Naked Baby Dance

I meant to include a picture of the naked baby dance in the blog below. But since I forgot, I thought I'd give it its own blog.

This is what Leo likes to do before bath time. He loves to be naked and he loves to dance. There are more pictures but I don't want to post them and risk being under investigation (or the object of hatred from my child when he's a teenager).

Leo's been here eight months

Leo's into:
Crawling!
Clapping
Saying "Mama" and "Dada" but not necessarily to the right people
Banging on things
Playing with all the toys he got for Christmas (including a drum which helps with the banging)
Playing with things that aren't toys (like beer cans, the trash can, shoes and the rug)
Eating books, having books read to him
Climbing on things, including people
Doing the naked dance
Listening to his CD of songs with his name in them ("Let's pretend, Leo!" and "Leo, I think you're special")
Um, did I mention crawling? Gotta go!

On the move

If Leo could talk I'm pretty sure he'd quote Dr. Martin Luther King today:

"Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last!"

I'm starting with the man in the mirror

Leo, meet Santa. Santa, meet Leo.

Leo experienced a range of emotions while meeting Santa for the first time today:

Confusion: Who is this old man and why are we dressed alike?

Fear: Wait. I don't think I know this guy. And I don't think I like him!

Determination: Well if he gets to hold me and take a picture with me, I'm gonna take some of this white stuff off his face.

Satisfaction: Score! I got some of the white stuff! I'm so gonna eat it. Take that, Santa.

Sometimes friends fight

It started out fun...

...still playing nice...

...later, Leo would say that John started it but as you can see, Leo provoked John...
...and John fought back:

Please hold your applause until after this video

Cuddly Bear

Leo likes the cold weather so much, he is going to be bummed when he learns it's only like this a few days a year:

How do ya like them apples?

Apparently, not at all. This was Leo when I tried to give him apples. After one bite he refused to open his mouth:


I mean, the kid likes peas, carrots, squash and sweet potatoes. I was actually saving apples because I thought he'd like them so much that he'd never go back to veggies.

After he wouldn't eat the apples, I gave him peas and he gobbled them up as if I let him skip dinner and go to dessert.

Who doesn't like apples? And it's actually apple sauce which is even better! I should know; I ate the rest of 'em. His reaction to that? "Fine, mommy. You eat my apples. I'll eat my socks."

Leo's been here seven months

(and one day).

Besides sprouting a few hairs on his head, here are the other mature things Leo does:

• He sits all by himself
• Gets up on all fours and rocks
• Eats carrots, peas, squash and sweet potatoes and is eager to try fruit or just about anything on our plates
• He talks about things like "blah blah blah" and "dah dah dah" and "mah mah mah"
• He laughs when we tickle him under his chin (or really, just when we put Aquaphor on his neck and he thinks we're tickling him)
• He's interested in everything, wants to grab stuff and put it in his mouth
• He drools a lot but we haven't seen any signs of teeth
• Just this past week he seemed to notice a difference between mommy and daddy and everyone else
• He still spits up and now it's colored.

Here's what Leo likes:

• Books about hippos
• Eating books (about hippos or otherwise)
• Eating mommy's hair
• Eating mommy's glasses
• Eating his own socks
• Eating food
• Playing with Edison, the alphabet catepillar (Thanks, Charlie and Colman!)
• Listening to mommy talk on the phone
• Using daddy as a jungle gym
• Riding in one of his four strollers
• Being held while walking around (don't even think about sitting)!
• Songs that involve someone touching his feet like Over the River and Through the Woods, the part that goes "It stings the toes and bites the nose.."
• Playing peekaboo