No Nap! No N-Zzz

Cale started to fuss this afternoon, so I picked him up. As soon as he got on my lap, he folded up and promptly fell asleep. So I promptly put him in his crib where he started to cry. He'd much rather cuddle when he sleeps. However, his crying wasn't as loud as usual, so I decided to leave him to cry for a bit. He was quiet three minutes later, although usually that just means he's playing with his blanket. Not this time! He fell asleep in his "let me out of jail" complaining position! Notice his hands on the rails, his head arched back in protest, his blanket kicked off, his legs out of his nest ... sound asleep. So Cale cried out "No nap! No nap!" until he fell asleep in record time.

Snow

It snowed last night, and Karston was very excited to go outside to play in the snow. (By play, I mean that Daddy pulls Karston around on the sled.) Karston could barely stand to wait through breakfast, although he ate unusually well for him. So Daddy and Karston went outside right away, while Cale and I bundled up. Overall, Cale was not a fan of the snow.



This is Cale's first snow, and he did have snowflakes fall on him. (I took him outside for his first rain too, a few weeks after he was born. It was a warm spring rain, falling lightly, and we went back inside as soon as I explained to him what was happening.)

Ten Months with Mobility

Cale is ten months old today! We've already figured out that he will need much more child-proofing than Karston! A month or two ago, he broke a child-proof (ha ha ha) latch on a cabinet door. Luckily he was only wandering around our kitchen in his walker, and he can't open doors from his walker (the walker itself is in the way), but we had to fix it right away. Monday he was clawing at child-proof outlet covers. He will require more safety awareness! Cale is now pulling up, but there's more! Yesterday, Cale started crawling! He improved so much just during the course of the day, too. He likes independent mobility!



Cale would also like me to let everyone know he is now an accomplished tongue clicker! After months of being fascinated when someone else would click at him, now he can do it for himself. Sometimes he clicks to amuse himself, sometimes he clicks to get your attention, and he's always proud of himself when he does it.

Pull Ups

I just set Cale down in his playpen (with bassinet insert, so he's higher) so I could brush my teeth. Cale enjoyed watching, and he reached out to bat my toothbrush several times. Still in sight, I went to the bathroom sink for my post-brushing clean-up. Cale rather quickly pulled himself up into a standing position using the playpen rail so he had a better view of me. That's his first pull-up, at least that I've seen! Cruising won't be too long after, after he's discovered what he can do once he's standing!

On-Off

Karston had a toy dog about 8 inches long that he usually calls Doggie; when turned on, Doggie will walk forward a few steps then bark while moving his head. While we were in Key West, Karston asked for the matching kitty (walks a few steps then sits and meows), so he got Kitty for Christmas. Well, for stocking stuffers, Karston also got a small dog and cat, not quite 3 inches long, that play music, walk in a circle, and then bark or meow.

Like all good children's electronic toys, these critters have OFF switches. Very important feature! Karston has heard me say as much.

So the larger one is Doggie, and Karston was asked what he called the smaller walking, barking dog. Karston quickly replied, My doggie's name is On-Off. Ah, yes, he knows what's important to adults!

Cale Loves Celery

Daddy cut two stalks of celery to eat with his dinner tonight. When he wasn't looking, Cale leaned over and stole one. Best Aquisition Ever! Cale cried if we took away any of his celery (what choking hazard?), he waved it around wildly, and he practised using his eight teeth to take bites. Needless to say, since celery doesn't dissolve like rice chex, I had to do a few finger sweeps and clean up little celery bits. Part waving-around toy, part forbidden (choking) vegetable, part biting practice ... what's not to love?