Artistic tendencies.

Jim's art has been getting increasingly involved. Here are a few he did this morning while I was cleaning the kitchen:


A dinosaur I made him, but the rocks, trees, and purple volcano (or so he tells me) are his own addition.


A Christmas tree with decorations.


His own rendition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There's a caterpillar, a whole bunch of various foods, a green leaf, a cocoon, and a "beauuuutiful butterfly."

For good measure, let's see Jim describing his caterpillar picture. Fast forward to 1:30 if you just want to see his victory chant.

Lottie at 10 months.

All the pictures look like this. Lottie will not be contained!

On time, for once! Lottie turned ten months old today. As far as vital information goes, she just learned to crawl properly on her hands and knees, she cruises around the furniture, and she can wave, clap her hands, and play peekaboo (well, sort of - she covers up one ear and looks really excited). We saw the doctor yesterday, and she's 16 pounds and half an ounce and 26 inches long, which puts her at the 6th percentile for weight and the 7th percentile for height. She still fits in some of her 0-3 month stuff and absolutely swims in most 6-9 month clothes.

Okay, formalities over, on to the pictures!


She's mobile! Babies rejoice, parents weep.


Adorable little gap teeth.


That little pointy tongue is always sticking out.


A parting shot.


For comparison's sake, Lottie when she was brand new.

For further comparison, Jim at 10 months. He was totally cheekier than I remember.

Halloween = baking. Baking = sprinkles.

Just so you know, Jim is completely not trustworthy with a paintbrush full of frosting.


He's pretty good with the sprinkles, though. Every cupcake must be unique.


The finished product.

Now that Lottie's almost ten months, I'll tell you how she was at nine months.

Nine months old! VICTORY IS LOTTIE'S!

So Lottie is now an old baby. She's been out longer than she was in, and she's extremely enormous. Well, not in terms of size. She's still only like 15 pounds, which I think might actually be off the small end of the growth chart. But she's getting longer, and she's super chubby still, and all her milestones are just dandy, so I (and her doctor) think she's fine. Just a naturally teensy baby.


Lottie pretends to be adorably shy when in reality she's practically a glad-handing politician.

She's the happiest baby you ever did meet. She went through a brief stranger danger phase (in which I couldn't go to the gym because she wouldn't stay with the childcare people, *sob*), but aside from that week, she basically loves everyone and everything. She smiles all day long except for when she's too tired to function, at which point life becomes a living horror. She's very dramatic that way. She can say three words: Mama (na-na), milk (muh), and kitty-cat (keh-keh, plus much enthusiastic arm-flapping). She also signs milk and tries to sign more, and she can clap her hands if you ask.


Aforementioned arm-flapping.

Physically she's doing pretty well, too. She army crawls but hasn't quite figured out how to crawl on all fours, and she can pull herself up to stand with the greatest of ease. She occasionally even tries to pull herself along the furniture to walk a little, but mostly she's just happy to stand there and beam at you. Also she likes to eat everything. For example, I have to go now because she's trying to eat a paper towel. Oops.


Just look at that balance, will ya?

He tells jokes, too!

Jim made a joke that actually made me laugh the other day. Like seriously laugh, not "ha ha, the toddler thinks he's funny" laugh. You know the song Five Little Monkeys? The one with the bed-jumping and head-bumping and eventual lecture from the doctor? That's been Jim's favorite for weeks, but the other day he decided to change it. His version goes:

"Five little dinosaurs jumping on the bed
"One fell off and bumped his head
"Mama called the doctor and the doctor said
"OH NO A SCARY DINOSAUR!"

That's totally funny, right? He also likes to play dead on busy playgrounds and pretend to be shocked at everyday happenings. Kid's a comic genius.

They're way cuter when they're sleeping.

This is the least comfortable position ever. Try it, seriously. (oh, and Jim scribbled on the sheets)


Smooshiest baby ever.


Holding still for once in his life.

Things we did in October.

Lottie turned nine months old. She celebrated by showing everyone her belly.


Jim and I baked. A lot.


We canned hot peppers.


Jim managed to grab a fistful and then rub his eyes. Poor kid.


Lottie had better luck with foodstuffs.

We went to a pumpkin patch with Jim's preschool. Jim was too distracted to smile while holding his complementary pumpkin.


But he did manage to sit still on their photo booth. This is his current "say cheese!" face.


Jim and Dad cut a scary face in his little pumpkin..


We went to the South Carolina State Fair with Emmy, Ilya, and a whole bunch of strangers. Pictured: Female adults, male children. Not pictured: Male adults, female children.


Lottie proves she was there too.


Jim and Lottie dressed up for Halloween and went trick-or-treating. Jim talked about being a kitty-cat all month long.


Oh, and Jim and Lottie shared a lemon.