Midsummer

Silas is having a great midsummer.  He crawls like a demon now, steaming towards the cat fountain at unbelievable speeds (we actually MOVED the cat fountain into the hallway so the living room is much more babyproof, but he found it).  He pulls up on everything and is very stable standing up with just 1 hand for support, or no hands, if he's leaning against something.  He seems to be even more enthused about eating than he was before, especially if we're serving broccoli.  (What??! My kid adores broccoli? It's true!  And he feeds himself!)  He suddenly started babbling a little while ago, going from occasional fuzzy use of consonants to constant "bababababa" and some more interesting combinations.  He's such a fun kid, and still cuter than you can believe.  We got him his first pair of shoes - little baby Crocs - for use at the playground because even though I am a huge believer in bare feet, sometimes wood chips aren't great for small toes.  Silas has "made friends" (read: we have made friends) with a little 8 month old boy who lives across the street (read: his mother), and they play next to each other while we chat and exchange notes about parenting.  It's been fun meeting up with them and they introduced us to a playground in the Peabody Terrace complex that actually has structures for babies Silas's age - stuff to pull up on, tiny little ledges only inches off the ground to "climb", knobs to turn, etc.

Now that Silas is so totally mobile, we get these special heart-stopping little moments when he chooses to come back to us.  A few nights ago, he crawled into my lap and laid his head down and rested for a full 30 seconds while I stroked his hair (he actually has hair now!).  Sometimes he crawls into my lap during the day and asks to nurse.  Sometimes he goes over to Brian's feet and hugs his legs if he gets a bit scared.  And recently he's started resting his head on our shoulders when we carry him.  I'm so glad he's curious and fearless and busy out in the world, but it's also a relief to feel like he knows who we are.

He still sleeps terribly (usually up 6 times per night these days), but we are actually getting some help from a consultant and hopefully there will be some changes soon.