Havin' a crawl

Happy Labor Day! I don't really understand what this holiday is all about, because my understanding of "labor day" has something to do with me making my Mama yell in pain for a long time. And as far as I can tell, she wasn't yelling in pain today.

Anyway, I picked today to be the day I start crawling for real. If you remember, I've been getting up on my hands and knees and rocking back and forth. That was just the warm-up, to make sure I have my balance and full control of all four limbs. Now I'm feeling pretty confident about how this whole thing works, so I decided to start taking steps. I'm a bit wobbly and I go much faster if I pull myself on my belly, but I think with a bit of practice this crawling thing will work out pretty well. After all, Mama and Daddy can crawl really fast! I'll be catching up with them soon.

I've also been futzing around with my napping schedule, and I think I may have finally gotten rid of one of my naps! I haven't quite nailed down when I'm taking the other two, but I'll settle into a new routine eventually. For now, I take one at 8:30 AM and the other around 12:30 PM. I start acting really tired around 11:30 (when I used to take my second nap), but if Mama puts me down I babble and yell until she gets me for lunch. The problem with this schedule right now is that I get really tired in the afternoon but I won't take a nap (I used to take one at 3 PM). By the time dinner, bath and bedtime comes, I'm a pretty cranky guy. Mama is hoping that we can move both naps a little later in the day so that I won't be so tired in the afternoon.

I'm also eating a lot. Mama and Daddy aren't sure if I'm just a very hungry boy, or if I don't know enough to stop eating when I'm full. I like to play with my food and they think that I might just like putting it into my mouth, regardless of whether or not I'm hungry. If they put a pile of finger food in front of me, I will keep putting it into my mouth until my cheeks are full. And then I'll try to stuff more into my mouth anyway, even though there's no room. They asked the Dude about it, and he said to stop feeding me when I start getting distracted. And only one piece of finger food at a time! That's no fun at all.

I'm eating three solid meals a day, and have just started eating two snacks a day too! I was getting really cranky around 10:30 and 3:00, even though I get the milk-drug when I wake up from my naps at 10 and 2. I'd jam my fists into my mouth and try to suck on or bite every part of Mama I could reach. When I started trying to chew on the floor, Mama finally got the hint that I'm hungry! Goodness, woman, took you long enough! So now she gives me a little snack in addition to the milk-drug.

Speaking of the milk-drug, I think I'm finally starting to get over my addiction. I used to jones for a fix every 2 hours, but now I'm down to a 4x-a-day habit. I still need it to kick-start the day and to help me settle down for the night, but now I'm a pretty big fan of eating food to get my energy throughout the day. Mama is so proud of me, but I can tell she's a little sad too. It's OK though, I'll still find time to climb all over her, pull on her hair and face, kick her, pinch her belly, and dig into her collarbone with my fingertips.

So those are the things I've been up to. How about you?