Not too much has happened lately. Paul II's tooth is still growing and it looks so weird to see this little canine sticking out of an otherwise toothless mouth. But it did get Paul I and I talking about the tooth fairy and how much to give. While I used to get a quarter, or later fifty cents, Paul received a dollar. Wow, his tooth fairy was pretty generous. So we decided we'll give a silver dollar for each tooth and have our son save them.

Paul II did discover another feature of his Exersaucer. It's a big play area he sits in and he can rock and bounce while he plays with the toys. But until today, he never bounced. We pressed on it a few times to give him the idea, but he didn't catch on. But today he finally understood and had a blast. We think it may be, because my husband adjusted the height properly. He bounced and slammed that thing around. It was great. The more excitedly he bounced, he would slap his hands on the toy tray and start to squeal with a HUGE grin.

Two days ago I watched our friends 11 months old daughter. It was very different than dealing with Paul II. While he stayed around his play area and slowly crawled to a few places, Emily grabbed the couch and sidled over and tried to walk everywhere. I was not prepared and had to keep running to move her elsewhere.

I'm looking forward to when our son can walk as well, but I'm also not looking forward to it, now that I know my days of a low maitenance baby will be over. Oh well.

We also started to play patty-cake the other day. Paul II just sits and lets me tap his hands, but when I'm done, he throws his hands up and down and slaps mine when I put them on his lap. It's so cute.

He also crawled farther today. Paul I sat across the room by the computer and called our son to him. Until now, Paul II has just gone where he wanted, but he went to Daddy and we were so excited.

Well, Paul II has made some New Year's resolutions and kept them. He's better than his father and I. Yesterday morning, Paul I came running into our bedroom and woke me up. It turns out our son sat up, but neither of us saw it. Paul I had set the baby down to play and was off doing something else. Then when he sat back down, he saw the baby sitting. It took him a moment to realize he hadn't propped him. So of course when I watched him all day yesterday and today, he didn't do it again.

He also crawled. That we did see. Now that he knows how to crawl, he won't stop. It's so frustrating, but also so funny. I've been working on jigsaw puzzles next to his play blanket, so I'm still near him, yet I can keep occupied. Well, he has decided he really likes my puzzle and wants to help me by mixing up the pieces I haven't put in yet. What a sweet boy. So now, I turn him with his butt towards me and place him at the opposite end of his blanket, but he seems to crawl to me awfully quick, too quick for me to get much done.

It was really cute. I went to prep our son's bottle and my husband tried to get him to crawl to him. He put Paul II's little stuffed tiger in front of him to motivate the baby, but to no avail. I kept telling him to put out his water bottle which the baby was enthralled with earlier. But no, Daddy wasn't going to listen, he stuck with the tiger. Finally I had the bottle ready and placed it in front of Paul II. Guess what? That little demon went flying towards it. You know, I think he fully understands the concept of the bottle.

Also, he kept one more resolution. He broke his first tooth finally. Now of course, our son isn't normal. A normal baby pops out the two bottom front teeth first. Not our son. No, he pops out his top right canine. So now he's growing a little vampire fang. But I still love him.

I am so tempted tonight, if Paul II cries a little around 11pm, to get him up, dress him up in his little tuxedo and take a few pictures. Then dress him back in his night clothes and put him back to bed. But I know that won't happen. So I'll wait until he wakes up tomorrow to dress him in his tux. It'll be so cute.

I am so proud of the little darling. He crawled today. Not very far and not very fast, but he finally crawled! He was enamored with the DVD remote, so I placed it a little farther away and he crawled to it. Paul I and I were so excited. I figured out the blanket I throw on the floor is holding him back. It slides with him on the hardwood floor, so he doesn't get any traction to move forward. After New Years we'll finally get a rug for the living room so I can stop putting down big play blankets and let him have an area he can develop his crawling. I can't wait.

Well, I tried the Zwiebach toast again today. I was watching Paul pick up all his toys and shove them in his mouth, one by one. After each one he'd make a face, like they just didn't taste all that great. Figures, when I give him the biscuit, he looks at me and it, as if to say, "What the heck do I do with this?" Figures. But he did much better with trying to eat it. Of course I had to hold it again and he still moves his head back and forth between gumming it. But he moved his mouth to it more and a little more rapidly than before. Even though the first bite or two he made a very disgusted face. The stuff actually isn't too bad, just plain. I had to hold it in my mouth while I opened the door for hubby and had a quick taste.

Of course, when I wasn't looking, hubby said Paul II picked it up a few times and tasted it himself. What a good boy. He's also getting better with his solids at supper time. He doesn't fight me, except for maybe the first bite now. Even then that's not that often and he'll just open his mouth for the food. I've been letting him grab the spoon and help me guide it into his mouth, so he gets involved and a little practice as well. Tonight he tried Vegetable Chicken dinner and ate a nice portion. Tomorrow we'll finish it and his green beans off.

We're also trying to get him to walk. I know that's insane, but I'll deal with his mobility as it comes. I just want him to progress well. A few times I and Paul I have lifted his arms and shifted him in a walking movement. He doesn't know what we're doing, but he smiles a lot and that's good at least.

We've also been doing a few sit-ups. I pull him up and have him do 20 sit-ups. I'm hoping he'll gain some muscle memory and be able to sit up on his own soon.

I was very proud today, when he scooted a little. He knocked one of his balls across the floor and jerked and pushed himself forward to reach it. He did such a wonderful job. Maybe he'll crawl finally. He's such a great boy.

I swear that little bugger is driving me nuts! Paul II still isn't mobile, he just kind of shifts and shimmies around. But he's getting better at the shimmy. Must have been all the "Shimmy, shimmy, shake, shake" I had him dance. I figured it would be safe to work on a jigsaw a step or two away from his play blanket in the living room. It takes a bit, but eventually I see this little hand grasping the frame of the puzzle. Then I have to move him back again. And boy does he hate that. He tells me a thing or two for not letting him break up my puzzle. Of course, I won't learn and keep the puzzle there. I'll just keep moving him back. I also like it to encourage him to crawl.

I'm such a stupid mother. At night, when he's sideways in his crib, I move him back the right way and fix his blanket. But the other night, I moved him too soon. He was still a little awake. So I froze like a deer in the headlights and hoped he wouldn't see me. His head started to turn and I remembered I had his blanket in hand. So I had a real clever idea. I held up the blanket in front of me. That way he wouldn't see me. After a minute I realized how dense that was. Okay, so his visuals skills aren't the most developed yet, but I think he'll notice if a blanket is hanging in the air. So I tucked him in real quick and hightailed it out the door. Well, I won't try that one again.