3 years, and 9 months.

Rip and Jolly are continuing to be a very good time.

Rip is starting on a cavalcade of sounds and babbling, currently featuring the "ba ba ba" motif most often, after a "da da da" period reminiscent of Trio. "Ta" has also been featured. Our pediatrician pointed out that the lack of "Mama" is perhaps a bit rude!

At his 9 month checkup, Rip was 26 lbs, 1 oz, completely naked, and 32.5" long according to the nurse's measurement. The nurse is totally incompetent at measuring, so I think I'd buy that he's more like 31.5" or so. Head circumference is 52 cm. "It's sort of slowing down!" I said. "In what universe?" said the pediatrician. "Well, at least we got that ultrasound!"

Jolly was 29.8 lbs, fully clothed, and 38.5" tall. He got a vision test for the first time and he did a great job of identifying the shapes, revealing that he is both good at shape recognition and following directions AND that he has 20/20 vision.

This comparison is perhaps best visually depicted. Note that Jolly has been spending much of the last week being a "Scary Viking". This is Scary Viking Jolly:

This is Rip:

No major concerns for either of our boys. During the appointment, Jolly ate a bag of freeze-dried fruit, and Rip ate some crackers and cheese, demonstrating how the above phenomenon came to be, but our pediatrician agrees that our plan of offering a variety of healthy foods and letting them both self-regulate on their respective ends of the weight chart (or rather, OFF the chart) is the best way to go. Jolly had been on a bit of a dairy strike so we discussed ways to get calcium into his diet without resorting to supplements, but happily the dairy strike has since ended, so voila, back to usual.

Other things that are fun right now?

• The way Rip is just SO SO HAPPY to get put into his bed for naps and bedtime. Like, squirms of anticipation and giggling and big big smiles. Apparently, not too deeply traumatized by the Ferberizing.
• The fact that Jolly is a very very solicitously concerned big brother. "Is that a BABY APPROPRIATE TOY?"
• The fact that our children will plough through meals like beets. Rip does a lot of waving his food around like he's holding a lighter at a rock concert, and he also does a lot of massaging into his behind-ear area and neck folds. We really enjoy our showers and baths, indeed.
• The eternal "Whyyyy?" -- I am very well equipped to deal with this, but we sometimes go further into molecular biology than expected for the average toddler.
• The matching sleepsacks. (Jolly got blanket priviledges revoked when he started waking multiple times each night requiring that his feet be retucked in the blanket.)
• Sensory bin a big super-mega hit with Jolly.
• Melting down crayon stubs and making new, fun (dump truck and number) shape crayons is a big hit with Jolly and with me.