As I said with 8 months and all the previous months, this might be my favorite age so far. Stanley started to 'play' with us or at least understand that we are around when he plays.
Last night Stanley slept 9 hours in a row (first ever). It was amazing, especially for a little boy who just a few months ago was waking up almost every 2 hours. Stanley has also been very good about going to sleep on his own. Steve started bouncing Stanley when he was about 3 days old. Steve use to bounce Stanley till he was asleep. Now, though it is now like a pavlovian response for Stanley. Just two bounces and Stanley sets his head on our shoulders and then is ready to be put down in his crib to go to sleep. He is great at going to sleep on his own. And, when he wakes up, sometimes he plays happily in his crib with his monkey--emphasis on the "sometimes". Also with regards to sleeping, Stanley has his mom's ability to sleep through anything....noises, someone patting him on his back, the lights, etc. It is a great trait.
Stanley is very curious. He will watch and study what we do carefully and then try it himself. We have had to lock down everything at this point. He is already trying to open our baby gate. He also studies rooms or new places very carefully. He loves to figure out what is around before he sets off for an exploration. Stanley also really loves watching things open and close and has even figured out how to open and close drawers and cabinets (fun for him, less so for us).
This past month, Stanley really has become very attached to Steve, me, and Halima. When we come in he gives us a huge smile and when we leave he gets quite upset. In addition, if we are sitting on the floor, Stanley will crawl over and sit right on our knee/feet or right next to us. It is quite endearing. He still avoids snuggling since snuggles and hugs greatly reduce his movement and ability to explore new things.
Stanley has become quite the eater. The list of items is below. He still will not take a bottle. And our trick to put a cheerio on a spoonful of milk is starting to fail. Stanley has figured out how to take the cheerio and let the milk drool down his front. Clever I must say. On the other hand, if we put food mush in front of him, he will spend about 30 minutes slowly feeding himself. He far prefers to feed himself. It is interesting because he always uses his left hand (left handed?).
On the topic of food and teeth, turns out that little 'white dot' that I thought was the start of a tooth...well... it is not a tooth. The doctor assured us that we still have a ways to go before getting a tooth. I guess Stanley is still in the running at the pediatrician's office for the oldest child before they get teeth. (15 months is currently the record)
Stanely has really started to try to climb. If there is a shelf low down, he will put his foot on it. And, he often climbs up on the bucket of his little cart.
Stanley loves:
- Boxes
- Climbing stairs
- Standing
- Moving, moving, moving
- Hiking in the backpack
- Exploring new crawling places
- Feeding himself
- Drinking water in the bath from the plastic duck
- Walking behind his cart and even climbing up on the cart
- Balls (throwing and rolling)
- Climbing onto things like the window ledge
- Eating everything in sight
- His lunchbox
- His helicopter
- Peakaboo
- Nursing (still)
Stanley dislikes:
- Bananas (he gags if you give him any)
- Bottles or sippy cups
- being made to sit still for a moment
Stanley can:
- Start imitating. If Steve says 'Ga' Stanley will repeat it and if Steve changes sounds, Stanley changes sounds a bit
- Push his cart up and down the long hallways about 3 round trips (probably like 50 ft round trip), video is below.
- Get up and down being very careful. He never really falls over unless something moves or catches him off guard
- Feed himself (not the cleanest thing, but he gets the job done). We also think that he might be left handed since he always eats with his left hand
- Sleep about 6 hours in a row
- Go to sleep by himself. We have his routine and then he always goes to sleep by himself. His little routine is: bath or hand washing, diaper change, book, nurse, and then bounce him two or three times and put him in his crib.
- Wake up and play with his monkey for a while
Stanley eats:
- Beets, Broccoli, Peas, Chicken, Cottage cheese, Cream Cheese, Hummus, Bagels, Kale, Potatoes, Bread, Cereal, Cauliflower.
- He LOVES bread--he takes after his mother!!
- He loves any type of puffed rice, cheerios or cereal type thing
Stanley walking behind his cart is precious!!! He will be pushing the shopping cart soon. Send his off to Whole Foods with lots of cash and a long list.
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