Second Son wants to touch and grab everything. When he's being held, he loves to pull hair, explore the textures of cloth, and pull and chew on any strings or buttons we're wearing.
He's now content playing on the floor with some toys or the other kids for quite a while, which has done wonders for Mama's productivity and peace of mind. (At least now; he's not crawling yet.) His favorite toys are ones that make noise when he shakes them or make noise when he hits other toys with them. He also loves the toys that are almost but not quite out of reach. Stretch!
He still has no teeth, but he loves to eat. And eat. And eat some more. That boy can eat almost as much as Second Daughter at a meal. Perhaps more! His most recent new food is asparagus and he loved it. (What's not to love? It's like eating spring!) He's still not a great fan of chicken, but it's growing on him. I'm hoping to try some fish in the near future. I was getting a little lazy with trying new foods, but I'm inspired again.
Other than Cheerios, he doesn't really like anything that's not pureed. I've been giving him tiny pieces of bread, though, and I think chewing things is becoming less unpleasant for him.
He's starting to play games with us. He yells "Mbah!" to get our attention and laughs if we say it back to him. He'll clap to get us to sing Pat-a-Cake with him and laugh even before we get to the tickling part. He plays "So Big," too. I recorded this video last night.
His 12 month clothes just fit. Perfectly...it's not clear there's any room to grow.
He's sleeping so much better at night! He usually sleeps from about 8 pm to about 3:30 am, sometimes as long as 5 am. I still haven't had much luck with napping in the crib. I try to lay him down when I know he's tired once or twice a day. Sometimes he naps for 20-40 minutes. Sometimes he doesn't nap at all. He might nap better if I got up with him at 6:30 am, but who wants to do that?
He loves the dog. The dog loves him, too. Moses will lie down next to Second Son and let him grab his fur, leg, ear, nose, lips. I do not encourage this behavior (in either one). Moses will also bring his tennis balls to Second Son when he's sitting on the floor. He'll bring three or four before one of us notices and throws them for him, as much to keep Second Son from chewing on them as to entertain the dog.
Second Son is so much fun! The first six months were rough, not least because I was so sick starting when he turned five months old. I've always told friends with new babies, though, that it gets better and better. It's just as true with the fourth baby as with the first. We started to see real increases in Mama's peace at six months and it's getting easier every month. There's even more fun in store!
He's fussing now, at the end of his morning nap, with perfect timing. Ready to post!
