Restless crowds and whatnot

Video of "new" sounds is forthcoming -- the problem is actually capturing these things on video. As per usual, the Star doesn't always want to perform when the camera is on. As such, this post will be text-only as we are in the video-production stages (like all good productions, these things take time).

I apologize, only marginally, for the delay in posting, as in the few free hours a day that I have my choices include, among many other things, whether I write a blog post or spend time with Gavin, and he (nearly) always wins out. I've been trying to get Nikki to add posts--shorter, more frequent posts during the week--but she is still on the fence on this one. She's a bit hesitant for some reason, but I'll continue to encourage this option.

Beyond those issues, the latest developments with the Bean include his preference for walking on his own. He even pushes your hand away when you try to help him. Great! Right? The result of this new found independence is the perpetual state of heart attack this "freedom" induces in two parents who have to remain ever so close to prevent him from smashing his head in the ground as, despite his independence and desires to walk on his own, he is still a bit wobbly (a bit top heavy). And why is it that every time he falls he always goes head first? He is like the inversion of the cat--rather than landing on his feet every time, he always lands on one side or the other of his forehead. Luckily, like one of his parents, he is very hard-headed.

We have also started to see some improvements in his speaking abilities--developing new sounds and repeating particular utterances in relation to certain desires. And while these things are steps in the right direction, it still takes a fairly sophisticated parental-level of deciphering to make sense of what the 5 "ba" uses are and how in one setting they mean ball, another bus, another "Bah!", and so on. But this language acquisition, while frustrating at times, is very exciting stuff. For example, in the past two to three days, he has picked up "happy"--and while it isn't quite perfect yet, he is getting every so close to getting it out right.

And perhaps the most significant improvement lately has been in the sleeping area. We have had more good nights than bad nights lately. I would even go as far to say that on a couple of nights we were almost rested! This is huge as it has been at least 13 months since we found a few nights of consistent, good sleep. Hopefully, as he gets more settled into our new home here and more comfortable in his routine that things in this area will continue to improve.