Dean is a baby on the move. He's not crawling forward yet, but he does a marvelous job of getting on his hands and knees and scooting around. He often goes backward, reminding me a lot of Mater in Cars, who is the self-proclaimed "world's best backwards driver" and doesn't need to know where he's going, just where he's been. He's also really good at sitting and pivoting in many directions to get the toys he needs, causing his brother much chagrin at playtime. He loves trains, wooden toys he can teethe on, and musical instruments most of all. Kent and I have been discussing what it's going to be like when Dean is fully mobile and starts knocking things down and taking his toys at will. I might have to reread Siblings Without Rivalry.

He's dabbling in self-feeding, which started two days ago with Gerber puffs (a Cheerios-like creation that melts easily for tiny people with no/few teeth). We've been feeding him veggie and fruit purees once or twice a day, plus oatmeal one morning just for fun, and he's just now getting to the point where he'll grab the spoon and bring it toward his mouth if he agrees with what we're trying to feed him. Today was the most wholehearted acceptance of a new food yet: a grape. I peeled and cut up a grape for him, and he seemed to think it was just about the best thing he ever could have imagined.

Dean is also getting too busy to nurse for very long, which is okay with me except that it means he only eats for a few minutes at a time, so he's hungry more often. When he's hungry, or otherwise upset because he can't go forward, he screams. A lot. Some days, I think my ears are going to pack up and just go inside my head so they don't have to listen to the screaming anymore. Between Kent's willful disobedience and Dean's screaming, I feel like I'm doing a stellar job of just holding it together. It's not horrible, just exhausting. It's no wonder that today, I needed to bake some spice cake cupcakes with experimental chai cream cheese frosting. Verdict: Would Bake Again.



Also, Dean is awesome, even if life is getting more complicated. I wonder where my quiet, calm baby has gone, but at least I can still dress him in footies. As soon as I find some big enough to fit him.

Labels: Dean, photography

• posted by erica 9/18/2010 07:23:00 PM
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