Such a big boy

This will be an odd post. So Andrew, when you are old enough to read this, I'm sorry.
As a precursor to what I'm about to say, I'm not actually potty training yet; I'm sure that is a long time off. I didn't think it would hurt to let him sit on the toilet every now and then and get the idea of what its all about. At one point on Friday it seemed likely that he was "pushing" so, leaving his diaper on, I set him up on the toilet to see what his reaction would be. No negative reaction.  He seemed to continue pushing so I took his diaper off and put him back up on the toilet. He kind of giggled about it. Nothing but air ventured out and I put his cloth diaper back on and we went back to playing. Later I knew he was pushing more than air, so I whipped his diaper off and sat him on the toilet. Sure enough... Andrew held onto my shoulder even though I had another arm behind him so he couldn't fall in, and I rubbed his back as he pushed out and pooped into the toilet. I praised him for being such a big boy and stood him up to show him the result of his efforts. He got a big smile (and tried to reach in) so I took his hand and let him try to flush. He seemed so pleased with himself, although I have no idea what he took away from the experience. lol

On a lighter note, that evening we were at Kroger and he got to ride in the big boy shopping cart again. This time he got to be IN the car instead of driving a convertible taller than an SUV. He LOVED it. It even had a working horn!

On Saturday, Ted and I had to get ready for a Business Expo in town. I was in the bathroom and Ted was in the bedroom. We had closed the office and guest bathroom doors so that Andrew would not get into trouble in those rooms while being unsupervised. He didn't stick around.. he headed off for the living room. We kept our ears open and he was happily talking and playing. At one point his voice changed. He wasn't in distress - but something was different. So I hurried down the hallway.. and Andrew had unblocked the door going down into the laundry room and was at the bottom of the stairs climbing back up!!  Ted had taught Andrew how to get off his lap when in a chair.. but we hadn't really worked with him on stairs! He plays on them at the hall.. but thats what, officially one step, technically two?!  I couldn't believe he climbed down the stairs without falling - and yet was so grateful that such a catastrophe had been avoided.

I swear he is a genius, knows it, and tries to hide it. He totally understands everything you say - and makes a conscious decision as to whether or not to do it or ignore you. I have been trying to teach him to wink. Not actively, just showing him the difference between blinking and winking. I peeked through the doorway the other day and he was practicing! He was blinking hard like he was still trying to figure out how I do it with only one eye. lol  Of course when I entered his room where he was pulling out all of his books as usual - he quit blinking as if he didn't want me to know he practices!

Today, he got his first hair trimming. Boy what a difference it makes!! The hair around his ears was getting too long and often was sticking out the side or over his ears. I think the hairs bugged his ears too because he'd often pull on his hair there or on his ears, but whenever I noticed him doing that, the hairs were overlapping his ear. So, today, those sections of long hair got trimmed off. I dont have a picture yet, but he looks even older now.  

Driving the Shopping Cart

Since Andrew always wants to turn around to see what is behind him, I have been dying to let Andrew ride in one of the big boy shopping carts.. you know, the one that looks like a car. He is finally big enough for the ones at Publix. He seemed to enjoy the change even though we only needed one item at the store so he didn't stay in it long. Here are the pictures:

He has started clenching his fists and squeezing really tight. It looks like his head is going to explode when he does it. But then he laughs and smiles. ??? I'm not really sure what he is doing. Today he did it with food in his fists like he was trying to squish the cereal puffs and cucumber chunks together. I guess he does it most often while sitting and eating, but he has done it on the changing table too. Strange.

He has also stood up without holding onto anything three times. The problem is - he doesn't know that.

Oh, and he has finally accomplished something he worked on for about a week. We have a kid magnet on the fridge that can spin. He of course can easily take it off, but was getting frustrated when he tried to put it back on. He finally figured it out. He doesn't have a 100% success rate with putting it back on, but he's getting better. I keep showing him that the black side goes on the fridge - and I actually think he gets that part.. his little fingers keep getting in the way and it drops before sticking. He is getting better at it though. So cute to watch.

He is also starting to steer his toys. He will try to turn them to different directions and keep moving, whether he is walking or on his knees.

I was sitting on the floor playing with his trucks the other day. He would watch me move my truck back and forth and around, and then he would try to copy me with his truck. His kept flipping over because he presses too hard and it seemed to really irritate him. He gets so exasperated when he tries to do something and it just doesn't work right... I totally can relate but wish I could help him at the same time. He is so much smarter than his little body can keep up with!

He still loves books. He pulls half of them off his shelf and looks at the pictures every day. But, he has discovered he can eat the paper now. He used to just try and chew on the covers. This week he ripped pages out of two books and ate part of one page too. Yuck. He loves to chew on stuff. He'll chew on that paper, or a string of carpet he pulled out of the bathroom rug, and chew on it for probably a good hour before I manage to get it back out of his mouth! I dont know how much he swallows. He clamps his jaw together whenever I try to get something out of his mouth so I just have to be patient and hope its nothing seriously dangerous.

I love it when he stands at the window of the door and looks out. Its even cuter when Flash is sitting next to him looking out also. One of these days I'll capture a picture.

Yesterday evening, Andrew was sitting in the dark hallway all by himself playing with a fabric belt and a rubbermaid tub, and SINGING away! I loved it. I grabbed my camera to take a video, but he saw me peek around the corner before I even got it on and quit and crawled to me. I love hearing him sing. He also sings himself to sleep at nap and at bedtime. LOVE it!

We finally pulled out Rock Band again recently. He got excited and danced and laughed at first. I think it got too loud for him the second time.. he kept retreating.  He loves the drums the most I think, and when one of us is singing.

Not that its anything exciting.. but here is a picture of Andrew having a non-soap bath tonight before bed:

Workin the System

Today Andrew learned from Daddy how to sip through a straw. It was sweet tea.. *sigh* .. but he learned to sip through the straw without chewing on it. He also learned from daddy (by accident) what really hot salsa verde feels like. He chugged his milk after his face turned purple, so I'm told.

Andrew only got a 10 minute nap before we had to wake him to take him to meeting today. Poor guy. But he did great considering! Ted's shoulder/neck is hurting, I have very limited use of my right hand since my thumb is injured, and I was wearing a scratchy glittery shirt... so getting Andrew to sit still happily took a little more effort today. Of course, he squealed once like he does when he's about to get going, and I stood up. Immediately, he got a huge grin on his face and giggled. Everyone in the congregation thought it was pretty funny. He does that. He LOVES going back to the back. I didn't spank him today.. he really was being good for the most part.

I also wanted to mention that he takes a pacifier. Not to suck on... to chew on. I love that! I think its hilarious. He's been doing that for a couple of months at least, but I wasn't sure if I wrote about it before.

He likes to bite the spoon when you feed him. He bites hard and then laughs. Sometimes he blows too and then food goes all over his face.

Andrew is 10 months old!

Time is flying by. He is still a happy wonderful baby, but looks more like a little boy than a baby. He still loves to eat anything and everything. If I am sitting on the couch eating my meal, he crawls over and then stands holding onto my knees and dances with a huge smile on his face and giggles. I feed him a bite and he just gets so excited. He's been doing that for ages now but it doesn't get old. He's so cute.

He is starting to get mad when something is taken away or if he is removed from a situation. Its a short lived complaint since he is easily distracted. He does respond well to my calling "Andrew!" when he needs to stop doing something. Or if I say "No, thats not for you" or "No, dont touch" he seems to mind most of the time. But every now and then he gets frustrated and yells for a half a second. He wont respond at all when you get on to him about the toilet paper. He still finds great delight in that and has apparently decided its worth getting in trouble for. 

Flash isn't being as nice and tolerant anymore. Maybe he has realized that Andrew is the one getting in trouble for messing with him. Andrew gets a new scratch on him at least once or twice a week from being too rough with Flash.

Here are some more pictures.
This one is from the last day of May.. I just found it. I plunked him down on the bean bag and he just stayed there! He enjoyed just chilling in the bag.

This is what I came back to after saying goodbye to some clients. Andrew was making faces against the door.

Here I set him in a mini camping chair (not really what it is, but thats what it looks like) and he just hung out with his sippy cup of water. So cute.

This one was taken when we were playing around in the studio getting ready for a session. He LOVES fabric and if you swing it out over his head it really gets him excited.

Then these were taken tonight before bed:

Sort of Walking

Not long ago I bought an activity center to encourage him to stand up more, and a push toy to encourage him to walk. We knew he was capable of both, it is just getting Andrew to recognize what he can do. The activity center worked.. he started standing more, and thus started cruising along the couch more readily. Ted and I both showed him how to walk with his push mailbox but Andrew was too cautious and would just sit down to crawl once we let go of him or the toy. (Besides.. he can really get around fast by crawling.. walking is slow!) Finally on Sunday Andrew started walking behind the toy! He had pushed his Jeep a few times already but that was more incidental than deliberate. NOW he is deliberately pushing the Jeep as well. He also will stand holding on to something with only one hand.

He still loves chasing the cats around, but Flash isn't being as kind anymore. The poor kid has scratches all over one arm. He just doesn't care. The same with getting spanked for eating the toilet paper - he laughs and just doesn't care. He is more upset that you are taking him away from it than he is about getting swatted.

Right now he is obsessed with getting my mouse and keyboard. He loves the mouse. Ted gave him an old keyboard (looks nicer than mine!) and I let him play with a mouse.. and he still wants mine. He has also discovered the drawer that holds all the computer wires and cables and he likes to pull those out and bang them around.

I can't think of anything else at the moment.