Anyway, Reid has really grown in the last few months - in so many ways! He is still a sweet and extremely loved baby (he still qualifies as an infant until he turns one- TOMORROW!), but he has been getting moodier and is prone to throw a tantrum or two when things aren't going exactly the way he hoped. I think most of his frustrations stem from his awareness that a. communication exists and is a way to get things he wants and b. he is unable to communicate about most things. Overall, though, life just keeps getting sweeter with our little man. Below are a few of the things he has been showing the most interest in over the past few months.
1. Food. Little man loves his food and always has. So far, there are very few foods he will turn down, although we have noticed that he is becoming pickier and is especially enamored with snacks. For example, he loves puffs, rice cakes, cheerios, and teething biscuits. He also loves dairy products, especially cheese and yogurt. Applesauce and pears are favorites in the fruit department. And I really believe he will eat anything out of a pouch - he loves his food pouches ! The only food I have seen him absolutely refuse is eggs, although I do feel like we are on the brink of Reid weeding out foods that he previously ate with ease as he has been eating less and less of certain foods he used to love. Stay tuned - mom and dad hope Reid remains a good, healthy eater!
2. Walking everywhere. In August, Reid was obsessed with walking all over our house with his lion walker. Once he got the hang of that and really started moving, we knew it was only a matter of time before he began walking unassisted. Within weeks, Reid began experimenting with taking his hands off the walker and walking a few steps, as well as cruising around furniture. During the first week of September when he was about 10.5 months, Reid took his first steps with the help of magical measuring tape, and he hasn't looked back since. I think he understands that we need him to be in top walking shape by the time of Aunt Dom and Uncle Aaron's wedding (October 29th). Now, Reid zooms around the house sans magical measuring tape. He is almost ready to race Gage down the aisle!
3. Holding things. Reid loves to hold things while he walks, while he sits, while he eats, while he is in the bath, while he sleeps, etc. It doesn't have to be anything in particular, although measuring cups, dangly items like necklaces, pacifiers, sippy cups, sticks, leaves, cell phones, and spoons are fan favorites. Reid also loves putting things in his mouth, especially blocks, and he can frequently be seen walking around the house with one block in each hand and one in his mouth.
4. Adventures, especially in the blue car. I'm sure most babies are curious about the world around them - after all, they are experiencing so many things for the first time EVER. Still, I think BBL is especially curious about EVERYTHING. He loves opening and shutting things, exploring the contents of the kitchen cabinets, putting items in and out of other items, waving the water hose around, playing with the water table, taking rides in his blue car and pointing at everything, picking up whatever he can find on the floor and waving it around while he observes it, and crawling and walking around everywhere. It is really fun watching him explore his world, and I am really looking forward to seeing how my little engineer's natural curiosity grows and transforms as he gets older.
5. All dogs, especially Finn. A small dog sighting will almost always elicit a squeal from our little animal lover. Reid is especially obsessed with Finn, and he often looks for him first thing in the morning after he wakes up. He also looks for Finn when he is eating his dinner, and he loves dropping food and watching Finn gobble it up with excitement. When he is close enough, BBL also loves feeding Finn directly and is known to (attempt to?) alternate bites of food between himself and Finn (mom tries to stop that as quickly as possible...).
6. Books. This mama is overjoyed to announce that BBL seems to share in his mother's love of the written word. Okay, he can't read yet, BUT he really does love his books. The other morning, he insisted (in his own way) on taking his Baby Animals book in the car on the way to daycare. At one point, he dropped the book and immediately commenced hysterics. At a stoplight, I was able to retrieve the book for him, and he spent the rest of the car ride turning the pages and babbling to himself. At this point, until somebody tells me otherwise, I am convinced that he was trying to read the book to himself! Also, he will often come up to his daddy or me with a book in his hand and give the book to us so we can read it to him. Due to his short attention span, we often get through a mere page or two before he takes the book back and walks away, but I am certain that he appreciates and understands the portion we read. His favorite books right now seem to be the touchy feely books, Hungry Hungry Caterpillar, and the Colors book that he received from Aunt Dom and Uncle Aaron. Dad and I love reading the classic Disney books to him, and I love reading On the Night You Were Born, as this was the first book I read after he was born. Every night, we read a few books to him before bed - I hope we can carry on this tradition for many years.
