Developments

Noah has developed so much on this trip to Texas!

Physically, he's taken his first steps! It's so exciting! He only takes a couple every day, but he definitely can do it. He also loves to push his stroller around--I thought it might be too fast for him (when he's tried to do it in the past, his feet can't keep up), but he's much more coordinated now, and he has no trouble keeping up with the quickly-rolling stroller. He just be-bops along behind it.

Speaking of fast, he gets into stuff so dang quickly. It's ridiculous. He is just really quick at crawling. As of the last couple of days, he's really into climbing, too. This is really going to be a challenge for me, because I have to watch him so carefully now. He can climb stairs incredibly fast--we are so impressed and wary at the same time! And he has started trying to climb up onto my parents' fireplace hearth, as well. He hasn't thought of climbing onto the furniture, or he'd be doing that, too. Anyway, there will be a lot more opportunities for trouble once we get home.

Noah is also becoming more affectionate. He had starting laying his cheek on us before we left for Texas, which was really sweet. But now he'll give us all-out hugs. He wraps his arms around your neck and pulls as tightly as his little arms can, pressing his cheek against yours as hard as possible. It is so fun! If you get one of his hugs, you feel really special. :)

He's picking up a lot of words, too. He doesn't say much yet, but he understands more and more. He knows "come here," "turn the page," "no," "pick it up," "moo," and much more. He also understands phrases you haven't practiced with him before, like "put it in your mouth." I am always surprised when he follows my instructions, not only because it shows that he understood what I said, but also because he obeyed!

He is growing up! I can't believe he will be a year old a week from today.