FORT!!!

my mama and anutie phon made me a fort this morning in my 'playpen' {the living room} using a colorful old marimekko sheet from my great aunt ilona. i really liked playing my 'ding ding' {piano} in the fort - but then again, i like to play the piano anywhere. i'm still a little young to realize just how cool the fort really is - but i catch-on pretty quick, so one of these days i suspect i'll want to spend all day in there!

9 months old!

i am now 9 months old. i don't know how much i weigh, exactly, because i don't go for my check-up until next week, but i have grown a lot and learned so many new tricks! as you can see, i am super strong and can even do 'push-ups' now. my mom and dad finally got a 'gate' up in our living room to help define my super-awesome playroom (the living room). i have 4 teeth (2 up/2 down) and am eating all sorts of foods and have started to show signs of trying to communicate myself with sounds and and physical gestures. i am SUPER happy and love to laugh, flap my arms when i am excited to see someone i know, and can wave hello and goodbye. i'm talking up a storm (especially on my very own cell phone {mama's old one} that i am fully aware does not work) and have a full vocabularly of consonant sounds: dadada, mamamama, bububububu, gugugugu - as well as unique sounds like my abrupt "uuuugh" when i am trying to make something happen (like peas and cheerios jump on my highchair tray), and the sucking-in squeel-laugh...and perhaps most fitting-> a toungue-clicking sound. my parents are convinced that i will be walking early, because i love to try letting go, but we'll see if i can master the whole balance-thing. i love my mama and papa - but will chose my mama over anyone at any time. i am a mama's boy!

my favorite book

my yellow potty

while i still pee in a diaper (and occasionally on my Ma-Tu) ... it is never too early to learn to sit on my yellow toilet. who knows when it will really come into good use!

i like to laugh at my funny glasses!

peas, rice and cheerios

i've been eating REAL food for 2 weeks already - my mama has just been too busy to tell you about it.

i can pick-up small things like peas with my pointer and thum. when i eat cheerios, i even eat them half at a time by biting off a piece to chew first and then putting the second half in my mouth after.

ah ah ah ah ah

if i make a noise as my papa bumps his hand over my mouth it makes a cool noise.
my mom thinks i picked-iup this new trick really fast!

dare devil!

i decided last week that instead of using furniture to help me stand, i would just let go. i want to do it by myself!

crawl,climb,stand {MOVE}

yes, i am on the move. look out for me, because i am daring, strong enough to pull myself up to standing with the help of furniture and take it all very seriously. i LOVE to stand and walk along the sofa. i keep my mama and papa on their toes!

i have been spending the mornings with Ma-tu and Pa-tu (papa's parent's) while my mama is at work. she just got a promotion, so it is a good thing we started practicing our new routine this week!

crazy week!

oh boy! it has been an adventurous week so far.....not only can i climb the steps in the living room, but i am an expert as using furniture to get into a standing position! i did a complete pull-up on the coffee table so that i could stand and pat the top like a drum...i can also stand by the couch, stand by my mommy -- and stand-up in my crib when i don't want to take a nap.

this week has also been hard because i think my 4th tooth is coming in and it sure does HURT. it makes me want to be held all the time, and i cry for my mama A LOT.

maybe the biggest thing that has happened : i swallowed a rubber band tonight. yes...truely. i was scooting around on the floor and my mom thought she had gotten everything out of my way. when she saw that i got it in my mouth, she tried not to panic and put her finger in my mouth to get it out, but it was so wet and slippery in there that it just slid down my throat! papa also tried to get it out, but couldn't. my mom got very scared and called my grandma who said that if i wasn't choking i would be fine...just look for it in my diaper! some kids swallow marbles, i swallowed a rubber band.

what a week, and it is only wednesay!

8 months old!!

saturday marked 8 months since i was born. i have suddenly become a MOVER! i wiggle and wiggle when i am being held and grab decisively for hair, glasses or earings within seconds. i roll from my back to my tummy to my back and then again to my tummy...and when i wake-up from naps i pull myself up on the sides of the crib. i am officially crawling - with absolute-intentional placement of of my hands (bap, bap, bap, bap) - and just today i climbed the stairs in my living room, all by myself! i talk and sing and make noises with my tongue, i flap my arms and legs in the bath (so hard my mommy gets soaking wet), and i can pick-up smaller and smaller objects. i have 3 teeth!! and am a super-duper good eater - and i like to play peek-a-boo with my bib during meals. my hair is growing back and i am excited to discover what i will learn tomorrow!

day-trip to northfield

my family took a daytrip to northfield on friday... to visit amanda (matt was working out of town). i'm sitting in front of their newly-fixed-up garage (chicken-coop) - isn't it cute!?! we got a tour of their house (see it reflected in my glasses?) and took a walk through downtown before going out for lunch. it was a relaxing break and i loved being outside in the fresh spring air!

(pssstt--- you can see me doing my latest silly trick: sticking out my tongue and making a funny noise!)

wow!

today i figured-out how to get from my hands&knees to a sitting position - all by myself! --i am really interested in standing: instead of being on my hands&knees, i simply shift onto my hands&feet and then pull myself up on a piece of furniture and suddenly i'm standing! pretty amazing!

easter sunday

this easter was also my mama's 29th birthday. all in all, the day was pretty low-key. but something big happened to me today. i got my head shaved!

it is a tradition in the east to shave the first growth of baby-hair. this has different levels of significance in different countries, but ultimately it is supposed to make babies hair grow in thicker. we'll see if that happens with my hair. either way, my daddy also shaved his head so that we could be best buddies.

oh! and my mom was finally able to get some pictures of my teeth!!!

my latest tricks

i have transformed right before my parents' eyes! look at me, i can sit on my yellow friend unassisted for 10 minutes at a time, just playing with his red yarn hair. my legs work as great supports and my balance is soooo good that i don't even wobble. i am talking-up-a-storm (can you see me talking to myself in the picture?). i also love to stick out my toungue and blow hard so that it makes a funny noise.

i am perfecting the art of CRAWLING! i have learned to pick-up my hands and place them ahead so that i can move,move,move. i am still doing a crawl/worm-wiggle combination to get myself across the room to grab some of my favorite things: 1)papa's cell phone 2)mama's cell phone 3)calculator 4)remote control (ie: anything with buttons to push).

hangin' out in duluth

reading with cousin mitchell

SECOND TOOTH!!

one week after my first tooth came in.... my second has arrived right next to it - on the bottom. i have been extra tired and crabby today. not even very interested in playing.

7 months old!

i am growing up so fast! at 7 months i am really becoming mobile...moving from a sitting position to my hands & knees to my tummy to my back... spinning around 360 degrees on my tummy, reaching and scooting to get where i want to go. i am strong enough to be on my hands and knees and rock back and forth , but still retreat to my tummy when i want to reach or move around. i like to kneel on the stairs in my living room (sometimes pushing up to my toes) and then sit back on my bum. someday soon it will click in my head how to move these knees of mine and then my mom and dad won't be able to keep up with me!

now that i have my first tooth, i am a really good eater - chomping my food! i get impatient if my mom takes too long to bring the spoon back with more cereal on it. i like banana, pear, mango, papaya and peas. applesauce is still quite sour, but the taste is growing on me. i really like teething bisquits because i can hold them with my own hands.. transfer them back and forth from one to the other, bang it on the highchair-tray, and suck it til it becomes so soft that a slimy mess is all over me and anything that i can touch.

i love to jump, jump, jump and flap my arms, scream and yell to hear how loud my voice can be, gargle and sing at the same time, pick-up small items with my hands, suck any and all of my fingers, grab my toes and sometimes put them in my mouth. i love being in water - kicking and splashing - and playing my piano - bang bang bang! i find it very perplexing when my mom puts her hands over my ears because everything sounds different. i can sometimes wave goodbye.

i wonder what i will be able to do next month!

helping move

i went up to duluth with my parents who helped my grandma and grandpa move into their new house! i had a lot of fun playing with my cousin lussi and my mom says that i was sooooo good while everyone was cleaning and moving everything (even taking a nap on the floor in the midst of the noise).

on sunday morning, i took a bath in the bathroom sink and afterwards dozed off with my dad while he was reading the paper. i love being in the sunlight in their new living room. it is sooooo warm!