..well, and a couple of days, but here we are.

– With regards to walking, Tristan is now getting a little bit braver and busting out walking at random times during play. Before today, he was starting to do that but only in his room. I’m getting excited!

– He still doesn’t really self-feed but he gets the concept now. He can eat something fairly big, but he’s not really good at getting the little stuff in his mouth. We’ve been successfully using both a high chair and a sippy cup for a little over a week now. Both are things he won’t abide if he is in a pissy mood, and with the cup we are phasing it in with half of his formula in it and half in a bottle since he will protest the complete lack of a bottle.

– Putting him down to walk/play in a store is a lot of fun provided there is no schedule to follow. He’s not good at following the direction “come with me” quite yet. However, he will usually heed “sit down.”

– The TEETH on this child! #8 has broken through as of today and I hear a rumor that there are more coming.

Added 5 new videos to 10 – 11 Months.

Updated month by month page.

Added new pictures to 10 – 11 Months.

* Two days ago, Tristan unraveled his very first roll of toilet paper. I tried my best to completely ignore the activity (no giggles, no attention, no cleanup) in hopes that it will extinguish faster that way. I know it builds motor skills but it will suck if we have to keep toilet paper on lockdown. 🙂

* We went to the pool today and Tristan had a lot of fun splashing and kicking until he got chilly, and then he just snuggled me while I walked around. Afterward, he sat quietly with me and played with my keys while I chatted. For about half an hour. He doesn’t sit still indoors, but when he’s outside he’s just mesmerized by this weird environment, perhaps.

* He’s still walking up a storm in his room and doing it occasionally everywhere else. I’m sure the fact that I’m a bit of a nervous wreck when I see his head getting close to concrete doesn’t help things. He feels confident on cement.. I wish he’d stay on the grass. The stresses of being a parent of a newbie walker!

Tristan’s still taking random steps by himself – mostly one or two before landing on his butt but occasionally he will have a good stretch. He got in at least ten steps this morning at the park before we actually stopped him because he was barreling toward the concrete very quickly. This whole intrepid Virgo baby learning to walk with his hands held at all times thing has had weird consequences – he actually walks very well, so when he takes off he still does not try to just stand first, he’s already across the room.

We all went up to the Valley Fair mall on Sunday to let Tristan practice his walking in a play area with air conditioning, and he was interested in walking around the mall in general while holding our hands. He brought us into Build a Bear and into some children’s clothing store. It’s sort of amusing seeing this determination in choosing a store, as he’s actually more interested in the racks holding things up than he is in the things being held up for sale in stores. Also, whenever he sees an imperfection in a flooring surface (which happens often in a mall!) he is compelled to stop and examine it. Given his age, this is all still very adorable to me. Plus, how often do you see a baby walking around? Most babies in stores are in strollers, so just like the carrier, the little baby walking is novel and cute to passers-by.

12 pictures added to 10 – 11 Months.

Today was a very good day with baby. He was in good spirits and was very cooperative.

* Tristan has learned how to clap. He’s just short of being able to do it on command, but he thinks to do it when rock music is on.

* He splashes on command! We had a lot of fun at the pool today; he is quite the power splasher. It was that sort of day that was so hot that it was difficult to even be outside without swimming. Then we took our usual after-swim shower, which is always much fun.

* He didn’t practice his unsupported walking a whole lot today. Maybe a step here and there. He didn’t even want to work on walking with me when we went outside late in the afternoon. That being said, he is getting way bolder while holding only one hand and he is learning to pull things rather than just push them while standing/walking.

* It really does seem like he understands a lot more of what I’m saying in general.

6 new videos added to 10 – 11 Months.

Tristan is finally taking steps without our help! They are few and far between, as he seems to need to get up the courage or be really sleepy, but yesterday evening he took a few steps outside (on brick! I was so scared!) and then a few times while we were playing before bedtime he took a few steps in his room. He managed about five steps for his longest stretch! I need to go through all of the video and see if we got any walking recorded – most of the time he tried, he had finished his two steps and was back on his butt by the time the camera made it on and ready.

I am scared but very excited! The same kid who is terrified to let go of my hands on grass and carpet is perfectly willing to throw his entire body in frustration, clipping his head on whatever may be nearby. He has a little bit of a weird sense of safety, I think. But I feel that Tristan learning to walk will be very good for us all. He’s very, very cranky as he gets closer to getting it, our backs hurt very much from holding his hands to walk, and I think the world will open up for us a bit more. I know he’s fairly young to be walking but he does make down (as opposed to up) for it in his own ways: he only self-feeds if the food is very big, like the Gerber wagon wheels, I can’t get him to point or wave or make any other specific gesture yet, and he’s taken to throwing almost full-blown tantrums if I dare to hand him a sippy cup with milk in it. That last sentence is mostly for the benefit of those of us who like to remember that all babies and people in general have their mix of talents and shortcomings. 😉