Dear Christian,
You are completely crashed out on the bed behind me as you are so often while I am writing. You are sleeping even more deeply than usual these last few days because you have the discovered the thrill of walking and climbing. Your adventures through the hitherto unexplored regions (behind momma’s desk! top of the coffee table!) of this apartment are tapping your seemingly endless fount of energy. While breast milk is still your favorite pick-me-up snack, you are relying more and more on solid foods – munching down on beets and rutabagas at dinner, oatmeal and strawberries at breakfast, and rice and kidney beans at lunch – and in between meals, you can never resist a little bit of dried something from off the floor.
Although you took those first tentative shuffling steps almost two months ago, it wasn’t until this week that you suddenly caught sight of something irresistable (the entertainment console was open) and your hand let go of the armchair and you took one-two… eight steps across the room. And from there, it’s become a regular routine. Your Auntie Corrina channeled your love of the tennis ball to do another marathon walk (we’ve lost count of how many steps) across the kitchen, and then when your dad came home he used the same technique to get you to walk for this video. You are just pleased as punch to be able to do this new thing.
Communication has taken a leap forward as well. Besides “Ba” for Bella, “Dada,” and “Mama,” you also sign for “all finished” (both hands waving in the air); “nursie” (one hand repeatedly squeezing open and shut); “dog” (panting); rabbit (both hands open and closing near your face – supposed to be more on top of your head, but I know what you mean); chicken (one finger tapping); and then yesterday you even told me that you needed to go potty (one fist waving in the air)! I didn’t believe it at first but you yelled and arched your back until I brought you to your potty at which point you promptly sat down and peed and then signaled that you wanted up.
In fact, yelling when you have to go pee has become somewhat of a regular occurrence. I mean I understand that impulse when your full bladder pinches and you can’t think about anything else, but it cracks me up that you have so little inhibition that pee shivers and yells just erupt from your little body – even in the middle of the night! When you turn and shout out when you’re sleeping I know that you want to pee, not nurse – and oftentimes these days you let me prop you up still sleeping on the potty to pee – and when I lay you back on the bed you just keep on slumbering. (At night you usually pee once and you’ve been waking up with a dry diaper and peeing on the potty when you wake. Sometimes too, during your long afternoon nap you “wake” to pee and then keep on sleeping.)
You are such a fun baby!
I love you and I’m cherishing all my moments with your sweet happy soul.
Love,
Mama