What's Rocking G3's World...

G3 is getting into all sorts of trouble lately...

First, he can pretty much get where ever he wants by crawling. I say "crawling" but its more of the military crawl, pulling himself along on his belly with his arms. My mom says he looks like a salamander, and this is also a good visual.

He can stand at his little musical table, and while this is quite fun and liberating for him, its a little bit difficult since he can't get to that position by himself, and he's not quite stable enough to be left alone--meaning Mommy must always be within reach to stop a fall (falls only get stopped about 50% of the time since Mommy is not perfect!!) He also likes to stand against the couch, or my leg, usually gnawing on my knee with his two puny teeth.

He likes to give hugs on command...to just about everyone except for me and Gabe. But since his hug is pretty much him throwing the weight of his body through his head and into the recipient's collarbone, its kind of more of an ambush--but he's definitly showing affection. He also likes to make out with Curious George...or pretty much any animal with a face. Today, after being gone all day while Grammy and Aunt Kellie baby-sat, I returned anxious to see my little fussbucket. He seemed happy to see me too...so happy he opened his little mouth and I "think" attempted to kiss me. Either that or bite me, I'm not sure. Still, memorable moment.

G3 is very verbal. He talks constantly...a variety of sounds, usually ending in the "ahhh" sound or a very loud scream. Screeches, whines, and the occassional "Heeeeeeyyyyyy!" also come out of his mouth. He's never been a crier, but as of late that has changed. Its kind of interesting since we have absolutely no coping mechanisms for a crying baby...does he want us to hold him? No. Snuggle? Nope. Play? Nah. Eat a piece of chicken? Definitely not. Since he's had multiple free physicals from Aunt Kellie, I guess its safe to say he's healthy and we're choosing to believe teething is the culprit...after all, he only has two so far. More are to come...

One last change for G3 lately is his finicky nature towards drinking from a bottle. For example, his bedtime bottle has been a staple for, well forever. Just a few ounces to warm the belly before bed. Being that he's always been so tranquil, the bedtime bottle could happen anywhere...in front of the tv, on my lap at the computer, at the dinner table (during dinner.) But since he's now a very, very busy boy, he is much too distracted to eat a bottle with stuff going on around him.

So I've started taking him up to his room for this bedtime bottle. The glider I spent weeks of pregnancy searching for has just started to get some use. We've never really rocked him to sleep because (1) He never needed it for bedtime and (2) Its pretty useless for naps. I always felt a little proud of this...G3 was not destined to be a kid who would need to be rocked to sleep until kindergarden (as I was told I was...whatever!) BUT...here's the thing...for a few moments he is relaxed in a way he hasn't been since, oh, month 3 or so. And in a way he probably never will be again. He drinks a small amount of his bottle, tries to keep his eyes open, and will then lay his head on my shoulder. It seems like such a simple thing...but its also fleeting because in moments he is rubbing his eyes and telling me with his body language, "Put me in my crib, Mom, turn on my turtle and my music already, would ya?"

So that's what's going on with G3 these days!