. But at least we didn't have to suffer through a slow tooth this time!

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Last of 2s

This morning, we took off the last size 2 diaper, and put on a clean size 3 diaper. Since both of us were still in the weight range for size 3 when we turned 2 years old, I expect that we will be buying a lot of this size. Other than travel and emergencies, I figure we should probably buy this size at Sam's Club. But Karston wore size 2 diapers for so long that it really seems like the end of era!

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Jumperoo Control

Karston used to jump wildly in his Jumperoo, with his arms flapping loosely. Also, his jump angles would vary, so his head and body would wobble all around. Well, no more: Karston has learned Jumperoo control! He holds on to the sides of the bucket so that his arms don't flap, and most of his jumps follow the same trajectory. This means that he stares at you with an enormous smile, eyes not wavering (because his head isn't moving in many different directions over different jumps), and gets down to the serious business of jumping. I tell him to go to work and get his job done: more jumping!

I do miss laughing at him flopping around, but I'm glad he still enjoys Jumperoo and burns lots of energy.

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Four to Remember

I know I'll remember the evening that Karston's fourth tooth came in, but not because number four was such a tooth to remember. (This tooth probably explains why we haven't had much sleep this week, which makes Daddy snore, which means I sleep even less. My trick is to fall asleep very quickly. Sometimes I can.)

Karston nursed a little before bed, but said he'd really like to cuddle. Often he'll go to sleep on his own, but particularly with a new tooth, he wants to snuggle. (And he has wanted to cuddle all night this week!) Anyway, he had just gone to the Land of Nod when I heard very loud knocking at the front door. I thought Daddy might have locked himself outside, so I stood up very carefully so as not to wake the baby. Knocking again (now I'm thinking it's less likely to be Daddy), I answer the door (Karston is sleeping soundly), and it's Jim our next-door-neighbor to the north. And Jim says, "Do you have a fire extinguisher? Your neighbor's house is on fire." I quickly gave him the kitchen fire extinguisher and he was off. Then I noticed the half-finished projects around our house and started wondering where the blank is Daddy. Shoes, white shirt for night visibility, flashlight, baby monitor, and I went off to find him for my peace of mind. The first volunteer fireman I encountered was very nice, and pointed me to a clump of people who had been working on the fire before the firemen. And sure enough, there he was. Whew!

What happened is that, two houses north, something shorted in the main electrical box. (And no one could find the main breaker. Ours are right above the two main electrical boxes serving the house.) Randy and Allie were watching a movie when the lights went out with a loud ZAP. The in-between neighbors had their lights flicker, they heard buzzing, and they went outside to check on their air conditioner only to see flames. My husband was on the porch, heard buzzing, looked, saw flames. No lights flickered here, so I didn't know anything until Jim told me. But anyway, everyone who saw flames showed up to help. Randy's cell phone would not let him dial 911, and he wasn't going back in, so Jim called 911 from his house. [Note: see if your cell phone actually supports 911 as it should.] One very large fire extinguisher and two small ones later, the volunteer firemen showed up to take over. Kinda smells out there, there's a wall that's been axed down, but everyone's OK, and I think the physical damage isn't too bad. (No comment on the electrical damage. The power company showed up and had no idea what started this, so fixing it is open-ended for now.) I offered them our guest bed for the night. It's probably time to check into mine, as a matter of fact.

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Pediatrician: Nine Months

We went to the pediatrician this morning. Karston's vital statistics are 17.5 inch head circumference, 26.25 inches long, and 16 pounds 6.8 ounces. Really, he cracked 17 pounds on our scale this weekend, but he hasn't eaten as much the past two days so he's a bit lighter. His weight-to-length ratio is just a hair under 50%; as ever, he's on the 25th percentile for head size. Since he's now below the 5th percentile for weight and height, I asked the doctor if we should care. His doctor said he's healthy and proportional, so don't worry. Indeed, Karston hasn't been sick yet, and since he wants to be held so much, he may as well be light.

I also asked if we should schedule an eye doctor appointment, but the doctor demonstrated exactly why he wasn't worried (and said he had a low threshold for suggesting optometric followups). No shots this time, although he did get a finger prick for a hematocrit that says he's not anemic. All in all, a pretty good doctor's visit!

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