i caught a hamburglar

and what a little ham he is!

but he's not just a ham! he's a little stinker, too... gettin' into everything he possibly can!

he keeps me on my toes, that's for sure!... especially when he is on his!

all i have to do is turn my head for a few seconds, and i'll turn back to find him standing, having pulled himself up by grabbing onto furniture or something. then he usually just gives me that look that says "what?... so what, i'm standing? what-a-ya gonna do about it?" if it's not that, then he's squealing/screeching in sheer delight at his accomplishment and new view!


and last week, for the first time,
he CRUISED!
i did not know what that baby term even meant, until a link to this chart was e-mailed to me when he turned seven months old. each week, i get an e-mail from baby center that updates me on what my baby will probably be doing in the week ahead per what the average baby does.


well, that's how i learned that when it comes to certain things, this guy is NOT the average! he's blazing right on past the normal milestone markers and has decided he's gonna do things his own way! i knew we were in trouble when, before he turned six months, he started pulling himself up to stand using the spindles of his crib when he was supposed to be sleeping... the little snot! *wink*


of course, i'm proud of him! and i realize there might be people who would say, "he needs to learn to develop his crawling skills before he learns to walk, because he will need to learn coordination." but to those people i would say, "i hear you. but... let me just say, i've seen him crawl... he seems to have it down pretty solid. and even after he learns to walk, i'm sure he'll continue to crawl. plus, every baby is different. so i'm not too concerned. i figure, i'm gonna be chasin' him to watch out for him if he's only crawling, anyway. so i don't mind doing the same because he's cruising or walking early. in fact, why not get it over with? the sooner he learns and perfects those two things, the sooner he won't need as much supervision. mind you, it's not that i'm encouraging him. he just wants to do it on his own! in fact, if i try to sit him down to play with a toy, he'll have nothing of it!
*sigh*
{i guess i'm hoping he'll develop the skills that come from playing with learning toys later on.}


okay...
so here's the part where i treat this post like a page in a baby scrapbook and record milestones brag about my son {even though i don't really have bragging rights, as his rate of development has little to do with me}. here's what the chart says should most likely happen for my seven-month-old from now until when he is a year old...

~7 months~

mastered skills:

sits without support { √... was doing so at about 5 mo.}

drags objects toward himself { √... started this around 6 mo.}

emerging skills:

lunges forward or starts crawling { √... started lunging/rocking at about 6 mo., officially crawled at 6 mo., 3 wks.}

jabbers or combines syllables { √... he's doing so at the moment, actually}

advanced skills:

waves goodbye {not yet... but workin' on it}

stands while holding onto something { √... was doing this before he even hit 6 mo.}

bangs objects together { √... just started}

begins to understand object permanence { √... i think he's started this... not sure}

~8 months~

mastered skills:

says "mama" or "dada" to parents, but isn't specific

{ √... was saying mama at about 4.5 mo., usually when hungry {{and yes, that one i did train him on}}

he started saying dada at about 6 mo., but is only just now using it in association with dad}

passes objects from hand to hand { √... i don't recall when that started}

emerging skills:

stands while holding onto something { √ }

advanced skills:

pulls self to standing { √... he started this at almost 6 mo., he's got crazy strong legs!}

cruises { √... started last week just after hitting 7 mo., but it's a slow process when he does}

picks things up with thumb-finger pincer grasp { √... it still needs to be finessed, but he's doing it!}

indicates wants with gestures {little bit}

~9 months~

mastered skills:

stands while holding onto something { √... see above}

jabbers or combines syllables { √ }

understands object permanence { √ }

emerging skills:

cruises while holding onto furniture { √ }

drinks from a sippy cup { √... just started}

eats with fingers { √... just started}

bangs objects together { √... started that today... and i sort of taught him that one}

advanced skills:

says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent { √... although, tonight, he called mr. b. mama, but he usually gets it}

~10 months~

mastered skills:

waves goodbye {workin' on that... almost there!}

picks things up with pincer grasp { √ }

crawls well, with belly off the ground { √... that was the case the first time he crawled, in fact}

emerging skills:

indicates wants with gestures { √... has been for several weeks... still rather rudimentary, though}

~11 months~

mastered skills:

says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent { √... still fine-tuning that one}

cruises { √ }

emerging skills:

understands "no" and simple instructions { √ for the first, and he only understands a couple simple instructions}

advanced skills:

stoops from standing position {well, no, not yet... but he can stoop from the standing-while-holding-on position very well}

~12 months~

mastered skills:

imitates others' activities {not mastered, but has begun}

indicates wants with gestures { √ }

emerging skills:

says one word besides "mama" or "dada" { √... he says the word "more"!... and i'm currently teaching him "please".

of course, his pronunciation needs work.}


okay... i know i don't actually have bragging rights. if i thought i did, then what i said above about thinking every kid is different wouldn't be true. but i really believe that's the case, and that those varying rates of development are not any indication of genius or lack thereof. i've seen it first-hand with the babies of others i know. at some point, they all catch up or slow down to be on the same playing field... or should i say playground? still... if he keeps this up, i'm hoping he'll be able to learn song and dance just so he'll be able to keep us entertained these next four months after he's conquered everything else.
*giggle*


if anything, while i am proud of isaac, i'm also a bit reluctant to "allow" him to keep changing... hahaha... as if i have any say in the matter. but you know what i mean. he just changes so much, so fast, i feel like i'll miss out on so much. every time i grow delightfully accustom to one stage or phase, he's just about on to another.


oh, and get this! i almost forgot to mention... he just got his first toofer!!!... his bottom-right front tooth. can you see it poked out of his gum here?

there have been lots of other little firsts, too. like his first bruise... yes, he tumbled forward while climbing around. ouchy... right on his forehead. poor little guy. he also got his first cut... still don't know what it was that sliced the skin on his thumb, because i looked around to find what it could have been, but did not find anything. and it happened while i was sitting with him on the ground. just goes to show... you can be watching them, being careful, and things will still happen.


i can say this. whatever this kid ends up doing as an adult, i have a feeling it will involve being very physically active! {we're still holding out for a player on the chicago bears and an orchestra conductor.}


well, all this to say, it should come as no surprise that i have not blogged in over a week and have taken very few photos {other than these}. everyone told me this would be a very busy stage {once he began crawling}, but, my, oh my! i did not know just how busy.


and on top of it, i've been under such a fog... just not quite myself. don't get me wrong... i am soooo enjoying isaac. but i'm just so out of it in every other way. i think it partly has to do with the fact that there are so many whacky things going on in my life right now. but i'll survive.


 in fact, i'm thinking... very soon, i may begin to start to feel like my old self again. you see, at seven months old, this little jail-break has FINALLY begun to sleep through the night. we're talkin' between eight to twelve hours! maybe, just maybe, mr. b and i will now sleep more than three or four hours at a time. i think our internal clocks got so used to waking every few hours for so many months, now we just wake up whether we need to or not! so we are still draggin' quite a bit. i did not know the human body could go so long with so little and such broken up sleep. it's odd... isaac is sleeping more, and as a result, has boundless energy... fuel to crawl, climb and cruise to heart's content.
but me?
T.I.R.E.D


but all i can say is this...
look at this peanut.

hands down, he's worth it!


happy weekend to you all!
thank you for all the sweet comments on my last couple of posts!
i will try my best to pay a return visit to each of you.
but as you can see... i might not get around to it for another year or two.
=)