So big!!!!!!!

I can't believe it, but we've got a big milestone coming up in a few days! Yup, Robin's almost O-N-E! In fact, this will be the last post before the big birthday. It's hard to believe a whole year has passed already. Poor Dean is already mourning the loss of his FMLA time.

Robin is going to be walking on his own very soon. He's got a big truck pushtoy that he can easily walk behind, and he's getting very good at walking while holding our hands. His balance and endurance seem to improve every day, and he's even walked while just holding ONE of our hands a few times! He has also managed to stay standing for a few seconds without holding onto anything.

In-out-in-out, on-off-on-off, open-closed-open-closed...

Robin is learning these concepts and more, by repeating the actions while I narrate (over... and over again.) He'll spend several happy minutes opening and closing a door, putting toys into a bucket (or trash can *sigh,* or I even managed to get him to help me put his clean socks in his drawer) and pulling them out again, turning the radio on and off, and putting the stacking rings together and taking them apart.

He's a boy, all right. Robin has killed his first spider. The other day we saw him suddenly chase after something and saw a small dark spot moving around the floor away from him. I tried to pick him up so the spider wouldn't bite him if he caught it, but he stuck his finger out and squished it before I got him away!

Our latest trip to the zoo was, by far, the most exciting for all involved. Robin is now able to actually see the animals and pay attention to them (provided they're moving) and he got really excited by all that there was to see at the zoo. We loved watching him squeal and shriek and point.

Waving is now part of Robin's repertoire, and he's added the sign for "more" as well, though he doesn't use it near as much as "milk."  He can grasp his hands with his fingers interlaced too.  Apart from "mama" and "dada" (which often get lost in the other babble,) we have yet to hear any definite words, although he says "nah-nah" when he wants to eat. We have no idea where that came from, but it's consistent enough that we're sure of its meaning. We also think he might be trying to say "night-night" (ni-ni) when we put him down to bed. 

He can hug now, and often does so to stuffed animals and us when asked to.

We have allowed some sugar into his diet now. 
...mmmm...
chocolate!..

Using a spoon by himself is slow going, but occasionally something makes it into his mouth.

This is what happens when Mommy lets Robin play with a ballpoint pen and doesn't realize that it's not retracted.

Robin really likes the pirate Halloween decoration we put up in our stairwell every year.

Another trip to the park.

Check back soon for an update on the big FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!

New car seat

We've traded in the easy-to-carry, (comparitively) light infant carseat for a new "convertible" one. He's outgrown the old one, both in height and weight, but since he's under a year he still needs to be rear-facing. The new one is a BEAST! It currently weighs more than Robin does and can support him rear-facing to 35 pounds (he's allowed to flip around after a year AND 20 pounds, but it's safer to keep him rear-facing for longer) and forward-facing up to 65 pounds. So he'll be a really big boy by the time he outgrows THIS one!

Last time in the old carseat

Now in the new carseat

We went to the firestation so they could help us make sure we were installing the new one correctly, and then Robin got to see a firetruck, and they gave him his own firehat as well.

In other news, this last weekend Robin learned to put a ring on his stacking rings!

And today he figured out that after he pulls the magnets off the fridge, he can put them back on again and they stick! He's also got four teeth now, he cut the top two a little more than a week ago. They took a lot longer than I expected them to (since we'd seen them beginning to protrude into his gums quite a while back,) though I've heard from several other people with kids that the top ones take longer.

It's been chilly these last few days, so here he is, all bundled up. Isn't he a cutie??!!!!

Off we're gonna shuffle, Shuffle off to Buffalo!

Yes! Our trip. I'm just now getting photos sorted.

As I mentioned earlier, my mom's aunt went to a consignment store and picked up a pack-n-play for us, since there was nowhere to rent one nearby. So we stopped at their house before heading to Nana's, for some visiting and to pick it up. Robin got to meet some Great-Great-Aunts and an Uncle. Here is Bob, Doris, and Lorraine, with Robin (of course!)

Snuggling with Great Nana

Robin was a bit perplexed by the glass-topped coffee table.

Our biggest outing of the vacation was Robin's first visit to Niagara Falls. We saw lots of water. Lots and lots of water. Robin was rather mesmerized by all of the water.

Robin sees the bird

Hanging out and having fun

We all had breakfast together at the table, even Robin! Cereal-breaded french toast--ah, the decadence of vacation!

My Aunt Jackie flew out and stopped by while we were in Buffalo. She came out because my cousin Gretchen had a piano recital the last day of our vacation, and she wanted to see it.

Robin wants YOU!

Then on the last day, we all trucked down to Westfield (a little less than an hour-and-a-half away) to see the recital, and the family.

Gretchen is now at Interlocken (sp?), which is a school of music in Michigan, for her senior year of high school. It sounds like after studying there, she ought to have a clear shot at the college of her choice. And well she deserves it, she was really good!

Robin is learning to play the piano too!

Robin with his Great Uncle Matt

Robin with his Great Aunt Darlene

Four generations again. He's grown a lot since the last time we did this!

Lastly, and most entertaining, Robin learned to dance while we were gone. It's really cute! Usually I find these kinds of toys cloying, but I was getting a kick out of Robin's entertainment. (Please don't cringe too much, Aunt Catherine, I've heard you hate this chicken.)

Thanks again, Nana, for having us and for the wonderful visit! We all miss you!

Vroom vroom

Last night, Robin began playing with his Fisher Price telephone like a car, driving it all over the house. He continued this again today, and it has proved to be the most fun toy he's ever played with, judging by the fact that he hasn't clamored for our attention nearly as much while playing with the phone as he usually does. He whines every time it turns off of its wheels, but usually gets it back upright again on his own. The video is a little dark, but you get the idea.

He had pancakes with us this morning! Just a little one, and he tore it to shreds, but he seemed to enjoy it.

He has also recently figured out how doors work. He can't reach the handles, of course, but he'll sit next to an open door, swing it mostly closed, then grab the edge of the door and push it open again. And again, and again.

There's definately a lot more going on in that little head these days. He's so neat to watch!

Oh, and it's a good thing that he hasn't decided to try to get out of his crib on his own yet, because when we went to get him up this morning, we discovered that the crib side had been down all night. Yikes! Thank goodness nothing happened!

Happy Labor Day everybody!

Great Grandmas Galore!

For the last week of August, Robin took his first plane ride to Buffalo, to visit his Great Nana.

But that's not all! The weekend before we left, we went to Colorado Springs to stay the night with Dean's grandma, so Robin saw his Great Grandma Virginia right before Great Nana. Such bounty! Dean's parents and sister came up to Colorado Springs as well, so we all went out to dinner together. We stayed at Virginia's apartment and Del, Cyndy, and Kathy stayed in a hotel room across the hall--Virginia lives in a building that is half apartments and half hotel, so they were able to get the room right across from her. The next day, we swam in the pool and then had Virginia's famous shrimp salad and pear pie for lunch. Dean and I ran off to explore the Garden of the Gods for a few hours after that while the doting grand-and-great-grandparents babysat.

Robin did really well on the plane to Buffalo. He shrieked a few times, but mostly they were happy shrieks with only a few cries. It was really great that we had Grandma Sue and Poppa Jim with us, so Robin had four laps to travel between. And on the first leg of our journey there, the seat next to us was free so we were able to bring his carseat onboard and strap him into the seat. For the second leg, the seat was sold but I think we scared away the man who had it (maybe it was me saying I would nurse him once we were airborne) so we had the space next to us empty again. They'd already checked our carseat at the gate though, so we weren't able to strap him in that time.

Sleep while we were gone was interesting. Robin was, of course, overtired from the trip (the only naps we managed to get him to take on the plane were when he fell asleep while nursing) and then he cried for a long time when we put him to bed because he was in a strange place. That happened for the next two nights (and days, with naps) as well, but each time the crying was shorter. For the second half of the week, he went down to sleep pretty well, although we still didn't have much of a schedule. He slept in a second-hand pack-n-play (playpen) that one of my mom's aunts found at a consignment store in Buffalo. There is nowhere in the greater Buffalo area that rents children's gear and it would've cost us $50 ($25 each way, for the second bag) for us to take our own. So it was cheaper to buy one there than ship ours. Crazy! We were going to consign it back and recoup some of the money, but we decided instead to store it at Nana's house for the next time. This way we'll save ourselves the hassle next time, and once we're done having kids in cribs we'll consign it back.

The trip home was a little bit more interesting. We were behind schedule so rushing a lot, and Robin had a full night's sleep behind him (as opposed to having been awakened 3 hours early, like the first trip) so he was not quite tired enough to sleep on the plane. He was, however, quite cranky by the end. We kept him from screeching by feeding him lots of Cheerios, one after the other. He didn't sleep in the car ride home, either, so after five minutes of nursing back at the house, he was out like a light. I did get him up to eat more solids and nurse once more before his more normal bedtime, just to try to get back on schedule.

So Robin has now been on four airplane rides. He's quite the little flyer!

I'll post more about the trip soon, but just wanted to get this up online. And now I'm going to bed, because just like my son, I'm quite exhausted from traveling. Good night.