Orphalin Annie

Mr. Power will be 10 months in a few days.  I can’t believe that we are coming up on his first birthday!  It is amazing to watch him learn and discover things.  I feel that in the last few weeks in particular he has really made strides.  

1.  He is crawling like mad (he is super fast) and pulls up on everything.  He has even been standing without holding onto anything for a few seconds.  We have also seen him in the squatting position you are in before you stand completely up.  

2.  He climbed the stairs yesterday.  The cat was sitting on the steps and he crawled over to them.  I was right behind him but didn’t think he would even think to start climbing them.  I was so wrong.  He not only stepped up without a problem, he looked like he had done it before.  He would have climbed all the way up the flight if we had let him.  The child knows no fear.  

3.  He also started swim lessons yesterday.  He was very chilly at first and had a death grip on me but then started to warm up and was kicking and splashing just like he does in the tub.  He even blew bubbles and got his face wet.  He also tried to lick the water like an animal, but that’s ok too.  

4.  He has had an obvious growth spurt and is pushing the length limit of his pajama onesies.  He also seems heavier and is even sleeping better at night, allowing me sometimes up to 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time.  

5.  We are signing with him and doing flashcards to help him learn words.  

6.  He has been more open to trying finger foods and foods with different textures.  He is still nursing but I think by 12 months he will be ready to be weaned (I wasn’t so sure of that a few weeks ago).

7.  He points at everything and looks at us like he wants to know what the word is.  I have become a narrator for everything I do when he is around, explaining why we do certain things.

I think we are starting to enjoy him a lot more again.  It seemed that there was a period of time when none of us were sleeping well, we all had bouts of illness, and Mr. Power was going through tougher things like teething and transitions to different foods.  Bre and I were both pretty worn down.  I think we have turned a corner though and will be able to coast a bit before the next difficult stage.  Whew!