As every other parent has done before me, I often find myself saying the phrase, "I can't believe my baby's gotten so big."
Noah surprises me every day by how much he is changing and learning. He is constantly moving now that he has learned to crawl. He investigates everything, and seems to seek out trouble, gravitating toward all the places in the house that mommy hasn't quite baby proofed enough. I can almost see the wheels in his head turning when I tell him "No." He understands me just fine, I know, but often smiles at me and continues on toward his intended target.
The other day we had our first injury. Not a severe one by any means, but enough blood and enough crying to make me cry, too. He caught his finger in a drawer. After the bandaging and the rocking and shushing, he decided to go right back to that drawer and try again to free its contents. I have since found a latch to keep the drawer closed, but that doesn't stop him from trying to open it every time he's in the room.
He is also continually learning, and surprising both Kris and I with his keen observations. Whenever we turn the television off, he points to the black screen and then back at us. He knows we control the television, and it's like he's saying "Fix it."
He has also discovered the joy of chasing the dogs around the house, not a fact that has made Tanis and Thor particularly happy. But we are slowly starting to teach him how to "be soft" and teach them how to either be nice or get out of his way. I have no doubt that they will all be good friends as Noah grows older. The dogs are already starting to show concern from him whenever he cries. In fact, if Noah cries too much, both the dogs start howling at the top of their lungs in complaint. We have caught this phenomenon on tape and plan to post it on YouTube.
With Noah starting to pull up on everything possible, I know it is only a short while before he starts to walk. That thought makes me both excited and a touch sad. This has been one of the fastest years of my entire life. And, of course, one of the best.
