Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

Joseph now crawls on hands and knees, forward and backward, and pulls himself up to knee-standing position. The other morning he found a piece of dog food on the kitchen floor and I caught him just as the disgusting morsel was about to enter his mouth. He then diverted his attention to the long dangling phone cord a few feet away so we were able to escape the "mommy just took something away" tantrum that would normally have followed. Last night Jay kept Joseph amused with a different activity every five minutes until about 6:20, when we had to cave and put the little man to bed. We're hoping that when we spring ahead in another month we're able to push bedtime past 7 oclock. We're also hoping to do away with bottles (WOO HOO!) and we're down to our last two cans of formula (WOO HOO with a cha-ching $!)

5 New Phrases to Describe Joseph

1) Attitude - well no surprise on this one, it was bound to surface at some point! Joseph does not react kindly to having anything taken away from him, and we've used "substitution" as our main form of combat in this regard. Wiping his face, hands, or nose will also set him into a fit of rage.

2) Separation Anxiety - not exactly anxiety....but at times he does get upset if you walk away from him and for the first time at daycare this morning he actually got upset when I left. (I think it's determined by his mood, because he only does this when he's tired or has just gotten upset about something else).

3) Socialite - the little man does enjoy going out on the town, interacting with people, looking around at things, and playing with other kids. He's very easy to take out to dinner at this stage, so we've been doing it quite often. (Though we're on a ticking clock while we're out as he is ready to pass out by 7)

4) Food Lover - he just can't get enough of it! We made homemade mac n cheese for him, he's had pancakes, meatballs, gnocchi, and has experienced an endless variety of other foods....and I swear he can pack in as much as a 10 year old. Which is probably why we couldn't get a pair of his pants to snap the other day.

5) Mobile - he may not be doing it in the most elegant manner, but he is definitely crawling. It doesn't always look like crawling, but he can move from one end of the room to the other in a matter of seconds.

Hmmmmm.... if you change "separation anxiety" to "extrovert" or "doesn't like being alone" I think this description may actually fit me. (except that I generally stay awake past 7 and do not object to washing my face).

Happy Valentine's Day!

Brrrrrrrrrrreakfast

Emphasis on the Brrrrrrr. We just got back from breakfeast at our neighbors, and it's a whopping -4 outside (which doesn't take into account the "arctic winds" the weathermen have been weathering about). Joseph doesn't seem to mind though and he continues to amaze us with his many developments.....he started waving goodbye, he claps and dances while sitting, and basically will mimic whatever you do. One night he looked at us during dinner and said "Ma ma". Though I'm sure he had no idea of the magnitude of his statement. But it was a distinct two syllable "Ma ma" as opposed to the usual "ra ra ra ra" or "ma ma ma ma ma". (I immediately tried to start teaching him "Da da" instead.) He's actually quite the talker now, and loves to listen to himself make noises and plays with his hand against his mouth to make all sorts of funny sounds. Sleeping however, does not come as quickly as it used to. One morning this week I walked into his room and found him sitting in his crib, happily playing by himself. Jay and I were so proud of our little man, and so happy over his newest achievement. But we soon came to realize that this meant that putting him down for a nap or bedtime was no longer as simple as it used to be. So sometimes he falls right asleep, other times he sits up and plays and then falls asleep in a hunched over face plant position, and for the past two nights he has actually freaked out after rolling on to his belly and then won't fall back asleep unless you stay in the room with him. I have now resorted to crawling out of his room on all fours so as not to wake the monster inside the crib. Yes, I'm now one of those parents.

Mobile Madness

Though not quite crawling, Joseph is defintely "mobile". He scoots, rolls, and slides his way across the room to get what he wants, which these days is his football. Our favorite move is when he gets on all fours and makes his way backwards across the floor, which you can usually tell by the look on his face, is not his intended direction. Couldn't quite capture that on film, but as you can see he also enjoys mealtime, though I doubt broccoli will always trigger such a happy reaction. But for now, it's apparently as good as having cake!