That’s Houston’s favorite word these days. He’s loving the “G” sound and will add variations, such as “gack,” “geck” and an elongated “guh” or “gah.” It’s a pretty versatile word, considering he uses it to express both joy or displeasure.
Here’s a breakdown of other recent highlights:

*We bought a backpack carrier in mid-March and he enjoys taking walks in it, rather than in the stroller. Once I get the car back, I plan on taking him hiking on the nearby lake trails.
*March 26, Houston pulls himself into a sitting position in his crib.
*March 27, Houston has his 9-month pediatric appointment. His stats were as follows: he weighs 22 lbs., 13 1/2 oz.; he is 30 1/4″ long; and his head is 18 1/2″ around. He is in the 75 percentile for both height and weight.

*By March 31, Houston can cruise in both his crib and playpen when propped into a standing position by Mommy or Daddy.
*April 1, Houston gets good news at has his eye appointment: his astigmatism has improved and the doc says he is pleased with Houston’s Horner’s eye. Yay! Houston also crawls backwards quite easily, but forwards with funky legs. It’s like his arms are ready to crawl, but his legs aren’t quite sure what to do yet.
*April 2, Gramsey and Papa visit. By the end of the day, Houston can pull himself into a standing position in crib and playpen, and also improves on his forward crawling.
*April 4, Houston has a play date with Mason (the son of Nora, my old co-worker). The day ends with Daddy moving Houston’s crib to its lowest setting, so that he won’t be tempted to jump out.

*April 5, that’s Daddy’s 30th birthday! Granny and Grumps babysit so that Mommy and Daddy can go to Charlotte to see Dale Watson with Adam. It’s the first time Mommy has spent the night away, but both Houston and Mommy do fine. In fact, Houston had a ball hangin’ out at home with Granny, Grumps and Duke.
*Since 4/6, not really a highlight, but Houston has had diarrhea with no fever. The nurse says she thinks it’s a stomach virus that’s going around and that it should clear up within a week. In the meantime, Houston is staying hydrated with Pedia-lyte, which he thinks is quite delicious.
*April 8, Houston’s two teeth finally pop through his upper gums. They’re coming through quite nicely, although I haven’t been able to capture a shot of them yet. He is pretty protective of the new additions to his mouth.
*Other randoms … Houston is really into sniffing fabric. Hand him a burp rag, a onesie or a sock, and he immediately takes a whiff of it. Perhaps he likes the smell of his detergent or maybe it just feels good on his nose. Either way, whatta weirdo!

*Another favorite thing for him to do is to constantly point with his index fingers. He uses them to poke at himself or at anything of interest to him, like people’s faces, buttons, tags, etc. Granny even taught him how to touch index fingers with another person’s extended finger, to which the person should say, “ET, phone home.”
*Also, Houston’s crawling greatly improves daily. He went through a stage where he would use his left leg to crawl, but would sort of drag his right. Then he was crawling with his right, while trying to stand with his left during the crawl. I suppose his left leg is his strong, dominant leg, but Houston’s unique style of crawling is surely something to see!
*Obviously, he’s very mobile now, crawling off the mat as quickly as I can place him down on it. He also keeps trying to cruise on moveable things like the recliner, the ottoman or his racer, so I have to keep a close eye on him.
To see all the late March pics, click here. And for the few early April pics, click here.