'Tis the Season

Welcome back folks, to the newest installment of Dylan's Den.

Everything is going very well. His latest doctor's visit saw him weighing in at 19.8 lbs and measuring 27 inches long. His head growth continues to be normal and his umbilical hernia is completely closed with just a vestigial piece of skin remaining.

His development continues to amaze, amuse and impress Barbara and I both. He is now very vocal, laughing and giggling, shouting for attention, babbling to anyone and anything that attracts his attention. He has also discovered how to make a raspberry. He uses them to punctuate pretty much everything he "says". He is also very adept at manipulating his toys- passing them from hand to and, from mouth to hand or, like in the case of his mirror, just holding it outstretched in both hands so that he can coo at it and stare at it for long periods of time.

Dylan is also continuing to explore the concept of solid foods. We've experimented with a few new flavors and applesauce seems to be his favorite. He is now opening his mouth to welcome the applesauce- not pushing out his tongue to block it. We haven't really pushed the matter with him, but he is making what we think is good progress.

Speaking of progress, Dylan is also getting to spend more and more time on his belly, which is helping him develop the muscles he will need to use to crawl. He already holds his head up so that he can look around while on his belly, and works his arms and legs at times too, but not in enough coordination to actually get anywhere. All in due time, I guess. Of course, once he does start moving around the house it will make things very interesting. I can see us now, chasing after him as he chases after he cats and dogs. What fun we will have :)

A few folks have asked what Dylan needs for Christmas. Well, Barbara and I and Dylan's grandparents seem to have gone a bit overboard. He should have enough toys to last him through until at least Christmas '09. So I guess the best thing we could say to answer that question would be gift cards to Toys 'R Us or Babies 'R Us. He will be needing a new car seat set soon, as he is rapidly outgrowing his current one. Also, there is the question of sizes. Dylan is currently wearing 3-6 month and 6 month outfits. I'd say the best bet would be 9 months size or larger.

Anyway, that's about all there is to update about for now. If anything new comes up, I'll be sure to post about it here.