It's the Little Things

Chompers
Brady has molars (along with a couple more upper teeth) coming in and he is back to biting, drooling, and chewing on everything. I caught him standing in his crib and running his front teeth (all 8 of them) from one end of the front crib rail to the other! He's also taken up grinding his front teeth together for the purpose (I think) of hearing the horrid grating/screeching sound it makes, which is kind of like nails on a chalkboard.

He packed this granola bar around in his mouth (and only in his mouth) for a good two hours one morning. It was pretty funny. Who needs a dog? ;)



Yum-Yum


We've had a major breakthrough in our house today! Brady just ate a piece of toaster french toast, complete with butter and a smidgen of syrup!!!! I'm dancing in my slippers! Okay, I know, he's 13.5 months old, so what's the big deal? I've been having a devil of a time getting Brady to eat chunky food without gagging and/or spitting it right back out. And if he gags on something then not even the thought of that food will go back in his mouth during that meal. He will actually start crying if the spoon heads in his direction or I try to put a piece of whatever the vile stuff is in his mouth. Very ripe bananas and avocados usually are okay, but mac and cheese? No way! He shakes if off his fingers before it ever gets to his mouth! Same with any other pasta that I've tried as finger food. Cheerios? Sort of. He'll eat a few, then shake them off too. Puffs? Loves them! But as much food value as a piece of paper, which he has no problem stuffing in his mouth on almost a daily basis -- everything from kleenex to cardboard. And of course, any little thing he finds on the floor from tufts of carpet off the cat tree to needles that keep reappearing from the long absent Christmas tree to kibble out of the cat's dish. [UPDATE: I started this post over a week ago, so the current news is that Brady ate his first meal that hadn't gone through the food processor and that Mommy didn't spoon feed him! Ham, peas, and mashed potatoes! HALLELUJAH!!! Dinner took about 45 minutes, however, and the floor will never be the same. He is doing great with just about anything off the plate in bite-sized pieces now. Like someone flipped the "I can eat "big people food" switch! ]





Motor Skills


Two baby bottles of juice, two little cars, a rolling toy and a kleenex box, it really doesn't matter, any two things that can be held in the hands and slid across the floor while "walking" behind them has become the norm, rather than the hands and feet. So, I broke out the step-along toy. Brady loves it! He hauls booty too! I've tried it in the walking configuration, but it gets away from him on the hardwood, so for now pushing it backwards in riding mode will work just fine, thank you!




Brady took his first steps over a week ago. At least the first steps that I saw, but alas, camera was not at the ready. He was standing in the middle of the room and wanted a toy that was just out of reach. He took 3 steps and reached down for it. I've had reports from daycare that he has been "walking" there. Sort of wish they hadn't told me -- you do miss these little things when the majority of your child's waking hours occur in the presence of other people. I noticed his little (well, not so little really) feet have defined arches now. No more padded little baby feet!




Lovin' Daycare

I'm getting a bit of a complex. We are going through a weird stage where Brady is whining (uh-uh-uh, repeat about 100 times) ALL the time at home. Fusses during diaper changes, won't fall asleep in my arms any more, and screams if I'm in the shower and he is literally 2 feet away on the other side of a glass door. He wants me to pick him up, but then he wants down. He is moving constantly and won't hold still for our usual bedtime story either. He seems bored at home most of the time. But daycare?? He can't get enough of it and I think he would happily live there if he could. He literally squeals when we drive into the parking lot and practically bounces out of my arms with excitement as we go into his room. He could care less when I leave -- doesn't even notice. He does smile and come crawling when I arrive to pick him up, but I've been told he also does that with several of the teachers that come through his room as well. I'm not thrilled with the rotating teachers at daycare either, but I think that issue might settle down now, since (I believe) they fired his teacher today due to her absenteeism. He is also hyper, hyper, hyper when he gets home. I'm a little concerned that we are experiencing some attachment issues. I'm trying to spend more focused time with him when we are home, but it's hard to keep his attention. I know that can be normal at this age, but it has me worried. I'll see if the behavior continues for much longer.