11 Months Old

How are we only a month away from Will's 1st birthday?! Planning is underway already, and we're also busy making the most of the beautiful weather and all that summer has to offer. Will seems to be developing at a break-neck pace now with a verbal explosion as well as tremendous physical development this past month. A dad in our music class, who'd just met Will for the first time that day, said "I've never seen an infant so agile and with such great motor skills. You have an athlete on your hands, no doubt." Just like his daddy!

A few hightlights from the past month:

**Will saw his cousins, Kyle and Cameron, play in a little league game. Go Orioles!**

**We had friends over for a BBQ and the house was filled with tiny friends for Will to hang out with that day. His buddy, Ben, brought over a wagon walker that Will fell in love with- of course we bought him one to help him practice his walking. He's a natural! Check out the video.**

**In addition to walking (and running) with his wagon walker, Will has perfected cruising along the coffee table- not without a few minor injuries- and will stand on his own for a couple seconds at a time. He climbs up onto low pieces of furniture and can get himself back down slowly.**

**I'm amazed at Will's hand-eye coordination, which seems quite advanced for a baby his age. He loves to give a high five, can manipulate tiny things like light switches (he helps by turning lights on and off, and knows the difference), guitar strings, curtain cords, remote controls and cell phones (we've given him old ones to play with), choosing specific foods off his tray and bringing them to his mouth without dropping anything, He even pulls single hairs from a brush! He likes to play with my combs and brushes, and brings them to his own head to comb his fine hair.**

**On June 16th, at 10.5 months, Will said his first word: "hot" (nearly a whisper, emphasis on the "t")! Coincidentally, this was the first word I said and also at 10.5 months--mommy's little guy! The following week, Will added "up", "ball", and "kuh" to his vocabulary. The latter is his command to get Lucy to "come" (we think).**

**With only two bottom teeth for about 4 months now, I think Will is about to start cutting his top teeth. His gums are very swollen and he's extra drooly.**

**Will still loves being read to, but he's taking more initiative with his books and trying to turn the pages on his own, "reads" on his own, and is especially fond of touch and feel books.**

**We're lucky that we have a good sleeper. For about a month, Will was getting up at 5AM for the day, then we started putting him to bed earlier (7PM) which actually makes him sleep later. He still likes to have a paci in his mouth and another in his hand when falling asleep. He typically sleeps 10.5-11 hours at night and 2.5-3 hours during the day.**

**The little guy seems to have his Dad's appetite, and some of his current favorites are string cheese, grapes, turkey meatballs, tofu, honeydew, watermelon, and yogurt.**

Summer in the City

Have I mentioned how much I love living in the city? As a Chicago baby myself, I'm thrilled to be raising a Chicago baby, too, and exposing him to all the great things our city has to offer. While summer technically begins on June 21st, so much of what makes the season great really begins as soon as the temperatures go up (can you blame Chicagoans after our incredibly long winters?!).

Will and I have been out in our BOB stroller walking with Lucy, checking out all the trees as they fill with leaves and the flowers as they bloom, jogging for race training, visiting parks in our neighborhood, and meeting up with friends.

Two weeks ago we took a Mom & Baby Stroller Fitness class with my friend Becky and her adorable 6 wk old son, Sumner. I got to sweat a little, and Will got to take in the sights. The park we worked out in seems to have a great family pool, so we'll have to plan a day there.

Last week we planned to go to the zoo, but since it was nearly 100 degrees we hit the Shedd Aquarium instead. Eight of my mommy friends and their little ones were there, too, and Will loved watching the penguins swim, the dolphins zip around, and the jellyfish special exhibit.

Just yesterday we introduced Will to his first streetfest, one of Mom & Dad's favorite things in a Chicago summer. Ribfest in North Center didn't have too much on the menu that was Will-friendly, but while he nibbled on snacks from the diaper bag we enjoyed some ribs, pulled pork, and beer. A fine summer day indeed!

10 Months Old

Happy 10 months, baby boy! It was quite a challenge to get Will to sit still for any photos this month, so I can only imagine what 11 and 12 months will be like for us. He's too interested in everything around him to be stationary for very long! We've just begun planning his 1st birthday party and have already been enjoying a fun-filled summer.

Will crawled immediately over to the bookcase, where he promptly pulled himself up, when I first tried to put him in his little chair. He just loves this bookcase, as well as the one in his bedroom. I hope that he grows up loving books as much as his parents and grandparents do.

He was really done with pictures at this point.

A few highlights from the month:

**Will starts each day with greeting the birdies in their house . He loves to listen to us whistle for the birds, and will watch them through the clear plastic side, pull them out of the hole in the top, and put them back inside.**

**I've been working on teaching Will some functional sign language for a few months now, and he's just becoming more responsive to signs for eat and drink. As always, banging on his high chair tray is his preferred method to communicate "more". **

**Also on the communication front, I'm beginning to suspect that he has said his first word! Will says "baba" and moves his mouth as though drinking from his bottle when he gets up in the morning and occasionally when he sees his bottle.**

**We've been working on the concept of opposites: up and down, on and off, hot and cold, inside and outside. His favorite is on and off since he gets to flip the bathroom light switch over and over again. **

**Will's little friend, Vita Mia, just turned 1 and has been struggling with Cystic Fibrosis since birth. Vita's family and friends, including Mommy and Will, participated in fundraising for research and walking a 5 mile course in late May. **

**Uncle Pat babysat for Will while Mom & Dad went out to celebrate Andrew's 37th birthday at GT Fish & Oyster.**

**Aunt Traci invited us to join the Knudson's for a childrens' play "Dot and Ziggy" at Victory Gardens Theater. Will seemed to really enjoy it, as did all of his cousins! See Will stealing a kiss from Katie below- I think we'll have our hands full with our little ladies' man. **

**The biggest event in Will's 10th month was Mom & Dad's first vacation alone. Actually, this was the first time I'd been away from Will for more than a few hours. We spent a long weekend in Napa and San Francisco, visiting wineries, catching up with friends, and missing Will. The little guy spent 4 fun-filled days with Grama, Grampa, Auntie Colleen, and his cousins, Kyle and Cameron. They went to the park, Aquababies, for walks, and from what I'm told, Will was a good boy for his loving family. I couldn't wait to get home and see my little boy. Even though I knew my mom was taking wonderful care of him, and I wasn't worried at all, I missed his sweet smiles and giggles and tucking him in at night.**

9 Months Old

A few highlights from the past month:

**We've learned some new "party tricks"! Will now waves hello and goodbye, very enthusiastically, and will often say "iiiiii" while doing so. His first attempt at "hi!", which is so exciting.**

** He's consistently pulling himself up to a standing position while holding onto furniture, toys, or his parents, and he's quite steady on his feet.**


**First visit to Shedd Aquarium! The colorful fishies and coral reef captured his attention, so we took him out of his stroller for a better view. As the fish swam past him, Will would turn and look at me as if to say "did you see that?!" - I think as soon as he's old enough he'll be Daddy's diving buddy.**

**Will's first Easter! The family kicked off the Easter Holiday with egg coloring at Aunt Traci's house. Will's big boy cousin's were old pros, but Will and June seemed to have fun watching their mommies color for them!**

**Easter Dinner was at Grammy and Dzia Dzia's house, and the afternoon included an egg hunt in the backyard.**



**We attempted a family trip to the Cubs game on Aunt Emily's birthday, but the game was rained out. Will was a big hit with the crowds at Bernie's and Murphy's, though! I guess these days it's ok to have a baby in a bar. **


**As expected at this age, Will has begun testing boundaries. While he understands what "no" means, he doesn't always choose to listen. Outlets, cords, and anything electronic mesmerize him. It's a good thing we babyproofed the house already!**

**The family celebrated Grama's 60th Birthday with dinner at Wildfire. Will sat at the head of the table and kept his adoring family members entertained.**

The Other Serafins

While Will is a pretty amazing kid, he's not raising himself, and there are actually two other Serafins living in this house! You know, the ones who feed him, dress him, kiss him a few hundred times a day, tickle his feet, read him stories, sing him songs, etc.

I'm not sure if anyone is interested in what "The Others" are up to, or if the Will-centric blog is preferred, but I thought you might want to know what Andrew and I have been doing lately. Since I plan to print the blog to add onto Will's baby book, it seems like it might be a nice addition for him to have one day, too. From time to time, I'll update you on what the big people around here are doing.

With summer on the horizon, Andrew is getting ready for race season. He plans on running a half marathon with a large group of friends just a few days after his 37th birthday (a few short weeks from now), and will compete in at least 3 triathlons. I'm making my return to triathlon this summer, too. It's been a few years, so I'm not sure I'll be in the race shape I was in way back when, but I'm excited to have a reason to train. I'll be doing a tri in June, and then possibly another in August. I've also registered for the Chicago Half Marathon in September. It will be my first, and I hope only to finish without completely embarrassing myself...how's that for a goal?

Our social lives are certainly a lot more limited than pre-Will, but we still get out a fair share. Andrew has been going to a lot of Bulls games (we had partial season tickets this year, and they are going to the playoffs!), and now that baseball season has started, we'll be heading to Wrigley for games as often as possible.

Work is, well, work. Andrew puts in long days here and there, and I have the greatest job I can imagine- spending my days with Will! There are times I miss the adult interaction of working outside the home, as well as sitting at a desk instead of on the floor, eating a real lunch instead of shoveling something into my mouth quickly, and seeing the end result of my hard work. Still, I'd rather be here with my 17 pound work in progress. He pays me in gummy kisses, sleepy hugs, unsolicited smiles, and belly laughs. It's the biggest paycheck I've ever earned.

8 Months Old

March has been a month of milestones for Will! I'm simultaneously bursting with pride and feeling a little sad over how quickly he's progressing through infancy. He's an amazing little guy (every parent says this, right?), and I love seeing how he changes literally every day now.

A few highlights from the past month:

**We started teaching Will needs-based sign language. So far it's limited to "more", "eat", and "water". He hasn't started signing back yet, but he seems to understand "more" now- hopefully he'll begin signing instead of aggressively smacking his high chair tray :) **

**Will figured out how to get to a sitting position from his tummy, can sit unassisted, pulls himself up to standing, and can crawl around quite capably on both carpet and hardwood! There's no stopping him now!**

**We had Will's first real injury...bleeding and lots of crying. While trying to master all of his new moves, he had some slips. I guess it comes with the territory of gaining mobility and being a little boy, but I doubt I'll ever get used to hearing his the sound of his "hurt-cry". I think he recovered before I did.**

**Will has both of his bottom front teeth now. They've broken through and are still making their way out, so you have to wait for a big laugh from Will to get a real look at the chompers.**

**Eating is still the highlight of Will's day, and he's on all fruits and veggies now, as well as finger foods (diced banana, mango, pear, fruit puffs, blueberries, wheat toast, rice cakes). He mastered the pincer grasp this month and can get pretty much anything on his high chair tray into his mouth- including a sippy cup with water.**

**I've been waiting for Will to shift from screeches and giggles into consonant sounds, and it happened this past month. He very consistently says "nanana" and "mamama", and less often "bababababa". The latter usually is a result of mimicking me.**

"I need a break. I think I'm gonna step down."

"Almost there..."

"Hi, Mom. Oh, am I supposed to be in the chair?"

"Uh, I can stand, but climbing back in isn't really in my skill set yet."

"My legs might be skinny, but they sure are strong!"

Chomperwatch 2011

We were convinced that Will would be one of those babies to pop out a tooth quite early. He was showing all the signs: excessive drooling, putting everything in sight right into his mouth. I even checked my baby book to find out when I popped out my first tooth (6.5 months, for the record, and I got a second two weeks later). We have the pediatrician check his gums each time we're there. Nada.

Until today!!

Sitting in his high chair this morning, screaming at me for more tiny chunks of banana to jam in his mouth, I spotted it! A little white speck poking out of his bottom gum. I started screaming ("YAY!" "BIG BOY!") and he stopped screaming to stare at me like I'm a complete loon. He let me get a good look and feel, and sure enough, the bottom right tooth is starting to break through, and from the looks of his gums the bottom left is coming right behind it.

It may be hard to believe, but I'm pretty certain he'll be even cuter with two little teeth in that gummy smile :)