Crib Notes: Month 14

It was the month we've been bracing ourselves for - the kid turned mobile. It was bound to happen at some point, and I think we've been pretty lucky that Park waited this long to seek out independence. It started with a scoot on his bottom and kind of a hop with his legs crossed (not something the physical therapist was really happy about). Now he digs in his heels and really gets going. But as of Friday, he's officially a crawler. A belly crawler.

In our effort to help Park develop his gross motor skills, he's also developed a pretty impressive six-pack for a 14-month-old. As he's been learning how to sit from laying down, we've been trying to encourage him to roll to his side to push up. Park would have none of that. He has always preferred to just do a big ab crunch to get from laying on his back to sitting up. All his hard work has paid off. He's now quick to sit and is thoroughly enjoying this new trick at nap time. It's hilarious to walk by his room and see him just sitting there in his crib and staring at the door. Next up, pulling up to stand.

In addition to being mobile, we have transitioned the munchkin to the adult bath tub in an attempt to get him more comfortable around a swimming pool. He's terrified of pools, but was also growing out of his little inflatable tub, so we had hoped having more room to splash around would help. We tested it out last week at the north Y and I'm happy to report that it was a much better experience. While he's not lining up for the high dive, he didn't mind getting wet or even getting close to the shallow end. Baby steps.

We also finally introduced Park to ice cream. I know, child abuse. But honestly, he prefers broccoli over birthday cake so we saw no rush to push the sweets. And our hunch was right on. He had more fun practicing with the spoon and getting the ice cream in his hair than actually eating it. I guess the sweet tooth hasn't popped through the gums yet.

Here are just a few photos from the last month. If you have time and want to see more, check out Craig's online photo gallery. The password is "Scooting".