11 months - Little crazy head

Sometimes when Augie wakes from a nap, he coos and babbles until I hear him and go get him; some days he wakes up absolutely bewildered and crying, seemingly trying to figure out how he got trapped in this crazy little home with a couple crazy big people who always act like complete idiots.

It starts out like this, sleeping peacefully, little rump in the air:

But then the whole bewildered wake-up happens, and his hair's going every which way and he's all confused about who he is, who I am, and why we're here together:

We both find it absolutely adorable when he has these bemused wake-ups; I mean, look at that hair!

11 months - Augie at 11 months

At last, the 11-month update. It's been a big month for Augie, who graduated from the four-limbed crawl to bipedalism. He took his first steps a few days after turning 10 months, and within a week he was taking longer walks; within two weeks he was walking like a champ. Now he walks everywhere he goes, and folks regularly comment on how steady he is. He also finally learned how to go down stairs backwards, though sometimes he misgauges how close he is to the top stair and lays down on his tummy about five feet from the stairs and then has to push himself backwards quite a way before he can actually go down.

We don't know how much he weighs or how tall he is right now (he won't be measured until his next doctor's appointment, which is a few days after he turns one), but I'd guess he's about 24 lbs and 30.5 inches. He enjoys reading and playing with his shape sorter. He likes to put things on and in other things - this week I have found toys in the recycling bin, a flyswatter in his dresser drawer, an egg shaker in the closet, and other things in other places. He's gotten into opening and closing drawers, doors, ovens (YIKES!), and anything else with a hinge. And if you close a door in his face or while he is facing you (when we go into the bathroom, or when one of us leaves the apartment), he cries for a few seconds.

While he doesn't yet seem particularly interested in using language himself, he does seem more receptive to and understanding of our language - he is more likely than before to follow a simple command ("Go kiss Baba!") and he seems to have a vague understanding of some of the sign language we use (the sign for milk, for example).

His sense of humor has really developed this month. He does things just for a laugh, and then he'll look up at us with a gigantic smile and wait for us to laugh before repeating the action. His favorite thing right now is to give James zerberts - on the nipple or his tummy, over and over again. Sometimes when he's in his carseat, he'll just do this chuckle-laugh for a while, like he's doing a stand-up (sit-down?) routine for himself.

He has started to dance, which is so cool. If I put on the CD from our fantastic music class, he starts bouncing up and down, and sometimes when we do our morning family dance, he bounces (though that really depends on the music: if James picks the song, he looks at us funny; if I pick the song, he bounces).

He's quite the affection baby, too. He regularly kisses and hugs (and tackles) other babies, and he loves to kiss us (and we love to be kissed!). The kisses are wet and slobbery and open-mouthed, and they're the loveliest kisses I've had.

There's probably so much more to tell you, but I'll stop there and get to the pictures. As usual, we had some focus issues tonight, so we may try this shoot again tomorrow.

11 months - Aha!

(Sorry, the 11-month update is still on pause. I'll try tomorrow!)

Remember that little "aha!" gesture Augie made when playing with his shape sorter? He pulled it out again tonight at dinner, when Baba let him put his hand in his bowl of beans. No idea why he was so thrilled about the beans...

11 months - My little "Llama Llama" reader

To my great joy, Augie finally enjoys books - reading them, not eating them. Actually, he has for a few months now, but he really seems to engage with the stories and pictures now. And he gets very excited when his favorite books come out - the Llama Llama board books. They have a wonderful cadence and are a pleasure to read out loud. We could probably read them to him ten times every sitting. My favorite is Llama Llama Hoppity Hop, but that's just because the last page reads, "Llama llama red pajama BIG HUG NOW," and he breaks into a big smile and I get to give him a great big hug.

Baba loves that he's been trained to turn the pages - so we do the reading, and Augie does the page turning.

11 months - Eskimo face

(I realize that I owe you an 11-month update; I hope to write it tomorrow).

Before I get to today's post, I have an outtake from our day with Dava, Kristin and Jonah. This is what it looks like trying to get two 11-month-old babies to hold still, together, at the same time:

One of the best things about working a couple hours a week (if you can call screaming "Listen to Coach Jodi! If Coach Jodi is talking, then you shouldn't be! You also shouldn't be pushing, pulling, or tackling anyone else when Coach Jodi is talking!" work, that is) is getting to take a short break from Augie - and then coming back home to him.

Augie and his Baba were out for a walk when I got home this evening, and when Augie saw me, his arms shot into the air (which, to be fair, is the same thing that happens when geese fly overhead) and he sped towards me.

That face! That's his "excited to see Mama" face (and that's James's "excited to see my wife" face):

And this is his eskimo face:

11 months - Monday at the farm

It was a gorgeous, warmish autumn day, so Augie and I went to Terhune Orchards to enjoy the sun and fresh air. It's the first time we've taken him since he became mobile, and I was looking forward to watching him totter around.

First he checked out the playhouse, where he showed me his peekaboo skills:

Then he had a gander at the geese (pun intended) and goats:

Do you think I was going to get him to stand still on that rock slab while I took a few steps back to take the picture? If so, you're an idiot. But rest assured he's not just 1 foot, 2 inches tall:

Excitement came when Augie spotted White Duck. He immediately set off after it:

I'll get you, White Duck:

I'm so close I can smell you, White Duck:

Come to me, White Duck! You will be mine!

I give up, White Duck. You waddle faster than I toddle.

So I will console myself with this ear of dried corn I found on the ground. Shouldn't my mother stop me from eating this? 

10 months - Augie and Jonah

Yesterday we were treated to a lovely visit from friends - Dava and Kristin came to Princeton with their son, Jonah. Jonah is four days older than Augie, and at least four pounds heavier. The boys seemed to have a great time together, and I've rarely seen Augie take to another child so well.

Dava and I went to elementary school and high school together - I remember having Salisbury steak at her house when I was about eight years old. When we were in third grade, she did her AT English (ahem, the Academically Talented program) report on porpoises. Or pinnipeds. Or maybe it was pianos? Wait, I think mine was on pianos. I know Kristin when I spent a semester at Western Michigan University - we met at orientation when we started there. I was delighted to find out, a couple years later, that they were together.

Back to the present. They live on the Hudson River north of New York City, and they drove down so that we could finally get our sons together. Dava and I have been emailing back and forth for months, commiserating and sharing successes. It was wonderful to finally see them.

In his typical glad-to-see-you way, Augie sat down on Jonah to say hello:

But Jonah was a good sport about it:

We wandered around the Princeton campus, where we stopped at the Ai Wei Wei installation to take pictures of our Year of the Dragon babes:

There's a fabulous kids' room in the Princeton University library, where the boys played with puppets:

And climbed to the top of the treehouse:

The view from below:

10 months - More video of Augie walking

Nothing new in this post - just more of Augie walking. But in a new twist, this time he's walking toward me. Email subscribers click here.

10 months - At the park with Rina

Earlier this week we went to the playground with friends from our apartment community. Augie and Rina enjoyed playing together.

10 months - My baby walks away, part 2

Mama's tired.

Despite a major advance in the sleep department (Augie puts himself to sleep in his crib most nights now), we've been having horrible wake-every-hour-or-two nights all week. We are 98.7% certain that Augie is teething and that that becurséd (my own word) new tooth is responsible, but knowing why he's waking doesn't make him stop waking, and it certainly doesn't make me (or James) any less tired. It helps that he is as ridiculously cute in the middle of the night as he is in the day, swathed in his sleepsack with foot holes, which wraps him up in an extra layer of flannel cozy cuteness, crying and looking at us with his little moon face and sleep-droopy body.

(These are naptime, not nighttime, photos. I've had to lie down with him during naps the last two days, as he refuses to go into his crib at naptime - one sign that he's teething).

But wait, this post was supposed to be about my little boy walking away again! Another afternoon with James (while Mama was out coaching 2-5-year old kids in soccer), another walk around the block. Doesn't your heart break to see the little baby taking such big, independent steps into the world, yelping out his war cry as he exploreson his own, his back to his home as he trundles forward? And to see him fall, then pick himself back up and keep on going? Could a mama both love and mourn anything more?

Email subscribers, click here to view the video.

10 months - My baby walks away

It was nearly three weeks ago that Augie took his first solo steps; a few days later, he strung a few together to walk a couple feet; a week ago, we noticed that he had started walking more than crawling; and today - well, he's been on his feet all day. He barely crawled. I guess this means we've reached the point of no return. (Well, technically we reached it in March 2012...)

James caught this great video this afternoon. (Click here to view it online).

10 months - Autumn in New Jersey

Yesterday we enjoyed a nice family day together; we went to a toddler park for Augie to explore, and then stopped at an egg, cheese and pork farm to pick up some supplies for the week.

If Augie had words, I think that every time he's on the swings he'd yell, "higher, higher!"

Here's my Augie face:

 And here's James's Augie face - who do you think does a better impersonation?

At the farm were a few stalls with baby cows (okay, calves) - look at Augie standing on his tiptoes to see in:

There was a death in my father's side of the family - my father's uncle Don, my great-uncle, Augie's great-great uncle (though Augie never met him). My dad went to the services over the weekend, but the family lives in Michigan so we didn't go. Two summers ago (or is it three?), when James and I spent a month in Michigan, we went to Petoskey to visit with Uncle Don and Aunt Joanne. They took us to dinner and then we went back to their house and skipped stones and hunted for Petoskey stones on their beach on Lake Michigan. We had a truly lovely visit, and James and I went away so impressed with these two people: their obvious affection for each other and their family, their adventurous life (they met in England when they were young), how welcoming they were to us. We loved talking with them and wished we would have more visits with them, but knew that we would always live so far away.

All my love and sympathy to the Curtis family and to Aunt Joanne.

10 months - Baba's shoulders

10 months - The shape sorter in action

I mentioned that Augie has been learning about shape sorting toy; he continues to improve under his father's tutelage. Check him out! (Email subscribers click here to view the video). I just love how pleased he is every time he "gets" it. And I love watching him trying to figure it out - trying to manipulate the piece just right so that it goes on (he learned that by watching both of us).