There goes the neighborhood

Thomas is cruising! Over the course of the afternoon he's gone from tentative shimmying to zipping along the edge of the sofa or coffee table with a debonair look on his face. A few minutes ago he turned around from the coffee table, saw me, let go with one hand, stepped toward me...and landed on his botto.

Bipedalism is looming on the horizon.

He's huge, too -- at his nine-month checkup last week he measured 29 inches long and 20 pounds 9 ounces, putting him in the 75th percentile for height and the 50th for weight. He was stoic about his immunizations, even smiling at the nurse when she apologized for hurting him afterward. (James, protective, had shrieked "NOT HURT MAS!" when she approached with the shot pack.)

Thomas has also figured out how to say mama, dada, [nursing], more, hey, bye, ball, and Zay (James, I think).

For such a gentle little guy, Thomas is no slouch at standing up for himself. He's taken to swatting James's hand away when James hits him or tries to grab his hair. Also, on our road trip last weekend, Dave reported that he exited the hotel bathroom after brushing his teeth to find Thomas -- whom he'd last seen sleeping in the hotel bed with James and me -- sitting bolt upright, beaming and singing to himself as he drummed on James's noggin with both fists.