"More Giggles With Dexter" video

Laughing babies are funny...

Dexter's First Haircut

Dexter has a surprising amount of blond hair.  Momma decided he needed a little haircut to clean up around his ears and get rid of some of the really long wispy hairs.  Like Maya, Dexter was not very excited about this event.  These pictures are a bit staged as Dexter spent the haircut in my lap, but tears were present throughout.  

 "I think that this woman..."

"...is trying to destroy me."

'Birthday Cape' video

This is how Maya started her 5th birthday....

4th of July Parade

On the 4th, we went to Alameda to see their local parade and hang with the Gordon clan.  Fun!

 Kai, Malia, and Maya check out parade excitement.

Malia and Maya get patriotic.

Look, horses!

Dexter gets wild at the post-parade party.

Snaggletooth

Dexter's first tooth officially broke through the gumline today.  Our little guy been extra drooly and moody over the last few days and now we can legitimately say it was due to teething. One down...only nineteen more to go.  We love you, snaggletooth!

4th of July Celebrations Begin

This year Daddy took a bit of bonus time off work and we were able to hit some of the 4th of July summer celebrations.

 First, we went to the Lucasfilm picnic at Skywalker Ranch...which was delightful. 

 While Dexter finished his car nap, Maya took a swim in the pond (in the pink floaty).

Then it was time for lunch.

Followed by a horseback ride.

Nice!!

The fun continued a couple days later when Momma took Maya to the Marin County Fair while Daddy babysat Dex.  Maya loved the rides.

This time, a 42.5" tall Maya was allowed to go on the Ferris Wheel.

Up we go!

Two happy girls.

View of the Marin County Fair.

No daring Ferris Wheel is complete without a video...

We completed our day at the fair watching a very happy sheep... 

...get a hair cut.

Dexter at 9 Months

Here are the latest stats:
Weight: 19lbs 9oz (around 30th percentile)
Height: 28 inches (around 35th percentile)

Dexter is still a great sleeper.  He sleeps through the night without interruption from about 7:45pm - 7:45am.  We dropped the dreamfeed at 11pm at around 7 months.  He is now taking two solid 1.5-2 hour naps per day.  We are very grateful that he sleeps well like his sister.

Dexter is now eating solid food quite efficiently.  He eats three meals a day with about 8 ozs of purees and stews of one kind or another.  He's liking chunkier stews.  He loves Puffs and other dissolve in your mouth crunchy things.  He's also still nursing 4 times a day.

At 8 months, Dexter began to crawl and now he is a very busy boy.  He loves exploring the house and finding any wire, piece of dirt, or other unsuitable object and putting it in his mouth.  He will find a little toy like a cup or a book and drag it around with one hand victoriously.  He's lost interest in any stationery device like a the exersaucer as he is addicted to his mobility.  He has also started clapping at random occasions and loves banging toys together.  He's discovered Maya's drum set and he will try to hit the drums with a stick.  Dexter loves exploring objects and understanding what they do.  He hasn't really started to show much interest in books (although we do read to him).  He sees the book as a fun object to play with and put in his mouth, but he doesn't seem to see the pictures yet.

Dexter is getting more excited about other people and other babies.  He loves to grab other babies or sit on them.  Maya and Dexter are becoming great friends.  Maya loves asking her friends if they want to 'pet her baby.'  Maya treats him like a treasured pet and she is a surprisingly good babysitter.  He loves her and smiles every time she comes near.  Dexter still loves taking walks and being outside.  He loved going to the beach at Tahoe and getting his feet wet.

Dexter is making more and more distinctive sounds like 'da, da,' 'ma, ma,' and a sound which in tone sounds like 'all done' but come out more like 'a da.'  He also grunts and practices making raspberries and other interesting sounds.  He does make a 'hi' sound that he seems to say at the appropriate time, but nothing has been definitive enough to really be his first word.

Dexter is an easygoing, but very active little guy.  He is now in the advanced stages of babyhood, but we know he will soon develop the precarious, willful characteristics of a toddler.  For now, we will enjoy our little rug rat.

Inside-Out Day With The Birthday Boy

We drove back to San Francisco from our Tahoe trip on a very important day for two reasons.  It was Daddy's birthday (we won't reveal his age, but let's just say he is in his very late thirties).  And, it was Dexter's Inside-Out Day.  Dexter is now 9 months old and has officially been in the outside world longer than he's been on the inside (Momma's belly).  Congrats to two wonderful dudes.