He's Walking

It's official. I'm pretty sure we can call Evan a toddler now. Just shy of his first birthday and he's walking more than crawling. He's a seasoned pro at standing up from sitting in the middle of the floor with no support, and I knew it was only a matter of time before walking took over. I really knew we were close when he walked across my parents floor last weekend. So tonight I had hoped to catch him on camera. I sort of successfully did. It's a bit shotty because I was trying to film him but also make sure he didn't go bashing his head into the table. For those seeing this on facebook click here.

He CAN Walk

He can walk, when he wants to. He proved it yesterday. I got him to take about five or six steps at home before we left for my parents house. Once at my parents house he decided that he would walk across the living room, one end to the other. I wanted to get it on camera so bad, so we tried to make him repeat it and it was a no go. He just wanted to play with all of the toys scattered on the floor. I'm a little sad, but I'm thinking we may be able to catch him at home doing it. It's official though, he's turning into a toddler.

I can do it

Gah, it's so frustrating. He can do it, when he wants to. He's taken steps here and there, but when we try to make him walk more than three steps at a time he refuses. Either way he's now going from sitting to a crouching position and trying to stand up from crouching without support. It's quite cute until he attempts it in the bath tub.



Look Mommy, no hands!



Is he walking yet?

The number one question I get lately is "Is he walking yet?" Well, yes and no. No, he's not walking 100% on his own, in fact he's just starting to make attempts on his own. For the longest time he would try to walk between Adam and I, but he found it easier to give up and just crawl. More and more lately I've been letting him roam the living room with the walker while Arabella is napping. It seems to be motivating him to walk on his own when he's in his pen. Just today I caught him several times taking three or four steps between the sides inside of plopping down and crawling. This means we nearly have another toddler on our hands! Eek!



What?




What's this do?





Isn't this the most handsome little face?



I'm gonna try with no hands...watch me!



Okay, maybe not?!?!?!



I've also learned that he cannot be left alone with the spinning alphabet toy in the play yard. I looked up to find him standing on this toy, while using the fence for balance. Just what we need, another fabulous dare devil!

Any day now, little buddy, you can start walking, okay?

Oh My Word

You know, as a parent you always wait for your child to be able to talk, to form phrases and sentences, to have a meaningful conversation with you. But then the time comes and you watch them ask "what's this" and parrot you. They begin forming sentences and you are in awe at their ability. And you wait for that conversation to happen. Then you realize you've been having meaningful conversations with your child all along. Yes, you don't have a clue half of the things your child is saying but you can see the wheels turning and gears grinding. They want to know more and more and want you to talk with them like you know what they're babbling about. I can't believe it has taken this long to hit me. Arabella and her toddlatin = a conversation with Mommy that means something to her. Now she's asking me daily for more and more new words. She's starting to put them into phrases.

My Dada
My Mama
My Bubba
Oh Man
Bubba drink
My drink
Chips please

...you can see where this is going?

Adam swears yesterday she nearly got out a sentence, and I'll be honest I don't recall what it was she said. But she's getting there. She's also working on lullabies, and her alphabet. She knows that A and R are in her name and points to them on the wall and repeats them over and over. She's also getting very good at repeating words from her crayola word/color books. I'm amazed at how she grows daily.

Evan, Evan, Evan. My little man is not staying a little man AT ALL. He's recently started cruising. He loves going from Arabella's Dora kitchen to the Leap Frog music table. He LOVES the Leap Frog walker as well. He's starting to get the hang of standing using the walker without it needing to be pushed up against something to keep it from rolling. Today he took a couple of steps before it got away from him. I really believe he'll be walking before ten months. It's crazy to think that not too long ago we were bringing him home from the hospital. Now he's this mobile wild child who loves to explore. Of course he also tries to do everything sissy does but isn't quite big enough for yet.

He's also quite the chow hound. He's scarfing down two cartons of baby food per meal and then usually snacks on Gerber puffs while we wait for sissy to finish and then he nurses. I swear the kid does nothing but eat all day long. Before I know it I'm going to have another toddler on my hands and our nursing days will be far behind us. But for now I'm trying to enjoy it rather than see it as a chore. It's slightly difficult because he loves to grab, pinch, and twist around while nursing. Have I mentioned how much I hate the "distracted too easy" phase? Lucky for me though he seems to have given up on nibbling while nursing. I will however be so glad to have him sleep for 12 hours like his sister. Getting up every 3 or 4 hours a night is killing me. It seems like the moment I doze off he decides he's hungry again. And in reality I'm trying to determine if he actually is or if he's just accustomed to his eating habits that he's refusing to sleep through and break the habit. I guess time will only tell. I know in the future when we have finished this phase I will look back and be sad that our special time together has ended. I also know that the void will be filled with what's to come.