Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Holding his own

These days it feels more and more like we're a family of three, rather than a couple with a baby. Luke can join in with our activities in all kinds of settings. Mealtime is probably the best example, as we often feed him parts of our dinner and we even ordered off the kids' menu at a restaurant for him once. He loved the blueberry pancakes he was served there, though I'm not sure the waitstaff appreciated the portion of them that he 'fed' to the floor! He has begun babbling in his own dialect of baby gibberish, seemingly thinking he is adding his thoughts to the conversation. He also notices what is happening around him much more now and it's fun to experience new things with him, be it the Christmas tree aisle in Home Depot, another child at the supermarket, or falling snow. I've been establishing a ritual of having Erik call us before he bikes home from work, and then Luke and I watch for him from the front window. It's fun to see Luke look for his Daddy!

One standby of wintertime little kid-hood that we haven't been enjoying is a frequent runny nose. This child does not like having it wiped and it pains me to see him have difficulty taking his bottle or sleeping because of congestion. But we just tell ourselves that his immune system is doing its job and try to keep the humidifier going and the germs at bay.

He is getting closer and closer to walking, standing on his own for several seconds before sitting down and taking a couple steps before losing his balance. Erik and I are excited and reluctant to see him enter this new stage. It's so much fun to delight with him in these triumphs, but I'm dreading the constant chasing and painful tumbles walking will bring. In the meantime he is also very content to be held as long as we comply with his mistaken assumption that his parents are Segways. He leans in whichever direction he wishes to travel and expects transport!

In other news, our house is feeling more and more like our home as we come to the close of this stage of updates. Below you can see the new tile we put up around our fireplace and the stockings for our little family of three!