Visits in April, Part I

Waaaayyyy back in April, Tim and I went to a fundraiser on Long Island (to benefit my cousin's children, Samantha and Jake) and we needed a babysitter to watch Dylan, so Nonna drove down and stayed for the weekend (yes, we realize we need a babysitter who lives closer than 5 hours away...). Dylan was less than cooperative while Nonna was babysitting, but I don't think that will stop her from coming back.
While she was here, we took a trip to the park. Here are some fun shots. Of course Nonna was holding the camera so we didn't get too many of her!
Dylan loves the holes in this tunnel...
...and apparently Nonna enjoys taking pictures through them.
Fun family shot.

Delinquent Blogger

Since Dylan has gone mobile, I just don't have as much time to hang out on the internet, which has meant less time to blog. I spend much of my day following Dylan around the house, attempting to convince him that his toys are more fun than picking lint off the floor, pulling coffee cups and water bottles out of my hands, and eating my shoes. My work caseload has also picked up and I am now fully booked. Even though it's only 10 hours a week of treating patients, I always have paperwork to work on at home, which also limits my computer play time. Lots of updates coming soon though, I promise!

11 months old and Happy Easter!

Dylan turned 11 months old on Easter Sunday! As you saw in our last post, this month's big achievement was learning to crawl! Dylan can get pretty much anywhere he wants to go (unless it's gated off, of course) using a combination of crawling, pulling up to stand, and cruising. He's even trying to crawl up the stairs! Gotta get the 3rd and 4th gate in ASAP! Dylan's two top front teeth have come down to join the two he has on the bottom. He's getting even more chatty and really trying to communicate with us verbally. He is doing his best to learn English and we are doing our best to interpret his sounds, gestures, and facial expressions. One of the cuter things he does now is, anytime one of our two the cats is around, he will mimic us when we say "meow". As I said, it is very cute.Easter was a fun day! We went to Great Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Jim's house on Long Island with Mimi, Papa, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Brian, Katie, Grace, Baby B (who is getting ready for his/her big introduction on April 30th!), my cousins Ryan, Julie, and Jeff, Jeff's wife Jen and their kids, Kieran and Maggie. Oh and Jen is pregnant too! Lots of kids! And lots more on the way (none here though!).

Mimi and Dylan

The Big Kids' Table: Katie, Grace, Kieran, and Maggie

We Have a Crawler!!

On March 25th, Dylan began crawling! That, combined with pulling up on every surface more than 2 inches off the floor, and cruising has meant that Dylan is quite the mobile little boy - keeping Mommy and Daddy on our toes!

This video is from the first morning Dylan finally figured it out, so it's not the prettiest crawl. Since then, he's really become quite a pro - he's getting into everything! Oh, and I made the "leg warmers" he's wearing out of adult no-slip socks. It was driving me crazy that every time Dylan tried to crawl, his knees would slip out behind him. I don't think they really helped. I think he just needed to figure it out. But it made me feel better at the time:) Now, even without the leg warmers, he is getting around without a problem.

More Playground Fun!

Last weekend, I was sick with a stomach virus so we had to cancel our trip upstate. By Sunday afternoon I was feeling a little better and it was a beautiful day so we took a short trip to a nearby playground.


It was Dylan's first encounter with a playground swing. At first he was more interested in looking at the girl swinging on the swing next to him... but then he really enjoyed his own ride!

He was a little less impressed with the slide... ...but agreed to try it after Tim talked him into it. Not so bad after all!Of course Dylan's favorite part was playing with the woodchips.
Happy baby!

Double Digits!!

Dylan is 10 months old!

We were a day late in taking his picture but it didn't seem to bother Dylan - he still wanted the sign...

Dylan has begun pulling to stand and climbing. He is also trying so, so, so hard to crawl! Poor kid can only creep (on his belly) backwards...which gets him quite frustrated. He does get on his hands and knees and rock, but doesn't quite understand how to be mobile in this position. Often, from his belly, he rises to his hands and feet with his butt in the air and tries to move forward (or stand up?), but is unsuccessful. This also causes him a great deal of frustration.

Once he is actually in a standing position (with help, of course), he experiences much more success. He stands at our couch or coffee table (which has been safely padded) and plays quite nicely and is able to cruise around a bit all by himself! For those of you who aren't in the know, cruising means walking sideways while holding onto furniture. He's also become quite proficient at walking with his hands (or trunk) held. As much as the PT in me hates to admit it, I think we'll have a walker on our hands before we have a crawler.

In addition to the above developments, we've also caught Dylan dancing a few times! It's very cute and we'll get it on video as soon as we can. I think he's learned to give a high five, but it's not consistent and I'm not quite sure if he's actually understanding the cue or if he just wants to touch my hand when I hold it up. Also, Dylan's food repertoire has expanded greatly and now includes lots of finger foods like cheese, egg yolks, pasta, raisins, and tofu. He's a great eater when (as with most things) he wants to be.Oh, and apparently, he is growing taller because, as you can see, these jeans are entirely too small on him!

"What are you looking at?"

A New Use For the Excersaucer

This is how I found Dylan this morning when I came into the living room to check on him. I had left him standing and holding onto the outside of the Excersaucer while I sat in the next room eating breakfast. I have no idea how he got himself in there!