No Eggs, Nuts, or Shellfish

We just got back from the doctor - 21 pounds, 6 ounces and just about 28 inches long. Dexter is doing great. The doctor said we could start him on table scraps (I think "people food" is actually what she said) as long as it was soft and in small bits so he couldn't choke. No eggs, nuts, or shellfish until 1 year. So we stopped for burritos on our way home and Dexy had Mexican rice and beans with his mashed mango for lunch. We might pay the price in poops but he loved it!

The Zoo

On Wednesday, Ben took Dexter on his first trip to the Brookfield Zoo. Dexter totally loved seeing the large, furry animals - especially the brown bears, polar bears, gorillas, giraffes, and antelopes. Anything that was large and active was entertaining to Dexter. Ben reports that he was the happiest monkey at the zoo.

Up and Down

Ben prefers this version. My Bologna is a perfect "straight man" to Dexter's goofball. I can't believe how calm My Bologna is with those little hands so close!

Ooopsie Daisy

In my opinion, learning to fall is one of life's important lessons. I want to make sure Dexter doesn't let fear of falling prevent him from reaching for what he wants.

Big Sloppy Wet Ones and Other New Means of Expression

Dexter loves to give big, open mouthed, drolly kisses on the face, especially after a bottle. He also loves to have a little face to face verbal "conversation" at these times. Sounds with consonants include ma, da, ba, ga, and pa. He's also continuing to explore his range of squeals, grunts, hums, and clicks. This week he has begun to clap his hands and, on occassion, will do it in response to someone else doing it and saying, "clap hands". When it comes to mobility, he wants to stand more than anything else and is getting pretty good at balancing on his feet. On the ground he continues to roll everywhere and, in the past couple of days, has shown promising signs of actually crawling - he can get his knees under him and stay on all fours but hasn't figured out that he can coordinate his arms and legs to move around. He either propels himself forward onto his face or straightens one leg putting weight on his foot and then ends up toppling over sideways. He still can't get himself to a sitting position when he's lying on the floor. He does some serious abdominal crunches but usually ends up raising his arms and squawking to be helped up.

Festival of Cherry Puffs

Increasing the Odds

The more puffs Dexter gets onto his face, the higher the odds that one will eventually get into his mouth.