The Little Man

Quite awhile ago I promised my readers some newer pictures of the boy, so here they are! These are from back in August and I'll bring everyone up to date over the next few posts. In the first picture you'll see our hero grabbing the cat which has become one of his favorite pastimes (and probably the cat's least favorite). At this point he was still crawling and had become very skilled at maneuvering around the apartment. We were wondering if he was getting behind on his development, but the pediatrician told us not to worry. Besides, the boy would usually crawl faster than I could walk next to him, so why would he walk when crawling was quicker? :)

In this second shot, you can see the boy using his cart/walker which really got him moving. At first he would just walk behind it in a straight line and then look confused when he ran into something. However, like so many other things in his development, one day he just learned how to turn and after that he rarely walked on his hands and knees anymore. He took it for laps around the dinning room table at breakneck speeds and would fall down from time to time, but he'd just look at us, laugh, and get right back up for another trek! The boy would get so excited about being mobile and his laughter and smiles were always contagious. He's just such a natural comedian and never ceases to find ways to make us as happy as he obviously feels.

After keeping it rather quiet for awhile now, I finally have to admit that the boy is the best sleeper we've ever heard of...ever. He sleeps over 10 hours a night and takes two naps during the day. While he loves to look at the cars go by while in the car, more often than not I have the view from the picture below when I look back at him. He can tolerate us talking up front and hardly ever cries or begs for attention. He just always seems so content with simple things which is such a blessing. That's certainly not to say he doesn't let us know when he's hungry or tired. In fact, on one recent ride home from my my in-laws, he cried pretty much the whole way home because he was just so exhausted from a flu shot he'd received. I've really been hesitant to mention how good a sleeper he is in this blog since I have read countless stories of sleepless nights by parents and babies alike and I didn't want to seem like I was gloating. It's just how he is.

As shown in these last two photos, he's totally adorable, cute, and handsome whether he's awake or asleep! There is undoubtedly some parental bias in that statement, but we have had some outside opinions that indicate he's universally cute. ;) When we took him to his last appointment with the pediatrician, everyone in the waiting room, including other kids, were just starting at him and saying he should be on the cover of a magazine. It is true that he has the traditional "Gerber baby" look that they notice, but I think it's really his demeanor that engenders him to people we meet on the street. I just love the fact that people smile at me (really at him) when I've got the boy with me instead of that look people have when they don't know you from Adam.

So, that's the boy as of this past August and I'll bring the pictures up to date in the next few posts. When I saw that it had been a week since I had posted last I was very surprised, so I'll have to get it in gear this next week. I hope everyone had a good Turkey Day which we spent with my wife's folks. And, bless her, my wife actually went to some of the early morning sales on "Black Friday" and got a couple good bargains to boot. I have often failed to understand why people get up so early, but the deals were especially good this year and I think there is a camaraderie that develops with other people in line. I have to say in this era of Internet and indirect communication, the activity is quite social. We'll probably venture out again tomorrow once the professional shoppers have gathered their hauls! More to come!