Walter: funny, smart, single

I'm writing kind of a ridiculous magnum opus entry for Walt's 7 to 8 month transition, but I have a few quick stories I've got to share before I lose them.

Walter is hilarious. Usually when he gets home from day care he sees me and gets kinda frantic about wanting to nurse ... very serious about it.  But the other day Sean handed Walt to me and he was simultaneously hungry and jovial and kinda feisty.  He grabbed my shirt by the collar with his teeth and pulled it away from my chest a bit, then looked up at me with a funny smile and a gleam in his eye, totally amused with himself.  We laughed and laughed.

Yesterday he was gesturing wildly with a teething ring while on the changing table.  The changing table is also often a place of heartfelt, desperate crying ... so serious.  So while Sean changed him, put lotion on his eczema and got him into his pjs, I tried to distract him.  When the teething ring flew by my face I pretended to try and bite it.  Baby giggles.  I continued to try to catch the teether with my teeth while he gestured with it in his hand, and after a short time he started offering the teether to me, putting it right up to my mouth.  I'd pretend to gnaw on it and he'd laugh hysterically, and then put it in his mouth.  Then offer it to me and repeat.

He got a mouthful of my hair and made this great "Blech!" face, and then leaned back to see if I'd seen what happened.  More hysterical laughter.  The greatness of a laugh fest is always slightly diminished by the inevitable hiccups, but only slightly.

Tonight, Walter meticulously stacked his (soft, cloth) blocks in the corner of his play yard, pulled himself up to standing, lifted his foot and attempted to climb out. The blocks didn't work, so he rearranged them and tried again. Then he leaned down, grabbed a block in each hand and stood up again ... no hands holding on to the sides of the play yard! He didn't stay up for very long, but it was pretty great.  And, you know, terrifying. 


Sean took Walt to his first swimming lesson at the Y last week, and reported that Walter stared and stared at the girls and women at the pool.  "He's either interested in girls or interested in girls' swimsuits," Sean said. I got to go with them this week (AMAZING! Swim swim swim little baby!) and saw for myself that Walter oggles, I mean absolutely oggles, the women and girls at the pool.  Shameless!  Or maybe just hungry.