The biggest change in the last month is that Moriarty is now pulling up on everything. All the time. He's cruising around on furniture. He's using the foot stool as a walk-assist because it slides. It's awesome. But it also means the next level of baby proofing. Doors must be shut. Plants are not safe. Many shelves had to be cleared otherwise he'd just knock everything off them when we weren't watching.
But with pulling up comes other independence. This weekend he was taking a ridiculously long nap (over 3 hours) and we had to leave for an event so we went to wake him up. I try to avoid waking him, but who could have predicted a 3 hour nap? Well, it turns out he wasn't asleep. He was awake, standing in his crib, he'd pulled the curtains aside and was looking out the window. I have no idea how long he was there but I hope he got to see some squirrels.
His sleep has also become more independent recently. Our bedtime routine involves a nice solids meal, bottle to top him off, brushing his teeth, reading a story, a kiss from Daddy, and bouncing on the yoga ball while I sing a song or two. He's a very compliant tooth brusher, but recently he's been fighting the yoga ball bouncing. I realized he just wanted to be put in his bed so he can go to sleep. He's got this. So, I started trying that and he's gone down without any problems. Most nights he wakes around midnight for another bottle then sleeps until it's time to get up in 7 or so hours. It's kinda heartbreaking that my 11 month old doesn't want bounces and songs anymore, but it's also really exciting that he's growing up. He blew me a kiss today for the first time.
In addition to becoming a higher-reaching destructive force, Moriarty has been chatting up a storm. I'm convinced he's using words, but they're protowords. "ba" for ball, "ah dun" for all done, "pa" for pat (we pat heads a lot), "at" for hat (he wears a hat every day commuting on the bus or taking a family walk), and of course "mama" and maybe "dady". It's happening. It's incredible. I'm still trying to use a lot of sign but he only really uses 'all done' and 'milk' on his own. He talks to himself a lot. Often in the car, when he's playing and I'm doing something else in the room, etc. It's magical.
We did well over the holidays. We visited with Pip's family including his parents, and sister's brood of 3. The twin cousins are also growing and the boys can interact more. Sofia (now 4) LOVES Moriarty sometimes to the point of completely violating his personal space and bodily autonomy. We're working on it.
The hardest part of the month was the mystery of the 10th tooth. He got his first molar and was fine until it was about halfway in and then the drool cascades started and the fussing in pain. That tooth seems in but he seems very hurt by something in his mouth. So, either it's risidual molar pain or a mysterious tooth about to burst that we can't see. One night we were eating his dinner and he took a bite and started screaming hysterically. Not, I don't want food, but I'm dying Mommy. Water didn't help. Milk didn't help. We just had to hold him for 20-30 minutes until he wound down. We're theorizing that bite did something with the new tooth/teeth causing all the pain. A toothy landmine. It was heart breaking.
Next month all of my relatives are coming. First my dad, sister, and brother from the Baltimore area. Then my brother and his wife and 2 kids from Austin Texas. ALL OF THE FAMILY! It will be the first time the Austin crew meets Moriarty.