Kyler and Jeanette: A Dozen Months!

(Also know as one year!)

So, I wrote a birthday post, but how about a general update on Craig the last three months? (I've been working on this for a while. It'll only go through his birthday, though. Too bad.) I know that grandparents will enjoy it, at least, so let's proceed.

We have a majorly efficient crawler. Seriously, he is quick. And he's got great form: it's perfect. He's so good at crawling, we wonder when he will decide to walk. It'll probably be (at first) a much less efficient way to travel.
A hazard of learning to crawl?

Getting stuck. Poor kid.

Since he is crawling so well, Craig can get into just about anything.

Sometimes that's a good thing, like getting into his toys and being able to entertain himself.

Sometimes it's a pretty neutral thing, like when he gets into the pantry and pulls out the potatoes while I'm making dinner - even though the recipe doesn't call for potatoes.

Or when he pulls mixing bowls out to play with.

Or when he discovers his sisters broom and wants to sweep with it, but since he can't free stand, he can't.

Sometimes his ability to move and get into things is a not-so-good thing.

Like when he finds the one single crayon we forgot to put away and then has a blue-green diaper the next day.

Or when he pulls my parsley off the window sill and tries to eat it. At least it is edible?

The mohawk still rocks, but Craig is getting more and more hair, so soon it probably won't be very obvious.

Nonetheless, it'll still be way awesome when he dresses up as a punk rocker for Halloween.

Calista took this picture. Not too bad, eh?

I mean, come on: the kid has a natural mohawk! What else are we going to do?

He can pull himself up now (obviously!).

The first place Craig pulled up was on the stairs - he loves to climb up the stairs, or just about anything else.

Sometimes he gets stuck on the stairs, and rather than rescue him, I take a picture.

You weren't trying to keep me away from the stairs with this stuff, were you? It's not working very well if you were...

He's not always so great at getting back down them, however. He insists on trying to go down head first, which needless to say, makes Momma a bit anxious...

As I said in his 9 month post, he was sleeping like a champ... and then the was sick and teething at the same time, and life hasn't been the same since. Sigh.

But he is still so cute when he sleeps!

We're working on it, slowly but surely.

He fell asleep amid the commotion of a family gathering, so his eldest cousin imitated him.

He started sleeping decently much better than Calista did, and still isn't any worse than she was, but somehow having a decent night's sleep, only to have it stolen away from me later, makes this seem almost more cruel. Eh. He'll get there again.

Asleep on the go, cracker still in hand

He and Calista are sleeping in the same room, though, giving us a dedicated play room. I love it!

They usually are really good together.

Calista adores Craig and will be protective of him if other people try to talk to him - that's my baby!

And he loves her, too, and is thrilled when she plays with him and pays attention to him.

Calista is the best way to keep him entertained in the car, and vise versa,

which can be a problem if Craig is sleeping and Calista wants to be entertained by him, but most of the time it's okay.

I love watching them together, and try not to interfere too much...

unless there's a chance of someone, like, getting hurt or something.

Craig isn't speaking any real words yet, but he loves to babble.

His favorite "word" to say seems to be something that sounds like, "I do." If only he said it in context! (Who wants some snack? I do!)

He is also getting a little better about his separation anxiety.

The last time he was left with someone who isn't Mom or Dad, he didn't scream the whole time! He whined a bit, searched for us, and cried when a little girl a month older than he is hit him on the head - which totally doesn't count!

Maybe someday soon I won't feel horribly bad (for the babysitter) if I leave him!

Craig also loves the cat.

She... sometimes likes him, sometime tolerates him...

...and sometimes bites him. But not too hard.

He got to enjoy his first summer quite a bit.

We went to spray parks,

regular parks,

for walks,

visiting with cousins,

the zoo,

playing in the pool...

We did it all!
He loved the pool, though not so much the slide.

He doesn't really like the ones at the park, either.

But playing with toys on it is fun!

Just like Calista, he loves to play piano. If sitting down at the piano can't fix a broken Craig, we know there is nothing that can except time.