Well.. not blogging for one! Oops! The countdown to Micah's first birthday is going strong and we are enjoying every moment before he officially becomes a toddler!
There has been so much going on and so many changes. In case I didn't mention it before Micah has been walking like a champ for about a month now. He doesn't even fall down very much. He has way better balance than me for sure and has made walking his main mode of transportation. When I first posted the blog a while ago where I said he was officially walking we would rate his walking. ie Today he is 20% walking and 80% crawling. Everyday the ratio would shift more toward walking and those days came and went and he has been 100% walking for awhile! His only slight setback is many times it doesn't see it as important to actually watch where he is walking so he often trips over toys he has left around. Besides walking he can also climb stairs at a super sonic pace. We haven't been around stairs much since he has been moving but while staying with our friend he tried the stairs out once slowly and figured it out and by his next go he could pretty much take them one by one and quickly (and not much to my liking) this became his favorite thing to do.
His sociall development is also growing and changing everyday. He can wave, point, and clap. He points at things when wants to see or places he wants to go when you are holding him. He also has learned to wave although he is relatively stingy with this. He can do it and knows what he is doing but doesn't really like to do it on command. His favorite time to do this trick is when someone isn't paying attention to him and he thinks they should be... then he brings out all the charm. A little manipulative? I think so. Lastly he surprised me with learning how to clap. I didn't teach him this, but he just picked it up from our friends daughter (8 mo) who loves to show off her clapping skills! I guess he wanted to impress her and show her he could do it too! He quite obviously enjoys being around other kiddos and when we are out and about he enjoys being around other kids and waving and talking to them.
He is becoming more interactive everyday and is much more sensitive to our reactions and directions we give him. He loves to make us smile by giggling or giving us a big belly laugh and he thinks playing chase is the most fun game in the world. He is also babbling more and more. He is starting to get the hang of sounds and making more new ones. I still don't think there is an official first word but we are closer everyday. He thinks it is hysterical to feed Mommy or Daddy whatever he is eating and will quite often very persistently offer you a bite and if you take it he will just dye laughing. He is beginning to understand the concept of sharing and will bring things to me and actually let go (before he would hand it to me but not let go.) He also picks up on directions we give him more than we realize. Since we are in small quarters when staying with Brad in Las Vegas we spend lots of time on the bed. I have had to show him that it is not smart to dive head first off the bed but rather to turn on his tummy and slide feet first down to the floor. After only a couple of times showing him, and much to my surprise, he started doing this himself!
Micah has become a super sleeper! He has been so tolerant of our moving and traveling and become very flexible. At nine months he started sleeping though the night with two naps a day and since then it has been smooth sailing! Sleep training is definitely not the easiest thing to do but man has it paid off for us! He still sleeps about 12 hours per night (usually about 7-7) and has 2 naps during the day totaling about another 2-3 hours of sleep. Despite our travels and changing time zones, unless he is sick if I put him in his crib at the right time he will almost always just lay down and go to sleep. I feel so lucky for this! With that said, if we do get off schedule say we are on an airplane or out shopping during nap time he will not sleep with lots going on around him. It is not that he is necessarily fussy... he just wants to make sure he is a part of the action.
It is sometimes hard to believe considering how much fun we have had with him up to this point but he just gets more fun every day! And what you have probably been waiting for... new pictures of the little munchkin.
