Aurick turned ten months on the seventh of August, one day before Daddy turned forty-one.
As I type he is beside me, sitting in his high chair. We just got the chair last week and he loves it. It makes it possible for him to sit high and see everyone in the room. Since he is endlessly nosy about what everyone is up to, this is a very preferred vantage point for him.
He is chewing on a couple of crackers, occasionally mumbling at me through the crumbs, perhaps telling me all I should include in this monthly update, or perhaps just reminding me that he’s here and that I ought to turn and look at him. When I do, he smiles a gummy smile full of cracker crumbs. He has no teeth, and his smiles still retain that charming babyness that will vanish the moment the teeth poke through transform him into something approaching toddlerhood.
On my opposite side is Beatrice; she is, I think it safe to say, Aurick’s very favorite sibling at the moment, perhaps because she is so small and so bouncy and makes the funniest noises. She and he are playing peek-a-boo around me, laughing and laughing, and Beatrice stops to breathe and say, “Oh, Baby, you’re so funny!” He babbles back, probably saying the same thing to her. Then they both sit back in their chairs and watch one another eat crackers.
Aurick’s nine-month doctor visit was last week. At it I was told what I already have been saying for months–that he is behind on his gross motor skills and ahead on his social skills. I even told the doctor at his six-month visit that he would probably be a late mover. He was following too many of Clive’s patterns, and Clive was ahead and behind in the same way. So here we are at ten months and we are completely immobile–unless you count scooting around in circles when he’s on his belly–if you set him down and come back, he’s always right where you left him. He loves to scrunchy-face and wave at people, and if you holler at someone he will holler back. When the kids say “Hi!” to him, he will “hi” them in return. Or, at least, he will make as approximate a sound as he can in return.
He loves to use his hand to make funny babbling sounds with his mouth, but he likes it better when he can use my hand to do the same thing. It’s more effective that way. He laughs a lot. Of course, he fusses a lot, too. Almost as much as Beadie does when she’s stealing someone’s shoes and can’t walk in them properly.
His eyes are officially “Clivey-Brown”. He loves to jump and is a solid fan of the Johnny Jump Up. He will, however, fuss at Ephraim when he’s in it as Ephraim will nearly always take him out of it if he does so.
Like Eldore was, he’s only interested in his pacifier when he’s ready to take a nap–otherwise he won’t have anything to do with it. He’s a pretty good sleeper, considering we’re far behind the curve due to his being in our room for so long. I have tried to adjust his schedule so he can move into the girls’ room. So far that has been about 75% successful. I still have to start him out for the night in our room, then move him over once Beatrice is asleep. If I don’t, she will laugh and talk and squeal at him and then he will cry because he should have gone to sleep some time before, but couldn’t.
Sometimes when I transfer him to the girls’ room he stays asleep, and then he will sleep about 11 hrs total in the night. But most of the time he wakes up and I nurse him, because he will be angry if I don’t. I am not totally happy about this. The reason I went ahead and moved him is to officially wean him at night so that we don’t have extra trouble when I wean him completely in a few months. Hopefully I am able to fix the “Beadie-Problem” so I can put him down for the night in there. Otherwise I may have to move him to the boys’ room, as they may be better at being quiet when the baby is trying to go to sleep. Slightly.
Thirza Peevey says
He’s the first one in whom I really see a lot of your dad. There is a lot of Frank in his eyes, I think. I really see it in the high chair picture.