Even though there are lots of new things happening each week,
it’s sort of a relief that Toby’s growth is moderating – I have the sense we
can really savor each new stage now. It
gives me space to look back and appreciate how far we’ve come in the last ten
months. There are things that have moved
so slowly that I barely noticed them – his sensitive cheeks don’t require daily
lotion anymore to be charmingly rosy instead of alarmingly rashy. Bedtime isn’t peaceful massages, rocking, and
lullabies anymore; now there is a quick rubdown while he crawls around the bed,
loud protesting at a new diaper and pajamas (he outgrew his sweet sleepsack),
and reading at least three books before being put down.
So, what new things
are happening? In addition to pulling up and cruising a lot more since the last
entry, he started crawling with his belly off the floor, standing without any
support, and yesterday he even started clapping!
His first Easter was lots of fun. First MamaSue and Grandpa Fred came to visit,
along with poor, sickly Aunt Rachael (who came back from Guatemala with a
stomach bug). We ate lots of good food,
including Toby’s first asparagus and hollandaise. This is a springtime tradition in our family,
and he loved it. He obliged the audience
by showing off his eating and babbling skills – thanks to Grandpa Fred for the
great video.
Toby attended a birthday party for the first time last month
– his “old” friend Benjamin turned 1!
These two fellas used to drive up to campus next to each other in the
womb, so they go way back. They’re also both locomotively precocious and
hair-impaired, so they have a lot to not talk about. Because they’re too busy crawling or running. Kids were outnumbered 2:1 at the party, and
Toby had a great time playing with all the grandmothers. He also liked the enormous cardboard boxes.
Maybe the confidence that crawling with your belly off the
floor brings is what is making him more outgoing. He was so good at getting around with the
army crawl, we weren’t sure he’d ever go to the trouble to master the
traditional hands-and-knees version… but apparently it’s still worth it. He’s faster now that he’s thumping around on
four limbs. He’s also, believe it or
not, even cuter. (As his Noni would say,
you’d better put your sunglasses on.)
As his world expands, we made the difficult decision to
switch from having Joelyn take care of him at our house to sending him to
daycare, where he can interact with other kids.
So far, we’re encouraged to see that he seems to be really enjoying it. One of my friends from work takes her daughter
(just a few months older than Toby) to the same place, so little Lillian and
Toby get to spend extra time together.
Somehow this is much harder for me that keeping him home, but I take
lots of deep breaths and keep on truckin’.
I was most anxious about the switch to one nap a day, but he made the
transition over a few days and now it’s completely normal. Tresha, the daycare provider, won me over by
telling me how smart Toby is – she says he likes to figure things out and can
focus on a single thing much longer than the average baby. (!) Also that he’s a sweetie, but who’s
surprised?
Another, smaller, shift with our growing boy is a new
bathtub. We were tired of working so
hard to keep him from flinging himself out of the sink, and then he learned how
to operate the squirting rubber ducky.
That was the final straw. The
video is mild – water was going EVERYWHERE.
I went shopping for a big plastic tub we could stick in the shower. It turned out great – all the duckies fit in
nicely, too! Bath time is now fun for
everyone (not just Toby) again.
On the downside, we had only a couple of weeks of respite
from Toby’s ambitious teething schedule.
His first molars and at least one bicuspid are already on their way, and
this is a whole new kind of teething pain.
He wakes up in the middle of the night crying, his naps are cut short,
and he is GRUMPY. A dose of Tylenol usually
does the trick. No sign of them actually
cutting yet. Poor baby! The last week
has been quiet, but they’ll probably be back at it again soon.
Luckily he’s easily distracted during his waking hours with
lots of new activities. He’s tried his
hand at climbing, although it’s not yet a regular diversion, and he’s learning
how to open cabinet doors.
He got this cute little fire truck from our friends the
Wilkes; it’s a third-generation Biological Station hand-me-down, and Toby
thinks the buttons are great. He hasn’t
quite figured out how to push it around yet.
I suspect it will feature heavily in outdoor play this summer.
The piano is a perennial favorite, and now he has added
playing it from the ground to the usual joys of watching (or helping) Daddy
play.
But probably his most-loved pastime currently is pulling his
books off the shelf. He can do this over
and over again, as many times as a grownup is willing to put them back on. He’ll also settle for having them read to
him.
The snow finally
melted here. The crocuses are up, and
Matt has switched from cutting brush to doing prescribed burns. It’s a fun change of pace for him, and I like
it when he comes home smelling like smoke.
Last week he took Toby out to experience the grass for the first
time. Tobers wasn’t quite sure what to
think.
Since then, he’s warmed up to the idea, and enjoys crawling
around after the neighbors’ collie and trying to eat things he shouldn’t. We’re looking forward to taking him birding soon. This afternoon MamaSue and I warmed him up
with his first wildflower hike, at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.
There are a few birds we can see from our window, including
the annual wood-duck pair looking (in vain) for a nest site in the trees. Ducks perched on tree branches? Yes.
