Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are still in New York with Rob's parents while Rob is on a business trip. We had a wonderful holiday and spent time with many friends and relatives. Jay really enjoyed his first Thanksgiving meal. He ate more sweet potatoes than anyone! He was eyeing the turkey, but we felt he should wait until he has more than two teeth.

Jay is now nine months old. It is such a cliche to say time flies, but it really does! I feel it more with Jay than I did with Cole, maybe because the days are busier with two little boys. Before Jay it was busy, but it was all focused on Cole. Now the time has to be divided. I treasure the quiet times with Jay before his naps and the minutes he is awake when Cole is sleeping (although not the ones in the middle of the night). I am trying very hard not to let Jay fall into the second-baby syndrome with fewer pictures and a smaller baby book and fewer memories, but it is difficult because Cole demands attention. In light of these thoughts, here are some observations about Jay at nine months.

He always crawls on hands and knees now (before he only crawled on his belly), and he is getting a lot of exercise going up and down a long hallway in the Mirman house. Sometimes Cole follows him and plays "meow-meow" (a game I started one day when I forget that if you do something once with a toddler you have to be prepared to do it everyday until such toddler graduates from high school and moves away). It consists of crawling on the floor pretending to be kitty cats looking for food. I am really looking forward to the day Jay can fully participate in meow-meow and let me off the hook.

Jay is also pulling up on everything. Before we left he could pull up on low things, like the bottom step and a stool. Now he pulls up on the hearth, the ottoman, end tables--absolutely anything. Often, he lifts up a leg while standing like he is trying to climb. He is in constant motion. As soon as I turn my back, he heads for the cat food, the electrical outlets and cords, or starts climbing the stairs (he got up two steps a couple days before Thanksgiving).

He is starting to communicate more and more. He says "mamamama" when he needs to be comforted and "dadadada" when Rob is with him. He also has a "nya nya" sound that we think means "no," and a "Haaa" sound that may mean "hi." And he rocks back in forth in his highchair when he is done eating, sometimes banging the back of his head on the seat (fortunately, it is well padded).

Cole and Jay are playing together alot this trip. It is nice to watch and imagine all the fun they will have together in the future. At this point, the play usually ends with Cole tackling, shoving, or pulling on Jay and one or both boys in tears. However, we are starting to see them becoming friends. That is definitely something to be thankful for!

*Yesterday, we went to the new outlet mall to get Jay a few long-sleeve shirts for the upcoming trips north. Cole was a riot. He kept touching clothes saying, "Oh, this is cute!" (sounding exactly like me). After lunch he wanted to throw our trash away so I lifted him up to the top of the container. Then he wanted to throw more things away, so I quickly finished my drink and gave him the cup. Before I could reach him, he ran over to the trash can and threw the cup up and into the barrel. Two points for Cole!

*"Can I pick you up?" This is the way Cole asked someone to carry him. He is starting to say it correctly now. I'm going to really miss his toddler phrases and sayings.

*I personally don't think I have that bad of a singing voice, but apparently my backseat music critic does. Whenever I sing along to music Cole says, "No Mommy. Stop." One day we were listening to the radio and a song I like came on. I wanted to sing along so I told Cole, "This is Mommy's song so I can sing." Now whenever I start to sing he says, "No Mommy. This is my song."

NO MORE BABY FOOD!

After close to nine months of watching everyone else eat yummy food while he suffered with the mushy gunk, Jay decided he has had enough. Teeth or no teeth, he is going to have the real stuff. Lunch on this day was a real ordeal. He ducked, bobbed, and weaved around the spoon, resulting in a big mess. We finally compromised. He got little pieces of bread that he picked up off his tray, while I shoved sweet potatoes into his mouth whenever he opened it. Usually he only opened his mouth to put a piece of bread in, so every bite was a race to see who could get there first. I love the pouty face in this picture.

Peek-a-Boo!

HALLOWEEN (yes, I know this is almost a month late)

Cole loved Halloween this year! Jay had less fun, mostly because he sweated like crazy in his lion costume (made by Grandma Carlene who is used to bitter cold Halloween nights in the Midwest). At first we planned on only going to 5 or 6 close neighbors, but when Cole realized we were going home, he said, "No. More houses." His little voice was so sweet that even his demand sounded nice. So he and I kept going while Rob and Jay passed out treats at home. I was surprised--he was so shy at the first houses that I wasn't sure he was enjoying himself. We went to a few more houses, then a few more, then a few more. I think he would have kept going all night. He was adorable picking his treats. He studied the basket intently, like this was a critical decision, then very carefully selected a piece of candy. At the last house, he started swaying and his eyes glazed over. This time when I suggested going home, he didn't argue.

Once home, he instantly revived and wanted to try all his candy. Lucky for us, he spit most of it out (I really don't understand how a kid of mine could not like sweets). Jay was also excited by the candy, although more for the colors and the sounds the wrappers made.

After the excitement and sugar high wore off a bit, we got ready for bed. Cole would not take off his costume. I finally convinced him to take off the overalls so I could change his diaper, but the jacket stayed on all night. He really didn't want Halloween to end.