We went to Together in Motion again today. It's tricky, because to get there before the rush involves missing his morning nap. Maybe we'll go later next time, so we can stay longer. I have to say, though, that he seemed to have a blast before he passed out.
He loved the fans stored in the corner as much as any of the toys.
And the parachute! We got under and it was a tent. He sat on top and it was like splashing. It was great.
I also got a lot of great videos. Here's just one great sample.
Many people were thrilled to hear about the Great Blueberry Mess, so we're happy to share the photos with you. When he really liked that first blueberry (frozen wild blueberries, defrosted), we decided to take off his shirt and let him at them for dessert.
Here's him at the beginning, mostly clean.
Getting a little messier. Notice the neat little dab on his nose.
A complete mess now. The chair also had to be scrubbed.
The man clearly takes his blueberries very seriously.
And just so you can see it in motion:
And there you have it; Adam messier than I would ever want to be.
We've been playing the Walking Game lately. I think the video will explain pretty clearly what the game is. Adam's getting really good at it, and I think it's arguable that he took two steps on his own yesterday. It's so exciting!
I'm sure everyone knows by now about Adam's new favorite hobby: climbing stairs. The best part is how he's generalized lifting his foot up a giant step and not putting it down--he'll lift his foot two feet before he gets to the staircase, or when he's sitting on my lap next to the table, or just any time he thinks he can lift his foot above whatever's in front of him. It's an important stair climbing skill, though, and here we see it in action.
I know that Adam does a little bopping up and down thing sometimes, but I think today was the first time I saw clearly that it's definitely dancing. We were playing with his music table, and he pulled on the banjo to make a song come, then did a little bobbing dance to it. When the song ended, he stopped, pulled the banjo again, and did another little dance. And when I started swaying to the music, the got excited and danced even more. I'm still always amazed by him.
I've been behind on photos and updates, and I'm sorry! There's a lot of news, but not a lot of visuals. We'll start with a new toy set: kitchenware.
He wanted my bowl and spoon when there was still cereal in it, so I gave him his own. He took more to the drum-set usage than the bowl-spoon thing, but that was fun, too. It makes good noises, and he's working on how to use the end of the spoon he's NOT holding to do things.
My favorite little moment, though, was when he had banged the bowl with the spoon until it jostled a little too far away. He then put down the spoon, reached for the bowl, pulled it closer, picked up the spoon again, and went back to banging. It was just such a practical move--how many times can I be reminded that he's a little person?
Banging on things is his big hobby now. Demonstration:
In other news, he's cutting both his top middle teeth at the same time. This makes him very unhappy, especially at night. We're weathering it well, though, and one of them has just barely erupted. No more gummy little baby smile, which makes me kind of sad. Still, though.
He's also come very close to crawling instead of creeping, quite often. He does a hands-and-knees thing as a prelude to standing up, and sometimes he does it quite a ways from whatever he's going to stand up against. So he'll get on his hands and knees and then crawl two or three--steps? crawls? scoots? whatever--over to the couch or the stool or my legs.
He's talented and tall and growing and just pretty cool. We like him.
I guess it's not that much to get done before breakfast. So okay, I admit it--it's a cheap excuse to post adorable pictures. So sue me. But he does have a new nickname: Scooter!
This, of course, was the third time he did it today. By the twelfth, it took no time flat.
And this appears to overshadow the reaching deliberately for his teething ring, grabbing it and shoving it purposefully in his mouth that he did today.
Or the new noise he discovered; he can now imitate a power drill unexpected digging into sheet metal. Which is how he requests the pacifier in his sleep.
Adam's main project for the last week is to figure out how to get his hands into his mouth when he wants to. As you can see from the video below, he is making quick progress.
Adam has developed a nice cheerful period in the morning just after he gets up. He likes to giggle and coo and play. Today Mike even got him to imitate sticking his tongue out! I didn't get a big smile, but we caught some little ones.
And here's him in his charming new cardigan. He looks like he needs a pipe and maybe some slippers. We call it his old man sweater, but it's so adorable.
I am pleased to announce that, as seen in the video above, Adam has developed some new expressions. Previously, he had two: Insurance Agent Listening to Your Vital Statistics and About to Deny Your Claim, and Person Being Poked With Sharp Stick. But now, in addition to occasional actual smiles, we have a new expression, that I like to call Positive Neutral. Behold.
I suppose you could say it's a little more Skeptical/Amused, but I like to think he's feeling cheerful, but laid back enough that he doesn't need a big grin.
And now, a series from a recent photo shoot:
Adam's also been sick for a couple of days. Mostly his breathing sounds like snoring, and he slept a lot. He's been such a trooper, though--he's such a good baby. And did I mention his cuteness?
But he can also be threatening. Here's one of him as a mobster. I can't seem to keep his nails short enough, so I'm going to embrace his face scratches as part of his charm.
