We have been having a great few days. James woke up in a fantastic mood this morning, and we all had a great morning cuddling in bed together. He kept saying mama. I love it. Later in the morning, I taught him how to say 'uh-oh"! So cute. He is really really chatty lately. He never seems to stop talking.
He really has been cracking us up. This photo was today. All day, he kept scrunching up his face and blowing out his nose. Hilarious. Yesterday he was totally obsessed with blowing raspberries. When he gets really excited, he lets out these little shrieks, with this surprised look on his face. We are endlessly entertained.
He is really getting around quickly now, and is close to being able to stand up on his own. As it is now, he really doesn't need to have support, but probably just doesn't know any better. We are pretty happy that he isn't in full walk yet. It's hard keeping up with him when he crawls! His favorite thing is to crawl out of the loving room and into our bedroom and bang on the dog crate in our room. He looks back at you when he is leaving the room, lets out a huge giggle and then streaks away at baby warp speed.
Along with all of these great things this week, we also encountered a rough patch with nursing. I think he was going through a growth spurt, and wasn't latching very well. Very painful for me. But I think we are through it now, and we are back to full steam ahead. Thank goodness.
James has several favorite things. His favorite toys are the soft, plastic Winnie the Pooh bath time book that Grammy got him, and the little barking Christmas dog, also from Grammy. I'm not sure what it is about those two things that just completely overwhelm him with happiness. I guess grammys know! He also really loves his little push wagon. He could walk around all day just pushing the thing around the house.
He is also getting really good at feeding himself. He is great now at using his pointer and thumb to pick stuff up. Tonight he had his first beef. Mmmm, it's what's for dinner! He continues to eat almost all homemade food, and loves it. He loves plain yogurt, cheese, avocado, yams, frozen peas, frozen blueberries and blackberries, beans (we give him pinto, black, kidney, and cannnelli), and dad's homemade applesauce. He has been having a bit of juice in the past few days. It's the first time that he has been even remotely interested in drinking anything but milk. He does like to drink water from time to time directly from a regular cup. It is a pretty funny sight.
All is well with us, not much to report. We are just very busy with everything these days. Tioga has been pretty sick, with the vertebrae in his upper spine having bulging disks, which are pressing into his spinal cord. He has slowly been going paralyzed, and has been in quite a bit of pain. We decided that enough was enough this week, and sent him to the vet for the final last-ditch effort to save him. He had a three day treatment of steroids, which reduced the inflammation. It didn't cure him, but he is much better. Hopefully we will get to keep the old boy around for a while longer. It sure wasn't the same around here for three days without him. It really made us realize that he isn't always going to be around, which made us very sad. He is widely regarded as the best dog ever. Even now, he is laying down at my feet. Good boy.
The weather here has been really warm (40's) and sunny this week. Not sure what happened to winter, but hopefully it will come back soon. We are not ready for ski season to be over. That and no snow, leads to bad fires in the summer, so I would rather be cold than live in smoke!
