Playtime

By 9 months old, Jasper should be pulling himself up on furniture, etc. So ... just like we did when he was 5 months old and had to be able to sit up by 6 months, we're in training mode. Jasper has shown us that he can completely pull himself up onto us. His legs are very strong, and he's arms are pretty strong too. However, I don't think he has his bearings yet to pull himself onto furniture and completely control the situation to keep from falling. So, we practiced propping him up against the ottoman to see how he'd do. He can stand up along side it quite well, and he can even move along side it. It's probably only a matter of time before he's pulling himself up onto the furniture. Perhaps we'll regret this early training. I don't know.

Jasper and I play together everyday, but with no one else here - it's often not documented. I think we've said this before, but Jasper is becoming responsive with us. He laughs in response to what we do and even does things he knows will elicit a response from us. It's great fun to play with him. But beware: with 6 teeth, those playful chomps can pack a punch!

Jasper's bedtime routine is managed by daddy. Drew gives him his bath, gets him dressed in his jammies, feeds him a bottle, reads to him, sings to him and puts him down. It's a long process, but Drew's got it down to a science. Jasper LOVES reading time. He peers over the side of the rocking chair looking down at the basket of books, waiting for Drew to pick one up to read. It's even sometimes a distraction to eating his bottle. Currently he's really trailed off on how much he takes of his bedtime bottle. Sometimes it's only 2oz, when before solids he sometimes took up to 10oz at night. Oh well ... we think he's continuing to grow, albeit slower than before.

Jasper loved green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots and oatmeal. Meats and peas are still routinely rejected. However, tonight we successfully got Jasper to eat about 1.5 tsp of beef ... disguised with sweet potatoes. Have you ever smelled baby food meats? Wow! They do not smell good. I don't want to think about how they taste, and no I am not one of those dedicated parents who think it is required to taste all food given to their kids. I say, just go with Gerber for now. Once we establish a normal palette, then we'll feed him from our own food (which we will have obviously tasted).

We're not giving up on meats, though. With enough training, soon Jasper will be ready to eat at Rudy's.