Anyhow, here's a quick and dirty update:
- We went to Maris Farm in Buckley about a week after we went to the Schilter Farm for more pumpkin shenanigans. Maris Farm was HUGE! Baxter wouldn't smile for any pictures (again) and mostly rode around in the Beco looking at things. We got lost in a corn maze and waited in a really long line for roasted corn.
- Baxter turned ONE YEAR OLD on November 2. We had a small family gathering at our house. Bax loved seeing everyone and wowed us all by almost eating the entire slice of strawberry cream cake we put in front of him. He surprised us all again when he took his first steps while opening his gifts. A big thank you to all who came in the middle of the week to attend. Our living room now looks like a daycare with all the toys he got.
Ever since he learned how to walk, Bax is a walking machine. It's his latest tactic in fighting sleep. Instead of agreeing to cozy up with a blanket and a book before bedtime, he'll cuddle for about 30 seconds, jump down, and start walking around the living room nonstop like some drunk person. We visited Grandma and Grandpa Choo-Choo (aka Bob and Kae) on Sunday and Bax did laps from the living room to the kitchen and back for two hours. All that ambulating made his bowels move three times in about as many hours.
- Bax was a tiger and Superman for Halloween. He went to a couple parties with Mike the day before Halloween and strutted his Tiger stuff at Lolo's office and Aunt Mikki's Halloween party. On Halloween day, he dressed up as Superman and went trick-or-treating around Uptown Gig Harbor. His favorite thing to do was slobber on the candy he got from one place, then try to trade out his now-wet candy for dry ones at the next place.
- Teeth update: Bax has had his lower front teeth for a few months now, and the latest teeth that are cutting his gums are his upper fangs! I thought the two front teeth were the next ones to come out, but as of this morning, his upper left fang is 50% out. Speaking of teething, it's starting to affect his sleeping at night. He'll wake up every couple of hours some nights pointing at his fangs and crying. Poor kid.
- He got his first haircut this past weekend at the Kid's Salon in U Village. He did great! He sat in a little yellow cab and his stylist gave him a container full of cars, planes, and trains to play with. She even used clippers and a blowdryer, and all he gave her were the occasional side glances. We kept locks of his Amish sideburns for his baby book.
 |
| Before: The Last Samurai |
 |
| After: Super cute and knows it. |
- Sticking things in his nose. It used to just be his finger(s), but now he'll try to put anything up his nose, including his pet mouse's tail, a spoon, or your finger. He hasn't tried putting food particles in there yet, but I'm sure that will be next.
- He's started motioning with his outstretched arm and hand for things he wants to take a closer look at. He's not pointing yet, but he'll stretch his arm out and make an "Eh?" sound. This is his new favorite thing to do, especially when in the toy aisle at the store. He wants to look and touch ev-er-y-thing.
- He can drink out of a straw! He has a sippy cup with a straw that he's never really been interested in, but one time at the mall I had a smoothie that he kept motioning to. I let him have at the straw just to see what he would do, and lo and behold, he sucked up about 5 seconds worth of smoothie and gave himself a brain freeze. He's also started to suck out of the little food pouches we have for him too, which makes things easier for me since I don't have to pack a baby spoon in the diaper bag for them anymore.
- Bax doesn't really have much of a vocabulary outside of "ded-ded" (Dad) and "mum-mum" (Mom, which he says rarely), but he sure does babble like crazy. He's like the homeless schizophrenic person you see on the streets, staggering around and talking with his hands to himself, but you're unable to make out any real words.
- Another word he's picked up is "Ello?" I discovered this when I realized Bax would scramble around for something to put up to his ear whenever he saw anyone talking on their cellphone. If he can't find anything, then he'll put his hand up to cup his ear and say "Ello?", followed by facial expressions and babbling like he's having a conversation with someone. He will also talk on his imaginary cellphone after hearing any kind of jingle, like a fancy doorbell or the hourly chime of the clock at his Grandpa Bob's house.
