correction and...

Okay, Atticus drags his right leg as if it's lame, not his left leg. funny boy

And, Atticus's next new triumph: clapping! He clapped his hands together for the first time this evening--in the bathtub of all places. He must have thought we (okay, more me than Chris) were crazy making such a fuss about clapping, but having seen how much attention this new skill elicits, I'm willing to bet he will be showing off his new skill to many folks in the upcoming weeks.

He's also now clasping his hands together as he stretches his arms over his head--as if in the midst of a yawn.

crawling

I guess you could say Atticus has now got this crawling thing down--if crawling as if your left leg is lame counts. It's a bit strange, but he can truck it pretty fast. He was all over the house this morning--yanking my clothes off of their hangers, chewing on my shoes, trying to get into the wine cabinet. This afternoon he crawled under one of the bar stools...


then stood himself up as if he were playing "prison." (Aren't his baby leggings cute? They make cold-weather diaper changes much more palatable.)


Just documenting Atticus's drinking skills. I guess we have a few photos of him sort of doing this, but this one better shows that he doesn't drink as if one of his hands is lame (not all the time anyhow).

the interrogative mood

Some things I want to remember:

• One of Atticus's preferred sounds, in addition to "mama," is "eh" with an interrogative inflection, as if he is constantly asking us questions about the world around him, and probably he is. (a sign of things to come?)
• The other day Atticus and I shared a banana while I was wearing him in the ergo. I pulled off a piece for him, a piece for me, back and forth like that. I think it was our first truly shared meal, and it made me happy.
• Last night Atticus took his first crawling steps, but he then got jammed on one of his feet. This morning I noticed that he no longer cries and gives up as soon as he flops onto his belly. He's able to lift himself back up again. He's stronger and more confident. I think he's going to be full-on crawling in a matter of a few days. Watch out, grandparents!
• It occurred to me last week that Atticus knows what to call me since I'm frequently talking to him in third person (I read that this helps babies learn what to call you, etc.), but since Chris doesn't do this, Atticus probably doesn't know what to call him. I've made a concerted effort to refer to Chris as "dada" all week, and the last few days Atticus has been saying "dadada..." when Chris is present. Last night he did it as he reached for Chris and put his arms around him. priceless
• The other sound he's practicing a lot is "ba," perhaps inspired by my saying "ball" a lot since balls seem to be his favorite toys.

8 months!

Atticus is 2/3 of a year old today. He's more and more lovely each week, if that's possible. Goodness, I love him. I have several tidbits to report.

First, a few anecdotes:

1. Today, he made the "milk" sign as he said "mama." (The "ma" sound is by far his favorite sound lately, and though he doesn't address me in quite the same way as an older child might, it does seem pretty clear that he's made the connection between that sound and me. He tends to say it whenever he wants my attention.)
2. Yesterday, I mimicked Atticus after he coughed, and he busted out laughing. (He also laughes at his own sneezes.)
3. The day before that, he screamed and shed many tears over my not allowing him to jam the nail clippers into the roof of his mouth. (There have been several such temper tantrums lately. If Atticus doesn't get what he wants--whether that be an object or assistance standing, etc.--he cries, and sometimes pitches a fit. It looks like toddlerhood--I associate temper tantrums with toddlerhood--has already begun)

Sleep: Good news on the sleep front! We had a setback last week with the teething business, so we had to start over again Saturday evening. Saturday was traumatic. None of us slept well. Lots and lots of crying. However, Sunday night Atticus cried for just 20 minutes when he awoke at 9ish, before falling back to sleep on his own. Then he slept through the night, not waking up until 5:30! That hasn't happened since he was 2-3 months old. Monday night he awoke for a feeding at 2:30, but otherwise slept the night in his crib (he woke briefly two other times, but only fussed for about a minute each time). Last night he awoke for just one feeding as well.

Solid Food: I've been introducing new foods rather slowly--one every week or two. Tonight he had pureed peas for the first time. Every time I introduce something new, I half expect him to make a face and reject it, but that hasn't been happening. He seems to love everything. He ate those peas up faster than I could spoon them out of the bowl. Finger foods have been a little tricky so far. I think I've been choosing foods that are too sticky (e.g., bananas). Mostly he just makes a mess. I'm planning to steam diced carrots and apples tomorrow night to see if those are easier for him to handle.

Teeth: Atticus loves brushing his teeth. He started using one of those little banana brushes a few weeks ago. As soon as I place him into the bath, he looks at me expectantly, waiting for his toothbrush. Then I sing the toothbrushing song I made up while he scrubs away. He think the song is nifty too. I mumbled the song the other day while I was brushing my own teeth, and he giggled.

Atticus feeds himself

Throwing the ball (video)

Throwing the ball

top teeth

Tooth #3 poked through the gums Monday night, and I just discovered this evening that tooth #4 has poked through the gums. It must have happened last night because I'm pretty sure I checked yesterday for it.

Hopefully this means Atticus will soon begin sleeping better at night. It's been a rough week sleep-wise. He's suddenly very difficult to get to bed (no crying it out whatsever this week--not while he's teething), and he wakes every 45 minutes or so. Thus, he's been coming to bed with me--once I'm done with my work. It's much easier that way. We both get more sleep than we would otherwise.

I'm thankful this teething business didn't start up last week while Chris was out of town. I would have had to use a good deal of vacation.

Oh, and I have a plan for preventing Atticus from getting any more ear infections. Time will tell whether it works. First, I'm mixing echinacea into his food. Second, I will no longer heed my pediatrician's advice about avoiding suctioning his nostrils unless he's so clogged he can't nurse. Dr. Sears (I'm not a Dr. Sears fanatic by any means, but...) has a list on his website of the various things you can do to help prevent ear infections, and one of them (in addition to echinacea drops) is to keep the nasal passages clear. The third thing, another Dr. Sears recommendation, is that from here on out, I'm taking Atticus to the chiropractor at the first sign of a possible ear infection (ear pulling), or maybe even just every time he gets a cold, since that's what causes them.