Baby Steps

Linus slept in over an hour this morning. I think that is because he played so hard yesterday. He stood for much of the day. The only time he wasn't standing was when we read to him or were holding him. He was having a lot of fun exploring the living and dining rooms yesterday by cruising along furniture or scooting the high chair around.

Walking Update

Yesterday Linus walked on his own across part of our bedroom and today he walked at the libary. During story time he started walking toward the librarian and during the play time portion he walked to the toys. I know he walked in the living room this afternoon, but I wasn't there to see it. I was doing a bit of laundry and came back to find him in a place to which he could not have cruised. Hooray for mobility! He is a lot less fussy now that he can get around a bit on his own.

Linus has also started clapping his hands. During story time he clapped after each clapping activity, but not during. Very cute. He is also more verbal. He talks to his toys and us.

Here he is cruising with the high chair.

Assisted Walking Device

AKA: high chair. I was copying some recipes down while Linus played near me in the kitchen. The next thing I knew, he was cruising around the downstairs by pushing the high chair. He was persistent at getting out of stuck positions, such as running into a chair, until he realized I was watching him. Then he whined for me to help him. I'll post a picture of it soon.

We only have a couple more months of formula and bottles. I need to remember to give him a sippy cup more often so he gets better at drinking from it. I'll miss the bottle snuggle time.

Trumpet Call: First Steps!!

Yesterday Linus took four steps without holding onto anything. I was walking him around Kristin's kitchen when he let go of my hands and stood in one spot. Then he took one step forward. Kristin held out her fingers for him and he took three more steps toward her. It was so exciting and such a big moment that I cried. I'm glad Kristin got to see his big walking debut. That is something that should be witnessed by more than just me. Linus took one step last Saturday, so I knew it was only a matter of time.

Linus is in a needing-mama phase. In this picture, he is refusing to take a nap. Instead, he is cruising around the inside perimeter of the crib while blubbering, "Mamamamamamamamama," in a mournful voice. Last night our neighbors were over for a bit and Linus hid behind me, held onto my legs, and peered around to watch them. Little ones are so tough and resilient, while being vulnerable at the same time.

Snow Baby

We got a fair bit of snow on Sunday. After we were done shoveling we took Linus out into it. He wasn't so sure of it at first, but by the time we brought him in, he had a big smile on his face.

I'm very excited to have signed Linus up for his very first reading program at the library. My sisters and I participated in a number of reading programs when we were kids and I was so excited when the librarian announced the program at the end of story time yesterday. For signing up, Linus got a Cat in the Hat bookmark. I had to pledge how many books we would read to him. I pledged to read 60 by early March, but by the end of yesterday we had already read 18 books to him (we read Old Hat, New Hat 9 times!), so our pledge won't be difficult to fulfill. He has a great attention span for books. I stopped reading to him on the floor this morning because my leg was falling asleep. He got grumpy and went right back to the stack of books. So I altered my position and read two more books.

He has started squealing with excitement at people and things. The only person who has been worthy of a squeal so far was Johanna. There is a bear in his Dirt is Delightful book and he gives little squeals for him.

Newfound Independence

Since yesterday Linus has been feeding himself his bottles. He has shown little interest in holding the bottle up until now. Instead, he held onto my thumb with his whole hand. So he is cruising all over the place, figured out that if he pulls knobs drawers open, and feeds himself bottles. What next? Posting to the blog himself?

This goofy picture shows him wearing some new pajamas I got for him. They fit snugly, which they are supposed to do so they don't catch fire (huh?), but the neckline gapes oddly. I said that orphans in Russia have better pajamas than that. I won't buy that brand again. They kind of fit like a leotard. Maybe he'll tackle ballet this weekend!

First Shoes!!!!

Linus got his first pair of shoes on Tuesday and wore them all day yesterday. We got him Stride Rite Groov'n Stage 3's and the shoe box is so small and cute. I'm still getting used to seeing his feet in shoes. His footfalls sound different as we walk around and around together. He cruises anywhere he can. He falls sometimes trying to go between furniture that is a little bit too far away.

A bad thing happened this morning. I accidentally pinched his fingers in a door. I had even checked where his hands were, but he moved one really fast. I still feel terrible about it. He's over it, of course. Right now he is cruising around my craft room and pulling postcards out of my postcard basket.

In this picture he is trying out his new shoes and playing with a contacts case that my eye doctor gave him. He was playing eye docter, because as you know, eye doctors wear shoes. :)

Baby-Proofing

We've been busy trying to make the house safer for Linus now that he is cruising around so well. He got from the chair in his room out to the hallway by cruising along the walls. Within the hour I was at the store buying a gate for the top of the stairs. Matthew installed it Sunday and yesterday Linus made it from his room to the gate. Good thing that is up. I'm starting to rearrange the kitchen so that dangerous things are in only a few drawers. The drawer latches are difficult to install and we want them in as few as we can get away with. He has so much fun finding new treasures in the kitchen cabinets. So many wondrous things to explore.

Teething Biscuit

Linus enjoyed his first teething biscuit last weekend. Enjoyed isn't a strong enough word to describe his experience. At first I didn't put a bib on him because I thought he wouldn't need one. Boy was I wrong! He was drooling teething biscuit goo all down his chin. It took him about 45 minutes to finish the thing and by the end, Matthew was in tears with laughter. Linus was dropping the gooey thing and anything he touched was slimed with it.

What Did You Find?!

I was walking Linus around and around the house when he stopped, bent over to look at the floor, then progressed to sitting and then lying down to get a closer look and taste. It was a bit of dried up banana from earlier in the morning. It was hilarious to see him go at it.

Last night Linus has lentils for the first time. He liked them okay. He also had graham cracker yesterday. He really loved that. He gobbled the piece up really quickly.

This morning he pulled a pot, lid, and colander out of the cupboard and played with them on the floor. He is seeming more like a toddler than an infant these days.

Cruising

Linus is getting more confident and competent with cruising. He does a great job in the kitchen cruising from the Graco Entertainer to the chair to the highchair (note to self: do not leave the highchair tray on the chair or baby will fall when he grabs it). In this photo he is using his bedroom wall to cruise toward the closet, which we now keep closed.

He has been rather verbal this week. He jabbers to himself, toys, and us. I love to hear his voice.

Gobble, Gobble, Nibble, Nibble

Munch, munch, scrunch! That is the final line from Linus' Dinosaur Roar book. After I say, "Scrunch," I gobble him up. Linus has us read to him now. It started dramatically on Christmas day when he pulled a book off of his shelf and sat down with it and waited for me to read it to him. That had never happened before. His favorites are two books that have pages that slide out to reveal either birds or insects. We've been reading them over, and over, and over again. He also likes a book about babies getting ready for bed. He sometimes licks their faces.

9 Month Well Baby Check Up

Linus is healthy and happy at nine months. Here he is this morning just before we left for his check-up. Doesn't he look dapper in his sweater vest? He'd just finished his breakfast of Cheerios, banana, and yogurt.

Since his six-month visit he gained nearly two pounds and grew two inches. He weighs 19 pounds, 13 ounces and is nearly 30 inches tall. He is in the 90th percentile for height and 50th for weight. We thought he had gained more weight than that. He certainly feels heavier. Dr. Gast says it is time for Linus to get his first pair of shoes. That's a big milestone! I wonder what he'll think of them. Dr. Gast also says we can try feeding Linus eggs. I suspect he'll like them because he is good about trying new foods and liking them. He still isn't a fan of green beans, although he didn't feel well the last time I gave them to him.

Playing in the Bathroom

Linus is enjoying the new bath toys he received for Christmas, including a squirting fish. Linus likes chewing on it and Matthew has fun squirting Linus with it. Our little one still won't sit in the tub. He insists on standing and walking from the front to the back. At the front he plays with the faucet and at the back he plays with the frog that suctions to the tub to hold his toys. It takes both me and Matthew to bathe him; one to keep Linus from falling and one to wash him.

Linus' newest morning activity is standing at the tub, holding onto the side, and peeking around the shower curtain at Matthew, who is showering. He also likes flushing the toilet now and then (not when Matthew is showering). A couple of times he has played with the toilet paper, but fortunately, that isn't much of a draw for him. Yet.

These Feet Are Made for Walking

As you can see from the photos, we have no snow and the grass is green. If I'd planted crocuses, they'd be poking their heads out of the ground. We are having highs in the 40's this week. Since it was relatively warm out, Matthew took Linus to help turn the compost on Monday afternoon. This was the first time Linus got to "walk" outside. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Linus is standing more without holding onto anything. This morning I was walking him around the downstairs and he stopped at the bag of paper recycling, let go of me, and pulled a few things out. He even shook some cardboard around and didn't fall down.

Happy New Year!

Linus wasn't feeling well, but was a good sport and briefly wore the party hat to humor us. He was suffering from a cold and was also teething. If I touched his upper gum, he cried. I thought for sure he'd wake up on New Year's Day with a tooth, but none in sight yet. He was only slightly interested in chewing on the chilled teething ring or washcloth. Distracting him with walking around didn't work. We finally resorted to Tylenol and that eased his discomfort; ours as well, since his crying was getting to us. Poor kiddo.

Good Little Vegetarian

I've been telling Linus, "You're such a good little vegetarian." He eats a variety of vegetables now and feeds them to himself. I bought a mix of frozen organic veggies that includes broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and carrots. He can't have the carrots because he's allergic to them, but I boil up the others and tear them into small pieces for him. Tonight he fed himself kidney beans and squash. I pulled off most of the skins on the beans because that is kind of tough. I wasn't sure he'd like it, but he did.

Here's a recent photo of him enjoying asparagus tips. Isn't it cute how his mouth is open before he gets the food to it?

Johnny Jump Up

A friend lent us her Johnny Jump Up for Linus to try out. I was doubtful that he would like it because he likes walking around, but thought it wouldn't hurt to try it out. Perhaps it would give Linus something to occupy him safely while I cook. Linus tolerated it only long enough for me to get some photos. At first he was excited about it because it was something new. Then he tried to walk into the dining room and couldn't get anywhere. That was the end of that. I think this would have been something he really enjoyed when he was 5-7 months old. He loved standing then, but wasn't mobile yet.

Linus licked a sports car yesterday! We were at Saturn for the fourth time in a week and a half and I was walking Linus around and around the showroom. He got excited to see his reflection in the fancy Saturn sportscar called Sky. Next thing I knew, he leaned forward and licked it. Maybe he developed a taste for sports cars when he got to ride in his grandpa's Mustang over Thanksgiving. (Turns out the problem with my car is that a rodent chewed up a bunch of wires.)

Susan's Visit

Susan came up last Friday to celebrate Christmas with us. Matthew came home during his lunch break so we could exchange presents with her. Here are pictures of Linus checking out his gift from her and giving her a big smile to say thank you. He enjoys slapping at the parrot that is on a spring and gets very excited when he pushes the smokestack and music plays. When Matthew was walking Linus around the other day, I set the train to the "go" mode and he walked after it. Stephanie gave Linus the train car with a zebra and parrot, so Linus has two parrots to slap.

Hooray for Ribbons and Bows!

We had an enjoyable Christmas. We all received wonderful presents and have been having fun watching Linus explore his new toys. We can see him thinking hard about them as he works them over. So far, his favorites are the rubber duck from grandma and grandpa and the Little People set from Lyz. He likes chewing these toys a lot. The Little People set has a llama, chicken, fence, and girl. Linus likes the chicken and llama best. He has been going from toy to toy, so it will take a while for him to get to know them all.