First Steps Lead To First Blood

Yup. You got it folks.

MAGNUS WALKS!!!

However, this is not some fairytale story.

It begins yesterday when Magnus and I (Karen) got back home from the gym. Once we were in the door, I sat Magnus down and gave him his sippy cup, and then I went to the kitchen to make my protein shake (like I always do). I was in mid shake when I turned to look at him. I thought he would have been sitting on the floor by the door drinking his water. But no! He was standing up, cup in both hands, taking tiny tentative steps towards the kitchen. My heart stopped! My jaw dropped! I sucked in a breath! And I watched my not-quite-one-year-old walk for the first time. Sniff sniff. It was one of the most amazing feelings I have ever felt. :)

So, like every enthusiastic new parent, I turned to find my camera / phone. A second later I heard a feral cry, so I ran to my son. He had made it a few more steps but had obviously fallen. I picked him up and tried to console him, to no avail. So I looked at his face and that's when I saw blood in his mouth! I sat him on the counter, pulled off my t-shirt and started wiping his lips (thank goodness it was an old red gym shirt!). He kept crying and crying, and I had a hard time figuring out where the blood was coming from. I tried to give him his sippy cup to rinse the water out but he screamed at it and pushed it away. Finally I could see that he had cut his upper lip, poor thing. Maybe it was the cup, or maybe it was his new sharp teeth. We will never know, but he ended up with quite the fat lip.

Needless to say, he had a great nap a short time later!

A few hours later, Matt came home early to work from home. He was in the dining room working away and I had Magnus with me in the kitchen. I wasn't sure if he'd be up for trying to walk again, but I gave it a shot. He had totally forgotten about his lip and took a few happy steps towards me. I called out, "Matt! Matt! Matt" and he jumped out of his chair to watch. Matt then grabbed the camera and was able to capture Magnus's third and fourth attempts at walking. I apologize that you have to turn your head for this first one. It's so easy to forget cameras don't have accelerometers like phones do!

So, yes, we have moved into our new home, and we are elated and exhausted. More to follow on that (mis)adventure.

Magnus Is 11 Months Old!

Karen here.

On October 1st, Magnus turned 11 months old. And every day brings new surprises. He crawls about his room (where all the books are constantly strewn across the floor) looking for the perfect book. Then when he finds it, he looks me straight in the eye, holds the book up in the air above his head and waves it at me. Obviously, he wanted me to read it to him. So I started asking him to give the book which he now happily does. But if backfired. We sit in his room together and read the same book over and over and over and over and over and over and... You get the picture. I love that he loves his books. But geez. Learn to read already!

Besides his fascination with books, he is still exploring the larger world, making new discoveries every day. Here he figured out how to maneuver his little body to be able to open a cupboard.

He has always loved to be chased, but now he likes to be chased either to the closet, or the bathroom or his room where he can shut the door on you, giggling all the while.

Needless to say, he still gets frustrated because not everything comes easy peasy. And we somehow let him get into a habit of whining when he doesn't get his way (at the dinner table is the absolute MOST annoying!).

However, once he gets something down, he's a natural. :)

So, admittedly, we ARE proud parents, discussing his new feats on a daily basis. Matt said just the other day, "You know, the book said that he MAY be perfecting his pincer grip these days. But didn't he do that weeks ago?". So cute, right? Well, proud we may be, just like every other set of new parents. But we have a right to be. HE STANDS!!!

AND HE WALKS!!! (well, almost)