Because I wasn't worrying enough...

I was starting to feel calm about the risks of living with a small mobile boy who lacks all common sense. Sure, he still falls and bangs his head from time to time, and last week he scratched himself with a wire hanger. But we have the tops of the stairs blocked off, the power strips locked away in plastic boxes, the bookcases tethered to the walls. Really, it seemed like he'd be ok as long as we kept an eye on him.

Then he decided to climb up the stairs. Note a worried maternal hand in the bottom left.



Now we go up the stairs at least once or twice a day, more on weekends. It probably takes 5 minutes or so to tackle all 14 steps, but the time is getting shorter.

In other news:

SA tries to enjoy a California syrah (though mostly he likes gnawing on the cool bottle.)

SA's favorite foods recently include fruit yogurt and lasagna. He hadn't shown much interest in the baby version of lasagna in a jar, so I wasn't expecting much, but after I food processed the regular lasagna we were enjoying, he chowed down. The kid likes sausage, I think. He claims it's time to start feeding himself - however, minimal success so far.

Time for spring training! The bat is a recent favorite, and he has discovered that its best use is, well, banging on things. The cat doesn't appreciate the attention.

Gradual change

A few small developments:

- SA lets go of things and stands for a few seconds quite regularly.

- He used a plastic stacking cup in the bath this evening to give himself a gulp of bathwater - I was torn between being proud (Look! He's using a cup!) and disgusted.

- He falls asleep easily at night, but he still wakes up for a bottle. Most the time that's ok, but this last week he was trying to transition into 2 bottles, at midnight and 4am. That does not work for me. Thankfully, that seems to have been a short-lived phase (knock on wood.)

- RB bought him a baseball last week, and we all practiced rolling the ball to one another. SA seemed to catch on, trying to roll the ball after gnawing on it for a while.

- Finally, SA looks to me like he's getting chubby again recently - I find myself wanting to poke him in the belly. It's a shame that potbellies don't look as good on the rest of us as they do on babies.

All these teeth!

Teeth 6 and 7 have appeared, and I suspect number 8 is on the horizon. Teething isn't fun, I have to say. Well, the little guy sleeps reasonably well - he still wakes up for a bottle most nights, but as long as he goes back to sleep I don't mind - so it could be much worse.

And the toothy grins are awfully cute.

The dining room table is a perfect little room to explore, if you're 28 inches tall.

One new walking trick: SA likes to hold on to the piano bench or the stroller, and push them forward, while he walks behind like he's holding onto a walker. The stroller isn't very stable, though, so he usually ends up falling and running himself over.

This globe plays music when he rolls it around. He loves it. The song has been running through my head, night and morning, for the last few weeks.

Still Mobile, Still Standing, Still Sick-ish

Not much new here... SA has sniffles and a cough. He continues to crawl everywhere and tries to eat cat food and play in the toilet. And he still pulls himself up to standing on pretty much anything that will support his weight, and he occasionally lets go for a half second or so.

Plus, he's decided that he enjoys life most when his tongue is sticking out. Well really, who doesn't?