Whew!

It's been a hectic few days around here. Thursday, Leo was miserable with his stuffy nose, slight fever and overall punky feeling. It certainly didn't help that he was determined to pull up on anything that would hold still (and stuff that wouldn't) and did a lot of crashing. He's getting better and better at it, but he's pretty uncoordinated. I hope his coordination improves or he can forget about his place on the tennis team and just became chess club captain.

On Friday, he was feeling better and decided it would be more fun to stand in his crib than take and afternoon nap. After an hour of talking to himself, he started to cry, so I went to rescue him. I think once he stood up, he couldn't figure out how to get down. I can't remember the last time he skipped a nap, but he handled it well.

Honestly, I'm having a bit of a love-hate relationship with Leo's new mobility. It thrills him so much to be on the move and I feel relieved he's "normal", but it is really exhausting. I know he has to take a few tumbles, but it freaks me out when I hear his big melon head hit the floor and breaks my heart when he wails (more with shock and disappointment than actual pain).

Ahhh, motherhood. There's nothin' like it.

"I'm helping mama sew."
Friday afternoon, Tom met us at the park. Leo was still a bit snotty, but we needed to get out of the house.

About to go down the slide
After sliding.

A couple of short videos.

The Flying Nun

Slow down, baby!

Leo is always on the go and developing his mobility at an alarming rate. Over the last couple days, he's figured out how to pull himself up to his knees and he does this on anything he can get a hold of. He can even get onto his feet, but he is only brave enough to do it if he's holding on to me. He also figured out how to go from laying on his belly to sitting up. And if that wasn't enough, he's spending more and more time on his knees and is constantly working on crawling up on his hands and knees (instead of his belly-sliding army crawl).

Here he is pulling up on a plant so he can poke in the dirt.

When Leo spotted this truck at the park, he got up on his hands and knees and was a man on a mission. It was the first time he did a "traditional" crawl.
Visiting with Jenn and her daughter Sophia.
Unfortunately, he's got a case of the sniffles. At first I thought it was teething, but there was a snotty girl at his playdate on Monday (not that I'm holding it against her) and he probably got a little cold. It's making sleep a little difficult since he is stuffed up. Poor little guy.

Sunday at the park

When I was worried about Leo's lack of crawling, my mom told me to enjoy it because once he was on the move, I'd never be about to sit down again. She couldn't have been more right. I had to hang up on her today because Leo was licking the vent and about to eat a leaf our dying house plant dropped. We made a good amount of progress with the babyproofing (why didn't we do this sooner?), but there are still hazards. A house of hazards...that's what we've been living in and not even realizing it.

Here are some pictures from the park today. I couldn't get him to look at the camera because he was very interested in what the "big kids" were doing.

He's very into handing me stuff --blocks, food, little grains of sand.

Sockie update

Sockie is gaining in popularity. Leo especially likes to poke his eyes.
He's not quite sure what to do on this toy, but he likes sitting on it.

Sock monkey

Leo got an early birthday present from his Nana. She told me he could go ahead and open it.

"This looks interesting; I think I'll just beat on it a while." "Hmm...these look tasty."
"???"

"Come on out, monkey."
"Hello there."
"I'm coming to get you, monkey."
Honestly, he was a little wary of the monkey at first, but then he saw mama give the monkey hugs and kisses and he decided he should give it a kiss too. Now monkey, who I've been calling Sockie (not very creative, I know), has been accepted into the fray.

Play date at our house

I thought it would be fun to have some moms and kids from my moms' group over for a swim. Of course, in the days leading up to the big pool play date, we had cooler temperatures and overcast mornings, so the pool got too chilly. Some folks showed up to just play and hang out anyway and we had fun. Leo showed off his new crawling skills and took a really long afternoon nap.

Here he is with James (fussing a little over getting a toy stolen). Getting a toe tickle from Jordan.
Trying to escape through the cat door.
Trying to look innocent.

Weekend wrap-up

We had a fun, but busy weekend. Having Leo on the move has completely changed the game. Luckily he's not too fast yet. I did some childproofing today, but there is still a lot more to do. I'm so glad we dealt with the pool fence when we did, because we are very use to closing it each and every time we go in or out. That's a good habit. On Saturday, we drove to San Rafael to visit some friends. Oh, and he definitely said something very close to "dog" three times while pointing at their dog. I guess he's just an animal-loving, super-sporadic speaker.

I fed him some lunch shortly before we needed to leave and he decided to rub hummus in his hair. Little stinker!Relaxing in the yard.
Playing with the big kids.
"Look, Leo, dad is taking a picture that includes mom so the blog readers know she still exists."

Playing with one of Jacob's cool toys.
Working on some watermelon chunks today. And....CRAWLING VIDEO!!!

Lunch with dad

Yesterday we met Tom in the park for lunch. It was perfect weather and Leo enjoyed seeing his dad in the middle of the day.

11 months, on the move and Nana!

Leo is 11 months old today. Only one month until he's one. I can't believe it; my brain won't comprehend the fact my baby is growing up so fast.

We had an exciting weekend. On Saturday morning, Leo army crawled about three feet while Tom and I watched with pride. (I teared up again; I'm such a sap). My mom arrived later that day, so she got to enjoy a newly mobile Leo as well. She was incredibly helpful as always--helping me shop for Leo's party, babysitting so Tom and I could date, and taking over baby duty so I could see the dentist. She also fed, changed, played, chased Leo so I could get some stuff done around the house and rest (I'm trying to recover from a sinus infection).

On to some pictures and videos.
Playing in the pool with dad. (Can you spot Leo?) Cracking up at daddy's bubble blowing.
Bath time with Nana. Reading books with Nana.
Being silly.


Here is one of Leo's creative ways of getting around. He does the army crawl, back scoot, and of course, lots of rolling.

Mr. Fussy face cranky pants

Leo has been...challenging these last few days. Don't get me wrong, he's still lovable, adorable and the greatest thing on earth, but he's also extremely cranky. He throws mini-fits pretty consistantly throughout the day. It can wear on a woman's nerves, I tell ya. You'd think he's being poked with pins (he's not, I checked). I think he's just very frustrated with his limited moblity, but that is starting to change. He is pivoting a lot and scooting backwards. He even did a little bit of an army crawl today. My favorite is when we're sitting cross-legged, facing each other and he lunges into my lap. But none of this is official crawling or getting him where he wants to go, so he gets pissed. He's still a master roller and can cover quite a bit of ground that way.
Here's some footage of his mad pivoting skills.

Three day weekend

Happy Labor Day everyone. We had a nice weekend, though Tom took on a lot of projects around the house making it less relaxing for him than I think he needs. But he can't help himself.
Leo was a bit cranky today and I don't really have an explanation. He was well-rested and well-fed, so I decide to blame it on teething. But really, who knows. Leo's new interest is belly buttons. When he's sitting on my lap, he lifts my shirt to poke my belly button. Tom's is equally fascinating. He hasn't discovered his own, but he can't really see it because of his pudgy gut.

Before we get to pictures, I want to acknowledge my blog-versary. I've been maintaining this blog for a year and over that span of time I posted 183 times. That's an every-other-day average. Pretty freakin' good for a new mom! I love being able to chronicle my son's life, and I hope everyone enjoys reading it.

"This is my dad's idea of fun."

Helping dad do yard work.
Leo cries any time Tom makes a "nose noise". If Tom sneezes, blows, even sniffs, Leo will wait a beat, and then break down into tears. It's so sad (but a little funny). Here they are enjoying a moment together in the morning.
And this is right after Tom sniffed. Chillin' in the pool.