Dax's Journal

Traveling man

Dax has no idea but tomorrow he will be going on a grand adventure.

We are flying to Colorado to visit family and friends and it will be Dax's first time on a plane. Let's all take a moment and pray that he LOVES to fly.

He's feeling a bit under the weather. He's cutting a tooth and he has a little virus. I'm hoping he's feeling a whole lot better by the time we see anyone because I don't want people thinking that we've spawned some sort of demon whose bellows are capable of raising the dead.

Now that Dax is walking, he's decided that climbing might be his next goal. He likes to climb inside of his toy bin. Is it just me or do you also think that a child with a mountain of toys upon which to climb is just the teensiest bit spoiled?

Here he is as King of the Mountain.

We'll be updating soon with tales of his travels and loads of pictures of him playing with his cousins.

Walking man

Yesterday, when I went to pick up Dax from daycare, Camden's mommy looked at me with wide eyes and exclaimed, "I can't believe Dax is walking already!"

Um.....pardon?

That's when his teacher, Melissa, chimed in and informed me that he'd been "walking all over the place".

For a couple of weeks or so, Dax has been able to take several steps unassisted. He's also more than able to walk for long distances holding on to just a single parental finger (more for moral support than physical support). But we've not seen him take more than six steps at a time.

I was so excited to get him home. I imagined Cat and I watching our little one walking hither and fro, leaving terrified kitties in his wake.

Not so much. When I got him home? Well, he apparently decided that our floor was made of molten lava and that touching it with any part of his body would be seriously detrimental to his health. He became a little lemur, clinging to me as if his very life depended on it.

Today at daycare they tried to get him to repeat yesterday's performance. Anyone who knows Dax should not be surprised by this. He has inherited *someone's* stubbornness gene. If you want him to do something, he won't. If you don't want him to? He will. So as they all cajoled him to walk, he averted his eyes and busied himself with whatever was closest to him.

"I can't hear you. I'm very busy with this block, you see."

Tonight Cat and I got him to walk back and forth between us. He did pretty well considering that he tends to get overly excited and bouncy and giggly and that does not good walking make.

As I am writing this, Cat is in the other room working out. So of course Dax has been walking back and forth between the coffee table and his toys, from the magazine rack to the table, from the chair to the coffee table. Here, there, and everywhere. I'm busily typing so perhaps he thinks he's not being watched.

We're going to be taking Dax on his first airline flight in nine days. We're having a mini family reunion in Colorado. I figure a few days hanging out with his three cousins ought to get him moving.

God help us.

Yep. Tooth.

I was right. Dax has his first tooth. He's not too keen on showing it off. In fact, he's absolutely sick of me trying to pry his mouth open to either look at his tooth or to prove the existence of said tooth to anyone who happens by. But it's in there.

In fact, you can hear it clanging against the glasses of water that he insists on sharing with us.

In other news, Dax is practicing walking. He's mastered cruising around the furniture and walking around holding onto our hands. Sometimes he even manages a few steps on his own. Today he set a new record of six steps before falling down. Most of the time he starts laughing and then falls. I think he may be laughing at our reaction. We hoot and clap and make a big to do of it. Almost as if he had just found cure for Cancer rather than taking a few staggering Frankenbaby steps. But, you know. It's a big deal to us.

Dax has also been waving bye-bye and stretching his arms up high above his head when we ask, "How big is baby?" Thiiiiiiiis big! He's also become quite the little snuggle bug. He gives great big hugs and often will press his forehead to yours before rewarding you with a giant, sloppy kiss.

I'm so in love with this kid.

Tooth

I know I've said this about a bajillion times before but....

I think Dax is getting his first tooth. No, really. I can feel something sorta sharp in there and I think I spied the edge of one breaking through earlier tonight when he was loudly expressing his displeasure over having his face washed.

This week flew by. Monday was a holiday, of course, so no work. And today I took off because it is my birthday. So it was a whopping three day week for me. Woohoo!

Speaking of the holiday...we had a most excellent time. Our cool neighbor, Becky, coordinated a block party complete with food, fireworks, and a bouncy house. It was loads of fun. Dax did not enjoy the loud fireworks but he thought the sparklers were pretty cool. Even this one that wasn't even lit.

10 months

Dax turned 10 months old yesterday. According to Babycenter (remember them?):

"Watch out for the flying sippy cup! Mealtimes are increasingly messy affairs. All this throwing isn't a sign of bad behavior, though. Many babies this age purposely drop objects for someone to pick up. By observing the reactions of people around him (Mommy groans and stoops to pick up the cup) your baby is learning about cause and effect and discovering his own influence on the world around him. Try to humor him in his efforts. When you get tired of retrieving fallen objects, diverting his attention is your best bet."

This is pretty accurate as I have already been pelted by a spoon, a bell, a pen, and the phone today. He's got a good arm.

Dax had a checkup the other day. He's very healthy and he didn't even cry when they pricked his finger for a blood sample. He's gotten leaner now that he's mobile. He weighs just over 18 pounds and he's about 27 inches long. That puts him in the 10 percentile for weight so he's just a little peanut.

He can now stand for a short time without holding onto anything. Sometimes he attempts a couple of frankenbaby steps before falling down. I'm torn between being excited because walking is just around the corner and being mortified that my baby is growing up so fast.