Growing up

It's amazing how fast this little guy has gone from a silly, happy baby to a little toddler, understanding words and doing things purposefully. He pulled a brush out of the drawer in the bathroom and handed it to me. I brushed the side of his head that I could reach, then handed the brush back. Parker then held the brush up to the other side of his head, waiting for me to finish brushing his hair!

Parker understands the words no and not in your mouth. He was playing with a toy and wanted all the pieces to pop back up. So he was banging the toy and talking, looking at me. I told him to bring it here and I will help. He then stood up, grabbed the toy by its handle, toddled on over and handed it to me!

He can imitate very well and learned to give high fives in a day. He loves to play with the pots and pans, mixing up his pretend food with a wooden spoon. He also learned to put the lid on and off, and to put toys inside and cover with the lid. 

He never wants to stop playing and diaper changes are quite the challenge as he is twisting and rolling away. After changing a poopy diaper and being mad at the sitter, Parker walked away from her, saying mama and looking at the door. 

One week before he turned 11 months old, Parker decided he was done with nursing. He nursed late that evening and then never again, acting as though I was hurting him if I even tried! He was sick and teething at the time, but is doing well with milk from a straw cup. He is also sleeping better and is much easier to go down to sleep.

He continues to love to be outside. We had the first real snow today, and I put him down on the sidewalk. He was excited and bent down to pick up a pine cone... and then burst into tears when he realized how cold the snow was! I forget how he wouldn't know not to touch it with his bare hands. I look at snow and instantly know its cold and would be painful to touch. Clearly that is a lesson to be learned!