Leaps and Bounds

I love this age! Not mine, mind you. Brendan's. 8-9 months old. It's so fun. Every day he learns something new. He's a restless explorer, and I love the sounds that come out of his mouth. So I'm just going to list some cute things that have popped up in the last week or two. (I'll try to be brief, as one brother has not-so-subtly told me I make my blogs too long. Hmm. Maybe I can disguise it by having lots of pictures.)

1) The other day, Brendan grabbed a toy with both hands and put it over his head. So I raised my hands, too, and said, "So big!" When he saw my response, he tried it again. This time Lauren joined in the response, "So big!" And it became a new game. Sometimes he does it without a toy and one hand grabs the other and drags it overhead. It's so cute because if you're watching just before he does it, you can see the gears turning in his little brain because he gets a twitch of a smile and then you can see the neurons making the needed connections. And if you're not watching, he'll make an "ah" sound to get your attention to ensure he gets his "So big!"

2) Every time Brendan finishes his food, I applaud him with clapping and a Yay! I'll do the same when he figures out a toy. He has finally caught on. A couple of days ago, while bored during a diaper change, he started clapping his hands. I said, "Clap, clap, clap" and did it, too. And voila! Game #2. What makes it so cute is that it is always up-and-down, left is always on top, and it's slow and methodical.

3) He has started to understand certain phrases and tones of voice. He understands what my "No-no...." means, though after pausing and turning around to look at me with a grin, he may choose to see what he can get away with. If I call his name and hold out my hands, he'll put down his toy, turn around, and make a beeline for me.

4) He loves any toy that has a face. He'll start to "talk" to it with high-pitched "ah"s--especially Lauren's princesses and stuffed animals.

5) He has started to dance while sitting or laying on his tummy, and especially likes faster music. My favorite is a little car ramp toy he has that makes a bunch of car-related sounds and a couple of music samples. He'll keep spinning the trigger, not dancing, until he hits the one fast song, and then he starts grooving.

 6) Brendan understands the concept of peek-a-boo so well that he has started to do it himself with blankets, clothes, and even toys.

7) He can now grab a snack from my hand and get it into his mouth, one way or another. And it must be said that figuring out how to mash said snack in his mouth is an accomplishment in and of itself.

8) Uh-oh! Buddy has figured out the stairs. For a few weeks, it's just been one stair and then he would stop, which made it nice because I could keep him contained downstairs without a gate. No longer! He went from going up one stair to all the way up eight stairs in one day. Great, but not so great!



Containment measures commence!

9) On the not-so-fun side of cause-and-effect, the little turkey has learned to pull himself up to a stand in his bed and would rather stand there and cry for an hour than lay back down and go to sleep. I'm severely annoyed at this, as it makes for at least an hour-long battle to get him to take a nap, which makes him way overtired. Lauren never really fought naps. In fact, looking back, she loved them and was quite content going down. (Nowadays is an entirely different story--she desperately needs them, but rarely gives in.)

It's so fun watching this tiny little person learn cause-and-effect. It really makes me marvel that in just months little neurons inside the brain can make connections. I'm so awed at our divine creation! And I think Lauren loves seeing her brother become more and more playable (is that even a word?), too. She loves to jump around like a fool in front of him because it will make him laugh.