Standing Up...

...for what I believe! Seriously, my crib is probably one of the easiest places to grab onto and pull myself up into a standing position. I'm doing this more and more these days - standing, that is, in general (not just in my crib). That said, I've also taken a good number of falls due to the fact that I'm standing. As Baba says, the higher (taller) you are, the harder you fall. For example, tonight alone I've fallen three times and bumped my head each of those times. Baba says I'm lucky that I have a "hard head," whatever that means.

I'm a shrimp...

...both literally and figuratively. At the YMCA, the swim program that I belong to is called "Shrimps" (clever, eh?). Mommy and I had our second swim session yesterday. I think we've got another seven or eight weeks of this, but I'm getting increasingly more comfortable being in the water. Last week, I'll confess, the water was a bit cold. It was better this week. Our instructor suggested that Mommy dunk me quickly under water, but Mommy wasn't up for doing that (even though Baba was encouraging her to from the observation deck). Something tells me that next week Baba might be coming into the water with me and I might be going under water for a bit. Uh oh! Theo Strat and Aunt Renee were in town and they both came to watch my swim lesson too. Theo Strat was able to get some pictures (the one to the left) and video (below).

Rough couple of days...

Well, I've had some unfortunate firsts the last few days. I've begun to crawl more efficiently and, occasionally, will try to pull up on the nearest object (ie: a dresser, for instance). Well, in attempting to pull up on a knob on Mommy's dresser drawer, my hand slipped and I planted my face on the drawer - nose first - resulting in my first bloody nose. Baba quickly scooped me up and dealt with my bloody nose. I only cried briefly. The sight of blood doesn't (yet) freak me out. The next day, while standing (barely standing, but standing nonetheless) I lost my balance and as I fell back onto my little bottom I bit my lip with the two teeth that I have. Again, blood. Baba scooped me up again and I stopped crying. What a rough couple of days! At least Baba and I can stick Cheerios on our noses and laugh about it.

Hello 2010!

I didn't get to fully enjoy 2009 - having arrived in May, I missed out on January, February, March and April. So, I'm excited to experience 2010 from the very start. I wasn't able to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve - I got a bit cranky at about 7:30pm and Mommy decided it was time for me to go to bed. I was a little freaked out when she said "see you next year" as she laid me down..."next year"?!?!? Come to find out, transitioning from one year to another is pretty seamless. Happens overnight (literally) and apparently requires a liquid called "champagne" and a guy named Dick Clark to make it happen. When I woke up the next morning, it was 2010. My friend Wilson (who's turning one in a few days) was here; he went to bed before me, but we both woke up along with our respective mommies at about 5:30am New Year's day. Wilson's got this crawling thing down to a science - boy, he's fast. I was trying to keep up, but I felt like I was moving in slow motion compared to Wilson. I'll get there in 2010 - just wait and see.

Merry Christmas!

I experienced my first Christmas a little over a week ago (and I'm just now getting around to telling you about it). It was cool. Lots and lots of boxes wrapped in decorative paper with shiny bows. The stuff inside the boxes was all right, but I much preferred the wrapping paper and bows. We traveled to Rochester to visit Yiayia and Papou and then to Oswego to visit with Grandma and Papa Eddie. Along the way we saw Theo Strat, Aunt Aileen and Uncle Billy, Uncle Patrick and Aunt Meghan. We got back home to drop off all of the toys and clothes I received (but we didn't bring back any of that pretty wrapping paper and shiny bows), repacked the car and headed to Connecticut to visit Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Brooks who were visiting for the holidays. I saw lots and lots of people this holiday and, overall, I think I did pretty well. I had a single spit-up incident with Cousin Nancy in Rochester, which I apologized for (but I had just finished eating my sweet potatoes and she picked me up). Oh, by the way, I upgraded to a "convertible" car seat in Baba's car - it's like a big La-Z-Boy recliner...very spacious - which has made traveling much more enjoyable. I'm not squished in that "baby" car seat anymore...I'm too tall for that (over 25" now!). Merry Christmas everyone!

Do you believe in Santa Clause?

... I sure do. I met the man himself tonight, in his big red suit and his long curly white beard. He was so pleasant. I wasn't able to clearly articulate what I would like for Christmas, but Santa still gave me a little gift. Truthfully, I was less interested in the stuffed toy than the shiny red wrapping paper it was wrapped in.

On the move...

At seven months, I've determined it's time for me to move...around the room, that is. I wouldn't give up the nice digs I've got at 105 Springhurst for the world, but being able to get from one corner of the family room to the other, now that's what I'm talking about! So, I've taken the necessary steps - actually, not real steps as much as a military crawl - to get from point A (say the fireplace) to point B (say, Mommy's super cool looking pink Croc). Take a look: