9 months, moving forward

The results are in: Taka is no longer 99th percentile! Can't brag about that anymore, but on the other hand, it'll be a little easier on everyone's backs. Taka is now coming in at the 80th percentile mark, at a hefty 22 pounds and 29 inches in stature. Not too shabby. And of course, his head is still off the charts. :-)

And finally, the day before his 9-month checkup, Taka figured out how to crawl forward. After weeks of frustratingly backing away from the toys he wanted, he finally got a leg up and moved towards the goal (it took a little while to actually get there, of course). He was so proud of himself!

So very, very tired.

Short blog today, since we're all so exhausted we can hardly move! We've been back from Japan for a few days now but have discovered that re-adjusting to this time zone is a little more difficult when a baby is involved. He just has no idea what's going on - awake at 2 a.m., restless nights, 4-hour naps during the day... And on top of that, the poor guy got an ear infection just before coming home, so if he could have gotten any sleep at all, that was the end of that.

We had a wonderful time in Japan, though. Highlights: Taka experiencing Japanese onsen (hot springs) for the first time (he couldn't stop staring at everyone!), and also the Japanese bath at home (he giggled the whole way through). He gained 4 new teeth and 3 new consonants during his stay there, and he also gained a lot of leg strength and balance -- i.e., he's practically standing on his own now! Will create/post a new slideshow shortly. In the meantime, my bed is looking pretty good...