Crawling into Fall!

On November 9, Clark wow-ed us all and took his first crawling steps. I figured he'd scoot or army crawl first, but he was in perfect position and just went for it. Now, at one week later, he's a pro (kinda) and is getting pretty fast! It's unbelievable still he's mobile. We only just began "teaching" him to rock on all fours in preparation for crawling! Saturday morning he actually crawled across the living room floor into my lap - it made my day!!! He also holds his arms up (or leans into us) when he wants to be picked up, and I admit that melts my heart too. I've been eager for him to do this for a while!


Other developments are that he loves to clap - especially at the A&M vs. SMU basketball game he went to on Monday night - and he has learned how to wave! He was really scared by the uproar of fans each time the Aggies scored, but he eventually adjusted and loved the excitement of the arena; I think his favorite thing was the SMU band - he was in a mesmerized daze when they played. He is saying new "words" like "BaaBaa" and more "Mamas". Still no "D" sound! :-( He loves to blow strawberries that sound like whoopy cushions getting sat on! :-) He's still a super happy baby who loves to flirt with the ladies and smile at everyone! I think he has discovered his cuteness and works it! His two bottom teeth are growing like crazy and he loves to bite on things now.

We are in the process of sleep-training him. He has gotten to where he has to be rocked completely asleep before we put him in the crib. He'll start crying when we put him down, no matter how passed out he was moments before. We weren't ready to do the longterm letting him cry thing until one night recently---I firmly believe each parent has to be ready and we just weren't for the first 8mths. He wasn't cutting a tooth, didn't have a fever, wasn't hungry or needing a new diaper, so we just tucked him in and left for a short while. Came back to reassure him 30 minutes later (he was STILL crying-tearless, though). We left again and he eventually fell asleep after an hour. I thing it's amazing when parents say they only wait for 15-20 minutes - Clark wouldn't stand for that! :-) He still does this every time we put him down for bed or naps, but usually quickly settles in after some moaning and tearless crying. I specify "tearless" because I have learned a giant distinction between those and tears. He means business when the tears come, but can wail pretty loudly without tearing up when he's just tired or hungry. Ah, the lessons I'm so grateful to learn! This morning, Jason came in to get him and he was pulled up on his crib while on his knees, so we lowered his crib to the bottom rung tonight! That's about all!

Here's the toy that's hugely responsible for Clark's crawling! He loves this thing!