Nine months doctor visit

Jonas' nine month doctor visit went well. He's getting over his cold and things are on the up and up. He's still in the upper 90th percentile for his age in weight and height. He's 30 inches long and weighs nearly 23 pounds. I've finally come to grips with having to put away the baby bjorn. We've got to get a backpack, or I'm going to end up with major back problems.

We discussed at our appointment how we're entering the phase where the child begins to act up, throwing some little tantrums. Our doctor said that during this period the child starts to "develop an opinion about how he wants things to go" and when they don't work out, begins to protest a bit. It becomes more challenging to just divert their attention when you direct them away from something you don't want them to chew on or play with. Hearing this was timely, because only a week before this appointment we noticed the beginnings of this behavior. We redirect Jonas away from Ginger's food bowl and he throws a fit in his walker, screaming, crying, crashing his walker into everything. It's kind of amusing, but we try not to laugh, of course. My friends tell me that the silver lining in this phase is that the earlier it starts, the faster you get through it. So, here we go...

Jonas' hair has really filled in over the last two months, as you can see above. I had always thought that getting the first trim would be one of the rites of passage once he reached his first birthday. I have to say, though, I think we may need that trim sooner than 1 year. His hair's gotten a little unruly--it's pin straight, except when wet, has a mind of its own, and is growing so long that I think in another month it'll hang down into his eyes. You can't see that so much in the first photo, because I've "fixed it", but most days, despite my efforts to comb it, he crawls around sporting this napoleonic coiffe (you know the look--those grand tableaux with Napoleon and his windswept hair?).Not exactly an age-appropriate look for our son--or, at least, not the look I really want him to have. My friends with girls have the option of using a barrette to keep that renegade hair out of the eyes. I don't foresee utilizing that one, though. So, we'll see what happens.