How the Tenth Month Went

Dear Zachary,

Your father has this book called The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year that details what we should be expecting regarding your development each month. For this month, it said "Unless your baby is extremely active, [he] won't make many big advances in motor skills this month." To a certain extent, that's true, as you are still just crawling and cruising, but you're definitely even faster, surer, and more daring than last month.

Now that your speed/movement is at like, an 8 (normal human is 6), you are that much closer to your goal of finally being able to unlock various achievements! Based on my observations, your goals seem to be:

1. Lick all the Apple products in the house. With three iPhones, two iPads, two laptops, and one iMac, you certainly have a ways to go. I think you're at four out of eight right now. 
2. Drink out of my water mug instead of your own. I'm not sure why mine is so appealing, especially since the straw isn't nice and soft and chewy silicone like yours, but someone else's is always better, I guess. 
3. Pull the router down off the back of the couch. If anyone is even remotely close to the couch, you will gladly use their leg as a stepping stone to climb up onto the couch so that you can finally destroy that nefarious black box with all the blinking lights. 
4. Play with all the small brown things associated with your brother. Kibble, litter, catnip beaver, fur tumbleweeds -- all of them need to be investigated. Now that you're faster than ever, we've had some close calls. 
5. Get into Daddy's closet to investigate all the tasty treats, namely the cedar block and the dry cleaning bags. 

I suppose it doesn't really help that we make all of those things, with the exception of #3, look really interesting. We do spend a fair amount of time with each of them, whether it be to check email, figure out when you need to nap, hydrating, taking care of Walnut, or deciding what to wear, and you are so, so, incredibly curious. No matter how we try to distract you or set up a barricade around the interesting object, you will not be deterred -- object permanence has set in -- and will continue trying (and crying) to reach that desired object. 

There have been a lot of articles written lately about people suffering from FoMO, or "fear of missing out," and I'm pretty sure you have an acute case. Even if you seem perfectly content playing with your stacking cups, the second I turn my attention elsewhere, you need to check it out too just in case it's more interesting than what you're doing. And if there are lots of people over, then napping/sleeping really turns into a struggle because WAIT WHAT MIGHT ALL THOSE PEOPLE BE DOING WITHOUT ME??? 

I'm not sure where I'm going with all of this, other than to say that I hope one day you turn that indefatigable drive and insatiable curiosity to worthy causes. Maybe you'll make some great scientific discovery (my preference) or become a great athlete (Daddy's preference, although it doesn't look like you're going to be that left-handed relief pitcher since your right hand is emerging as the dominant one), or maybe you'll just be an incredibly faithful family man who does what needs to be done (even better option than the previous two), but at any rate I'm reminded of the worship song that goes "single-minded, whole-hearted, one thing I ask...that I may follow after You all of my days." Hopefully that will be the case for you, and no matter what you grow up to be, I need to remember to be faithful in praying that for you. 

love,

Mommy

Your likes and dislikes basically remain unchanged since last month, so let's just focus on what's new this month:

• Clapping! After lots of examples, guided practice, and then independent practice, you are now an accomplished clapper, which is pretty fun. Even more fun, though, has been seeing you learn when clapping is appropriate. At first you would just do it because we were doing it, but eventually you figured out that clapping comes after an achievement, so you'll clap for other people (like other babies when they have successfully stacked blocks), when you hear someone say "good job," or when you like what someone else is doing. It's pretty heart-warming to see you be so encouraging. We're still working on high-fiving and waving, though.
• Learning to deliberately throw food you don't like on the floor. Before, I never used to be quite sure if you were dropping food because you were just bad at holding onto it, but now I know. You will take the offending zucchini, hold it over the edge of the highchair tray, look me in the eye, and then release it. But slippery little round blueberries have no trouble staying in your hands, so it's pretty obvious when you don't want to eat something. 
• Holding your arms up over your head when you don't want to be picked up. If you're busy playing and we want to -- oh the horrors -- pick you up under your armpits to put some pants on you, you'll raise your arms and just sliiiiide out of our grasp like some elastic, shapeshifting superhero. So smart.
• Growing. You grew out of your infant carseat and have transitioned into the big kid convertible seat and now need to use a "real" stroller when we go out! Curse you for being so freaking long...j/k.
• More teeth! You have four teeth on the top and two on the bottom plus two more just barely poking through the gums. Teething has been pretty hard on your sleep. Short naps and 5AM wakings are not fun.
• Climbing-wise, you can get on top of the plastic bins in your room now, and have tentatively learned to get off the bed and couch legs-first instead of head first. I say tentatively because you've only done it twice starting yesterday, and I'm not yet confident enough to be able to take my eyes off of you. 
• Acting like a cetacean. You love throwing yourself sideways onto piles of pillows like some kind of weird quasi-breach. After you throw yourself into the pillows, you'll squirm around until you've mushed your face into all that glorious textile sensation and then flip over and grin. It's super cute, but it also leaves slobber marks on everything. 
• Splashing in the bath. Around the same time you discovered clapping, you discovered that similar hand motions can move large quantities of water into the air and out of the tub. This brings you great delight but has discouraged your brother from hanging around to watch bath time. 
• "Swimming." After seeing how much fun you had with splashing in a small tub of water, we decided to try you in a larger body of water. The jury's still out, though, on how you feel about being in such a large pool. We've been going once or twice a week this month since it's been so warm, and while you don't cry and are no longer clinging to my neck for dear life, you're also not obviously enjoying yourself. Your favorite part of going to the pool still seems to be the abundance of rubber duckies to chew on. 

• The beginnings of separation anxiety. I was really, really, really hoping you'd be among the minority that doesn't go through this, but it looks like that's not going to be the case. You're still okay with being left in the church nursery, but you have a clear preference for being within two feet of me. Even being held by Daddy isn't good enough when it's book-reading and lullaby-singing time. We'll see how things progress when we go back to school!

Dubious face courtesy of the cold ice in your hands.

How the Ninth Month Went

Dear Zachary,

We have decided that you are the Chris Traeger of babies. Every day, you wake up with a huge smile (probably because you don't have to waste time sleeping anymore) and get going. And once you get going, you just don't stop. As Chris Traeger says, “If I keep my body moving, and my mind occupied at all times, I will avoid falling into a bottomless pit of despair.” (For you, that bottomless pit of despair is nap time.) You have become a ridiculously fast crawler, crawling almost as fast as Mommy and Daddy walk, and you can get into things you're not supposed to two seconds after we turn our backs. The result of this is that we have turned into Mad-Eye Moody: "Constant vigilance!"

So many pictures this month are blurry because you're crawling so fast. 

Not only do you have Chris Traeger's remarkably toned body (for a baby), you are just overwhelmingly positive about almost everything. You spend a significant portion of your awake time with a huge grin on your face and cackling at how funny everything is. Generally you love strangers (knock on wood) and are happy to be left at the church nursery because yaaaayyyy more people and new experiences! You are fine getting into your car seat when we're at home because you know it means going out to see the world, but if we're out at a restaurant or somebody else's home and you need to be buckled in, it's instant sadness because alas, we are leaving all the fun and exciting new things.

Of course, we could just say you're like Dug the Dog from Up ("Hello, I have just met you and I love you!"), but our family policy against dogs doesn't allow me to compare you to one. But we love Parks & Rec, so comparing you to Chris Traeger is acceptable.

I know I said last month that you were getting more and more fun, and that statement still holds true. Your infectious laugh and easy smile have won you the admiration of many random strangers. I feel so blessed that I get to be your mother, and can only thank God that He saw fit to put you in our family. My prayer is that you continue to be a blessing to others even as you grow older, and that you never lose that joy and passion for living.

love,
Mommy

New this month:

• Last month we feared for your life after you learned to crawl and stand, but not to stop and sit back down. After several long weeks of watching your every move and still somehow managing to fail at protecting you from all the corners, walls, edges, and floors in the house (read: every hard surface. Why don't we live in a padded cell like psychiatric wards?), you have finally stopped going to sleep every night looking like you've been in a battle. Now that you can carefully squat back down after standing (and we have moved or covered as many dangerous things as we could), we average only three "I hit something" wails a day, as opposed to thirty. 

• You moved to your own room! I was especially petrified about this since you were still waking three or four times a night, and the thought of trekking down the hallway to get you that many times was unbearable. Thankfully, after a few nights of adjustment, you now only wake up once, usually right before we go to bed, for a quick feeding and then it's back to sleep until 6:30 or 7 am. Hallelujah, God is good. 
• You learned how to scale the Lovesac. Now it's all fun-fun-silly-willy zipping up there and watching Mommy and Daddy rush over to stop you from trying to climb onto the desk from your new vantage point. 
• Finally, drinking water is a thing. I was beginning to worry that you would forever be dependent solely on breastmilk for hydration, as we tried progressively more and more expensive drinking vessels (free shot glass --> IKEA sippy cup --> disposable sippy cup --> Tommee Tippee sippy cup --> $8 Munchkin weighted straw cup finally won). I think the hot weather and your increased activity level helped a lot.
• First time on the swings: we thought you would love it, based on how much you love being swung around in the air by Daddy. Turns out what you loved was the Daddy part, and not the swinging itself, as you were ambivalent at best and slightly freaked out at worst. 

• You have five teeth! Oddly enough, the fifth one to come in was next to your top left tooth, and not on the bottom like all the books say should happen. I am beginning to regret our habit of sticking a finger into your mouth to sooth you when you get angry in the car. 
• We were brave/foolish and took you on your first plane ride! We went to San Diego to celebrate our fifth anniversary and decided to splurge on a luxury hotel. While the plane ride was a breeze (a helpful bachelorette party sitting behind us took it on themselves to play peekaboo with you the whole time), sleeping in a new environment was not. I feel (only slightly) bad for all the rich old retirees who were staying at the US Grant and had to listen to you screaming about the indignities of oh, not being allowed to play with glass and wires, or having to sleep when it's 1 am. It was also the first time we left you with a non-friend/non-family babysitter, but you did just fine and we made it up to you by letting you have some of our Marine Room leftovers the next day. Are we spoiling you by letting you have such high-class experiences on your first vacation? Maybe, but it all evens out in the end because Daddy has decided that such a harrowing experience means you're not traveling again until you're five...just kidding. Sort of.

First plane flight, and you're all prepared with your barf bag!

Making food art on the Grant Grill's nice tablecloth.

New hotel room = endless things to explore.

Making new friends!

Likes: 

• Food: still avocado and blueberries, plus mac& cheese (is there a kid who doesn't like mac&cheese?), potatoes, fresh mozzarella, black beans, and the Marine Room's braised beef cheek. You have good taste, my son. 

• Entropy:  The joys of pulling every book off the shelf and every toy out of the bin have been discovered! It only takes you about three minutes to make your room look like a mess. The best part is that your colorful floor mat works perfectly as camouflage for colorful baby toys, so we are constantly stepping on/tripping over various books, cups, rattles, etc. I guess it's a good thing you have your own room, so it's all mostly contained?

• Toys: this month, the best toys are your IKEA stacking cups (you squeal with excitement when we make towers for you to knock over), the CCHS luggage tag, and the (unopened) tube of California Baby diaper rash cream.

• The ceiling fan: you were so mesmerized when we first turned it on, your head kept circling back and forth trying to follow the blades, and then you fell over while sitting (that hasn't happened in a long time!) because you were so busy looking up. 
• Chatting about new experiences: you've never been one for babbling, but maybe that's just because there wasn't anything worth discussing? We went to SD and suddenly you just would not stop talking! The first hour in the hotel was nonstop "Dab dab dab dab dab dab dab dab dab! Mmmm! Aaaahhhh ehhhh!" 

Dislikes:

• The official worst thing in the world: brushing your teeth. You are generally a cheerful, smiley baby, until we try to stick a bristled torture instrument into your mouth. Then it's full meltdown mode, complete with hysterical screaming, back-arching, and head tossing. Even Baby Einstein videos don't work as distraction, and normally you're mesmerized by screens. Considering the wide variety of items you've stuck into your mouth, I just don't understand what's so bad about a toothbrush. I thought diaper changes last month were bad, but that was nothing compared to this. 
• That's about it! As I said earlier, you are generally a happy, good-natured baby. 

Even when Mommy and Daddy do silly things like put you into the Marine Room bag just to see if you'll fit.

Animals you resemble: 

• A koala: you love clinging to us the way a koala does to a eucalyptus tree. It's really cute how hard you hug, until you start pinching. 
• A raccoon: just like how they like handling their food before eating, you pass your food back and forth from hand to hand, even holding it up to examine it from all angles, before you finally shove it into your mouth. 
• A dog: despite our family's official policy of not believing in dogs, you are all too happy to behave like one: chewing up shoes when you can get them, eating scraps off the floor if you find them, and carrying around toys in your mouth as you crawl around (although your Auntie Emily helpfully points out that this could actually be considered a pirate-with-a-knife type of move). 

• A cat: anything that is specifically meant for you is automatically not interesting, by virtue of us having spent money and/or time in preparing it for you. Toys bought specifically for you? food prepared just for you? Nope, not having any of it. Things that we most want you not to get into, though...those are immensely fascinating. It's uncanny how Walnut knows when an article of black clothing is set down and how you know where the most dangerous objects are. Also like your big brother, you are supremely interested in the contents of his food bowl. Looks like it's time to start putting it up on the counter...

How the Eighth Month Went

Dear Zachary,

I never used to pay much attention to the news. When I was in the sixth grade, I somehow got put into my last-place elective choice, Current Events, and barely earned a C because I couldn't be bothered to keep up with what was going on in the world. Also the only news source in the house was the Wall Street Journal, and I'm sorry, but an 11 year old, no matter how precocious of a reader, isn't going to be digesting much about the stock market. Now, though, it seems I can't help hearing about every single dangerous thing that could happen/has happened to babies, and stories about babies being killed, either accidentally or purposefully, seem to dominate my Facebook news feed (seriously, FB algorithms, you need to get out of my head). Those kinds of things never used to bother me much, but now I inevitably tear up when I read about that poor little ___-month-old who was ____ed so much that he ____ed.

Probably not a helpful thing to reread during this time: World War Z. Many of the stories in that book are heartrending stories (okay, I'm the only one whose heart is being rent) about parents and children, and although the logical T side of me knows that a zombie apocalypse is unlikely, I can't help but waver between 1) wondering if we should replace the sliding glass door in our bedroom with something more solid, 2) worrying that we don't have any axes or other tools that could be used to kill zombies, and 3) thinking that I really should always have at least half a tank of gas and a disaster preparedness kit in my car. Only the last one is a really productive thought. And in reading speculative fanfiction for WWZ, one link led to another and I ended up watching this short film, which reduced me to tears for minutes and stayed with me for a couple of weeks. I couldn't stop alternating between thinking about how I would do anything to keep you from harm, and worrying that I won't be strong enough to do what it takes if the time ever came.

I'm not really sure where I was going with all that, but let me end this month's letter by saying that man, that maternal drive to protect one's babies is strong! It's really hard for me to figure out where the fine line is between letting you crawl around and explore to your heart's content (and bonk your head more than a few times in the process) and holding you back so that you don't get hurt...but then I'm pretty sure that's a lifelong struggle for parents. Here's to hoping I get that balance more or less right in the years to come!

love,
Mommy

This month's updates were written by Daddy:

New this month:

In all the pictures in the previous months, you were simply sitting still or staying put and very content with doing so. How much has changed in the past month as you have begun to not only worm forward but also crawl around like an Olympic crawl sprinter! In the span of two weeks, you decided to transition from being stuck on all fours to sitting up from that position and then crawling in all sorts of directions. This leads to all sorts of problems with naps and sleeping as you want to practice crawling all the time, any chance you get. Because you've gone mobile, we can no longer just leave you in the activity center or on your blanket on your own. We turn to do something for five seconds and you're already halfway across the room looking for trouble.

Two days after you decided to crawl around, you decide to step it up another notch and begin to pull yourself up to try and stand on everything. From our legs to couch cushions, nothing is off limits for you to try and stand. You've even tried to pull yourself up using things that are either too short or too flimsy to support you (this includes a pair of jeans, your toy box, a paper bag, and floor pillows). You even try to stand up in your crib after we put you down. Our only hope is that you tire yourself out after realizing that there's nothing to hold onto.

Fun things you like to do now that you're mobile: 

• Sit up after you've decided to change directions when something else is going on 
• When you see an Apple device, you immediately begin to sprint crawl to wherever it is 
• Try and touch the wall heater when you get into the hallway (responsible adults who are reading this: don't worry, it's been shut off) 
• Pull up to stand using boxes and pretending like you're a bartender 
• Crawl to where you're not supposed to be to grab things you're not supposed to touch, e.g. to the bathroom to touch the trashcan full of used q-tips and floss, to the closet to suck on Daddy's sweaters, to the kitchen to lick flip-flops or tip over the graywater bucket...thankfully you haven't discovered Walnut's litter box yet. 

"What can I say? I aim to misbehave, after all!"

Food:

We are so glad that we decided to go with baby-led weaning, as it makes things so much easier. You've done an amazing job of learning to pick up even tiny pieces of food (blueberries, puffs, rice) and depositing it into your tiny mouth. Your progress has been amazing and you've progressed from when we started in early April with simple foods such as soft apples and pears, to now eating fish cake and bulgogi with us at the Korean restaurant, naan and saag and dal at the Indian restaurant, and homemade gnocchi. This has made eating out so much more enjoyable as a family activity and you love to be included in the festivities. All this eating has also made your BMs a lot more regular with an average of three huge poops per day.

Teeth: 

I'm sorry your teeth have to come in. It's a part of life and it sucks. I wish you were born with a full set of teeth so you didn't have to deal with this pain and itchy gums (Mommy inserts here that she is glad that you weren't born with a full set of teeth). Actually, your first three teeth didn't seem to bother you much, leading to us thinking that this whole teething thing was no big deal, but we seem to be making up for it with this fourth tooth, which has been sprouting with a vengeance. Sadly, it's been keeping you up at night and making you extra chompy while nursing. We hope that the rest of your teeth aren't like this.

Look at those two tiny bottom teeth!

Likes:

• Avocado (you can pound half an avocado + other foods in one meal) and blueberries (such fantastic hand-eye coordination already!), plus the old standby of corn on the cob.
• Making a mess with your food and pounding the high chair when the service isn't fast enough: the messiest foods are definitely avocado, sweet potato, peanut butter, and corn. 
• Moving anywhere: see above. 
• Being thrown up into the air: this is getting harder and harder, though, as you get heavier. We are pleased to announce that all that avocado has finally gotten your weight increasing again and you are now a pleasant twenty pound kettlebell. 

• Destroying towers of blocks or cups: nothing is allowed to stand tall. If it's stacked, it personally offends you and you must go knock it down.
• Your big brother Walnut: whenever you see him, you want to crawl over and grab his fur (Walnut does not like you as much as you like him), his toys are way more fun than yours (you are more interested in his catnip ball than he is), and when he jumps up onto his cat tree you laugh like crazy.   

• Dancing to the Sandra Boynton songs, especially Barnyard Dance and The Bunny Rabbit Show. You make this fantastic face with a huge open smile frozen in place. 
• Making loud noises: whether by banging on the piano, banging on boxes, or whacking those plastic air bags that come in Amazon boxes, the louder it is the better! Thankfully you have not yet discovered the power of your lungs. 

Your box of blankets makes an excellent drum. 

Dislikes:

• Leftovers! Like your daddy, you are not about eating a food after two meals of it. Your mommy went to all the trouble of making a bunch of banana pancakes and meatballs for you for easy meals, but you won't have anything to do with it. Of course, that's Murphy's Law at work. Our meals, though -- those are always interesting! 

I can't have your food?? Whyyyy are you so cruuuuellllll?

• Staying in one place (and this includes your carseat now): you have the patience for about a 15 minute car ride now, after which if you aren't asleep or out, you start screaming 
• Any kind of personal grooming: getting your daggers-for-fingernails clipped, lotion put on post-bath, and let's not even talk about wiping your face after a meal - trying to get you to hold still is one of the hardest things in the world. It's like performing surgery on a turbulent plane.

"Put on a diaper? No way...I'm outta here!"

How the Seventh Month Went

Dear Zachary,

We are fortunate to have many friends with older children who can alternately reassure us that you are developing normally, warn us about impending doom (read: crawling), or sympathize with our lack of progress with sleep training. The one thing they've all said, though, was that things get so much more fun after the six month mark. Unsurprisingly, they're right; you have become such a little character over the last month! I thought you were pretty great (minus the sleeping thing) before, but in this last month it's been like that part in Civilization Revolution when you discover a secret island and there's an explosion of great people...you discovered solid food and suddenly it's been an explosion of new skills and personality.

On the day that you turned six months old, you were sitting on your daddy's lap as he ate a banana and next thing I know, you had grabbed his hand and stuffed the banana into your mouth. Since then, you've been an adventurous little bebbers, trying to participate in every meal, whether we intended on feeding you or not. You know what you want, and what you want is food. Preferrably now, and you'd like to do it yourself, thank you very much. When we are the tiniest bit slow returning dropped food to you, you bang on your tray as if to demand faster service (what can I say, we're a Chinese eatery, and we all know those get minus one or two stars on Yelp for poor service), when we try to help you by feeding you soft, difficult to grasp foods like yogurt or congee, you protest loudly and try to grab the spoon to stick it into your mouth yourself. I feel vaguely like I should be trying to teach you better manners, but it's just so funny seeing you assert yourself.

We celebrated your first Easter this last month and I keep thinking about something I read somewhere, about how that first Holy Saturday just plain sucked for Jesus' disciples. They didn't know, despite numerous hints, that the resurrection was coming. All they knew was that their leader was dead, the revolution didn't happen, and they'd left their jobs and families for what? A tomb?

When I was in the thick of the newborn period with you and waking up every hour to nurse and getting peed on every other diaper change, I didn't really get why people thought babies were so great (sure, you were lovable, but you weren't exactly what I would call my top recreational choice). Now that you're blossoming into your own little person, I'm starting to see the light. Where before I was hopeless and exhausted and wondering if I'd made a huge mistake (cue "The Sound of Silence"), now I'm starting to feel a little more sure of myself as your mother and I'm able to really enjoy you. And through it all, God has been there, whether I felt Him or not, sustaining me so that I can make it through until the proverbial Easter morning.

In some areas of parenting I feel like I've reached the empty tomb and can rejoice (e.g. I don't have to wonder how to play with you or occupy you anymore...the answer is just give you food!), in some areas I'm still in Saturday mode (e.g. sleep training...ugh), and I'm sure there are many more areas where I'm still in the blissful ignorance of Palm Sunday. But I'll just keep meditating on the Easter story and remember that we know about the resurrection now; we know that Jesus has already triumphed. Even when things feel like Saturday, I trust that Sunday is coming. I trust that God has a plan that I just didn't get, despite the hints, and repeat 1 Corinthians 15:55-58.

“O death, where is your victory? 

O death, where is your sting?” 

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Sometimes, amidst the poopy diapers and scraping sweet potato off the floor, being a parent doesn't feel like the work of the Lord, but I know He has entrusted us with the raising of you, and I'll do my best to be steadfast.

love,
Mommy

Likes:

• Food: You are a huge fan of corn on the cob, cantaloupe, banana (you are your daddy's son all right!), pork (like a good Cantonese boy!), and 粥. If you see food on your plate and we don't get it to your tray fast enough, you will start freaking out and even dive toward the food if you can. If there is corn on the table and you are eating something else, you will throw the other stuff onto the floor and hold your hands out toward the corn. It's gotten to the point where we have to hide the corn if we want you to eat anything else during dinner. 
• Going really fast: When your daddy holds you and runs down the hall, or when he pushes you in your stroller super fast across a parking lot, you get this frozen open-mouthed face of joy, like you just can't believe your good luck.  
• TMT, aka 跳舞 Time: You make the same face as above when we swing your around during Sandra Boynton's "Barnyard Dance" song. 
• Pokemon: Best way to get you to crack a smile -- start making Pokemon noises! Your favorite is Diglet; Jigglypuff doesn't do much for you. 
• Your big brother, Walnut: Your eyes light up and you get this huge grin every time you see him walk by, and you will start bouncing in place hoping he comes closer. Should he come within grabbing distance, you will try to grab a big handful of fur and stick it in your mouth. 

So thrilled that you get to sit next to Walnut and stick your hand in his fur...and he's not running away!

The long-suffering cat heaves a huge sigh. 

Look at that expression of unbridled joy, to be so close to your big brother!

So intense, that focused stare. 

And lest you think it was a fluke, here's another picture from a different day, with the exact same expression of longing. 

Dislikes:

• Food: Like a stereotypical kid, you just hate broccoli. It goes on the floor instantly if it's handed to you and you make faces when florets mysteriously find their way into your mouth. 
• Wiping your face after eating: You're not a big complainer in general, unless I'm trying to clean you up. Then it's wild head turning in an attempt to avoid the washcloth. 
• This one teacher at school: You like most of the people at school, but your main babysitter reports that this one English teacher makes you cry, and yet you can't stop looking at him. Maybe it's like when one knows a spider is in the room, so one has to keep track of where it went? Our theory is that he's the only person you've ever seen that has facial hair; looks like you would not enjoy the month of Movember. 

New this month:

• Flipping over instantly during diaper changes: Neck-bridging, while annoying, was still somewhat helpful for when it came time to put your pants back on. But that was so last month. There is nothing remotely helpful about your flipping over. Thankfully, you are fairly easily distracted with a book to play with. 
• First Easter egg hunt: You were the youngest baby there, but we managed to artificially help you find an egg by holding you right in front of it so you could grab at it. 

• First meal at a restaurant: You've been to restaurants before, but this was the first time you actually partook of a meal at one! Sweet Tomatoes was an ideal first choice because there are so many unseasoned options at the salad bar. Your favorite by far was the baked potato; after that potato, you couldn't get enough of it fast enough, and when it crumbled out of your tight little grip, you started crying because there was no more potato in your hand. 

• Speaking of that potato, talking: You used to be a fairly quiet baby, not making much noise unless it was time to sleep. No longer! Something about that potato was a transcendental experience, because ever since that evening, you've been babbling and squealing. You favor the syllable ba, which makes me think your first word will sadly not be "mama."
• Actually playing with another baby at a playdate: You guys took turns patting each other's shoulder, grabbing burp cloths from each other, and trying to suck each other's toes, all punctuated by lots of squealing. It was pretty amusing to watch. 
• First time being put to bed without Mommy or Daddy: We went to the wedding banquet of one of your daddy's good childhood friends, so 爺爺 fed you dinner, gave you a bath, and did your whole bedtime routine. You were so good and went to sleep without a fuss! 
• First costume feature on Mommy's blog: You get all the geek points for having an awesome first cosplay. 

• Rotating on your tummy: It's apparently the precursor to crawling, so I'm scared. Looks like I need to start baby-proofing the house. 
• Finally catching the monkey on your bouncer! Ever since your first time in the bouncer, you've had your eye on that dangling monkey. You keep making swipes at it but it's always been too far and you've been too uncoordinated. Until now! The day you caught the monkey and stuffed it in your mouth, you were so pleased with yourself. 

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED.