Linnaeus 12.2

Sprout's mobility is incrementally improving & he's really cruising now, moving along the sofa or his toy shelves with ease. Shortly after I brought out his little rocking chair that he spent so much time in as a young baby, he figured out how to climb into it to stand on the seat. The chair has grippy extensions which stabilize it, preventing it from rocking. We have to be careful where we leave it, however, or Sprout will use it as a ladder to get onto other higher furniture. He hasn't fallen off yet, but many times has teetered there, standing on one foot with his other leg extended out to the side like he's practicing ballet at a barre.

When he does want to cover open ground, he still crawls. I think it will be a couple of months at least until he walks unaided. His crawling has improved & he will actually put on a burst of speed when trying to get away with something. A common scene in our home is Sprout heading for the cat's water dish, looking over his shoulder & going even faster when he hears Mama or Papa coming to intercept him.

Despite constantly splashing half the cat's water out onto the floor, he has gotten much better at being gentle with the cat. Sprout's idea of petting nicely is stretching his hand & fingers out straight from the shoulder & waving it at the cat, occasionally tapping his fur. Maybe it's because he somehow realizes that poor old kitty won't (& honestly can't) really fight back. Or maybe our repeating the mantra, "Gentle, gentle, gentle." as we taught him to pet the kitty has sunk in. In any case, he rarely tries to pick up the cat by a handful of skin & only sometimes tries to haul kitty out of his bed by the tail. Progress.

Though we watched carefully, Little L seems to have had no reaction to his one-year shots, other than a little crankiness that evening. His bedtime has inched later & later again, so we're trying to readjust that back to 9ish. I think this should be pretty easy, given that the days are getting shorter going into the fall. The past week he's usually slept through the night, with one or two wake-ups around midnight.

This week's favourite toys have been balls--the yoga ball that's taller than him, his beach ball, his little bumpy blue one & his new felted wool one. He loves to play with his toothbrush after I brush his teeth at night. The routine we've developed is to stand him up in the bathroom, leaning against the tub. It's easier there than if I hold him in my lap, possibly because he's a bit distracted by keeping his balance & the toys that are likely still in the tub from his bath. He usually opens his mouth for the toothbrush & lets me scrub his eight little teeth quite well before I let him take the brush. Then I get a cup of water & let him take a too-big mouthful, some of which he spits out into the tub. Then he usually wants a bit more to drink or he tries to dip the toothbrush into the cup. 

Dipping things is a big theme these days--toys into the cat's water dish, toys into food, toys into other toys. I think we need to start giving him food like yogurt & a spoon at meals more often. I've avoided it most of the time, because while he likes to dip, he also likes to dump. He hasn't really grasped how plates & bowls are supposed to stay on the table yet.

Speaking of meals, I finally gave Linnaeus peanut butter this past week. I was a bit paranoid about the potential for allergies, though no one in our families is allergic to peanuts. It's just that, if you are allergic, it's not just a rash or something, it's life-threatening. So I was cautious--I smeared a bit of peanut butter on his cheek first, then seeing no reaction, gave him some peanut-buttered toast. I observed carefully for a few minutes, with no reaction evident at all. His diapers were a bit more icky--I'll spare you the nitty gritty--but he didn't seem to have any belly aches or anything like that. The next two days I gave him peanut butter toast for breakfast as well, still watching for any reaction. So I think we're good. Whew.

This week Sprout also tried figs for the first time. I got a couple fresh from a friend's tree & gave him quarters. He was obviously curious about the texture & spent a little time poking the inside of the figs before devouring them. 

Another thing on the menu this week was crayons. I bought Sprout some washable, non-toxic toddler crayons. They're triangular, which is supposed to help develop the correct grip on them, but I saw it as a great way not to have them all roll off the table. I taped some paper to the table & demonstrated on another scrap paper. The first thing he did was taste each one as he picked it up. He even took bites of the orange & brown crayons. After a little coaxing, I convinced him to put them on the paper & make some dots & lines. He's definitely too young for crayons, which I expected at the outset, but I had to see what he'd do. I hope that in the next few months or so, he'll grow less interested in how everything tastes & become more interested in drawing.