9 Months On, 9 Months Off (well, almost)

So nine months ago today, AJ made his grand debut into the world. As of now, he's officially been alive on the outside longer than he was alive on the inside. In that time, he's:

• drooled a lot
• eaten "solid" foods made by various companies, but also (actual) bananas, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew, "Perky-Os," gluten-free teething biscuits, carrots, broccoli, green beans, and he's tried watermelon,but hated it so much that when it was offered to him a month later, he refused to even touch it, much less put it in his mouth like everything else
• fallen down
• pulled up
• sat down from a standing position (_VERY_ important as it cuts down on the number of times he _falls_ down and then screams)
• fallen off the bed three times (all while in my care - "world's best mom," that's me!)
• walked (more like ran) while holding both hands of a trusted adult
• taken a step or four while holding _one_ hand of a trusted adult
• said "Dada," "Mama," "Kee-kee" (kitty-kitty), and fish (I kid you not, clear as a bell, shocked the heck out of him and me both)
• discovered the joy that is the knobs on his Dada's stereo (which, incidentally, also now controls the TV, DVD/VCR, CD changer, cable box - changing the inputs is like Christmas morning to AJ...and the volume knob? No comparison)
• learned to fall asleep on his own (after crying for a while)
• learned to sleep in his crib
• cut two teeth (with more on the way, yay for more no sleep!)
• cried a lot
• screamed a lot less than he's cried
• been happy (and/or asleep) a whole lot more than he's cried
• giggled and laughed a lot
• laughed and smiled in his sleep
• smiled at everyone who'd catch his eye
• messed up LOTS of clothes
• flown on an airplane five times!
• driven to Nashville once, and to and from NC multiple times
• zrbeted his Mama's leg twice
• tickled his Mama once
• been tickled _by_ his Mama (and Dada) as often as we can manage it
• played in the bath
• swam in a lake
• camped while it hailed, in the freezing cold, and in the sweltering heat, all in one weekend
• been to a NASCAR race
• been to the Udvar-Hazy National Air & Space Museum (by Dulles)
• been to the Statue of Liberty
• been to Ground Zero
• participated in many technical discussions concerning the life support systems on the Crew Exploration Vehicle
• brought worker productivity to a standstill on numerous occasions at both his Mama and his Daddy's offices
• made it so I have to change the station or skip the song when Mark Schultz's "He's My Son" or Michael W. Smith's "Hello, Goodbye" come on
• been told that he should be a model on numerous occasions
• been called the cutest/handsomest baby ever by lots of people other than his Mama (but called that by his Mama the most)
• become my constant companion
• made it so I relish my "freedom" when his Dada or someone else is watching him, but also so that I relish coming home to him and his Dada even more than I ever thought possible (and I _REALLY_ like his Dada)
• brought more joy into our lives than VNB and I ever imagined

While he was inside me, I managed to gain 50 lbs (recommended max? 35. I rocked the pound gainage...that's something we're supposed to be proud of, right?). My midwives (and others) repeated often the mantra "9 months on, 9 months off" referring to how quickly I should expect to lose the baby weight. Well, I'm proud to say that on most occasions (meaning, the last couple of weeks except for five minutes ago when I weighed myself), I am back to within my "normal" weight range. That still means that I'm up to 10 lbs heavier than I was when his knitting together first began...and I can definitely still see it in my gut, hips/butt, and thighs...but I feel almost back to my old self again. That's very satisfying. It'll be much _more_ satisfying when my gut is gone, my hips/butt are back to their normal (not-quite-so-gargantuan) size, and my thighs no longer act like jello, but it's nice to know that I'm back within spitting range.

And AJ is still the cutest, handsomest little man ever. Just ask me! I'll tell you all about him! :) Yes, I am in deep smit with my son. Good thing that the only (here on Earth in corporeal form) person with whom I am more smitten is his handsome Dada. :)