Month 9

Month Nine was like this.....
A month of Wesley-initiated play. A month of warmer weather with fun on the balcony and in the garden.

Teeth: Wesley's two top teeth came in! Teething has taken up a lot of energy, especially in the first half of the month. When he's teething, Wesley is a little more fussy and generally takes it a little easy (this is very relative). I can see the strain of teething in his face in some of his pictures this month, even when he's having a good time. But by the end of the month, he is a very toothy looking boy, and much more at ease.

Awareness: Wesley's awareness of events in the external world has taken on a new dynamic. He notices and gets excited about new things. He loves the dogs and birds he sees on walks or from our balcony. He is transfixed on them, flaps his arms and stiffins his legs and goes "mmmmmm" loudly. He starts looking back and forth and all around if he hears the jingle of a dog collar.

Watching people below


Waving ByeBye and Hi: He does this by putting one arm out straight with a fist at the end and waving it up and down. Apparently this is not how other people teach their babies to wave, but rather, they use only their fingers or hand to wave. I didn't know, so this is how he does it. He waves to his grandparents on Skype, which I love.

I love floss

Playing Catch: He likes to play catch. If you toss him the ball, he throws it and laughs and smiles and immediately wants it back so he can do it again. Often it actually goes in your direction. Often he misses his release and throws it down straight into his lap. He throws with both his left and right hands.

 

Catch me/Catch you: I love this game. You just get down on your hands and knees, look Wesley in the eyes and indicate that either you want him to chase you or that you're going to catch him, and the chase is off. Lots of laughter and tumbling around at the end. So fun. Sometimes he starts the game by giving a mischievious look and dashing off to the shoe rack or toward his favorite "I hit and almost break it" lamp. He wants us to catch him right before he reaches his destination, take him back across the room, so he can crawl off again. He is happy to play this game for as long as we're willing...15-20 minutes is my max. He will also chase his duck-on-a-string toy.



Peek-a-boo: One morning after waking up, I set Wes down on the ground so he could investigate something. Then up popped a little head over the end of the bed. I said "oh, hello". Then he crouched down out of sight, and popped back up with a smile on his face. I could not contain my laughter. He continued to play this game 20 or so more times with varying lengths of time in crouched hiding position. We were laughing so hard, I couldn't get over how fun it was to see that tiny head popping back up over the end of the bed. I kept laughing all morning thinking about it. Now it is our morning routine. What a wonderful way to start the day. He also plays peekaboo by turning away from people or buring his head in our shoulder and then turning around quickly to flash a smile before hiding again.



Playing Peeakaboo behind the doorframe

Take things Out/Off, putting things in: He opens our kitchen drawers and one by one takes things out and throws them on the floor. He takes things out of his toy basket one at a time, he takes things off of tables, one at a time. At the very end of the month he has started playing putting things "in". He puts his little ball in cups, or in his favorite trashcan.

Solo time (supervised): Wesley is now content to go to a part of the room away from where we are, pull up on a piece of furniture, and play by himself for longer periods of time. He talks his talk (ba-ba-ba or da-da-da, depending on the week) as he works, engrossed in whatever he's doing.

Separation Worries: He still gets upset and cries loudly often when Casey leaves the room. Now he has started howling when Casey leaves for work. He's increasingly getting upset if I leave the room and go anywhere with a closed door, even momentarily. Also, he cries when dogs walk away from him.



I want that teacup



Favorite Toys: Tiny plastic balls and the floss container. He carries both of these around with him while he plays. He has become quite adept at pulling up with them clenched in his hand. But now that he has started playing throwing, he can no longer take them to town. The first half of the month blocks were a big hit, but not so much anymore. Grass is his other favorite toy. He loves to pick through it, pull some, examine it, and so on. He loves things he can push across the floor or climb onto (such as our plant stand, the garbage can, and his little toy walker).

Vocalizing: Wesley is sometimes quite loud as we walk down the street. He projects his "ba-ba-ba" outward with force. When he is sleepy or fussy, he is more vocal as he tries to tell me that something is wrong.

Adventuring and Play: Wesley is a little adventurer. He explores, he crawls fast, he pulls up effortlessly, and he works on climbing whenever possible. He is less focused on every tiny crevice of the house than last month, and is more interested in initiating interactive play this month. But he is still everywhere. Also, he is getting to be a good little wrestler.