Cruz has changed a ton this past month and is into everything under the sun. He beelines to electrical sockets, cords, the oven, the floor vents, and pretty much everything else he isn't supposed to touch for safety reasons. Chase and I have decided to somewhat baby-proof the house for safety, but more importantly we are trying to "house-proof "Cruz so when he goes out into the world (non-baby-proofed places) he isn't destroying other people's stuff:). Here are some things that I am LOVING for this stage--the stage of constant curiosity and movement!
Baby Gates- We have a playroom that we have blocked off with baby gates. We also have 2 flights of stairs in our house so this is pretty important, especially since he has a walker.
Padded Mat-We have had this for a while but it has just started to become important. We have wood floors throughout the entire main level and the kid bonks his head at least 10 times a day. When he is playing on his mat it doesn't seem to hurt his as bad:).
Push Toy- I think this is going to really help him with walking. He can't quite do it on his own yet but he's getting there. He can pull himself up and I just have to hold the toy to make sure he doesn't face plant if it slides forward too quickly. I think it has helped him develop more coordination, stability, and confidence (he LOVES when he is getting praise for taking steps!).
Blocks- He likes to bang these together, throw them across the room, bite them, and he likes when I stack them up and he gets to knock them over. Typical boy!
Tom's Toothpaste with Gum Brush- Ok, I know a lot of people don't brush their babies teeth with toothpaste but I have to. He has 5 (almost 6) teeth and is eating a lot of solids and I think it's important to get him used to the idea of brushing twice a day. I don't put a ton of toothpaste on but this particular one is safe for babies as young as 6 months old so I'm going for it! He loves the gum brush that comes with it better than his baby toothbrush so we've been using that. I got mine at Whole Foods.
Finger Foods- He is getting so good at eating finger foods and I LOVE it. I am almost done with feeding him purees because it's just too messy and he likes to feed himself anyway. I am lucky because he is a great eater, so I don't have to worry about him not eating enough if I give him food to eat on his own. Here are some of the finger foods he's been eating (all in very small pieces of course): watermelon, honeydew melon, banana, mango, ground turkey, ground chicken, apple, pears, puffs, sweet potato, broccoli, and cauliflower. He has tried pretty much everything in puree form but these are the finger foods we've introduced him to recently.
Zeke- Cruz absolutely loves his "doggy". He climbs all over him, pulls his hair, gives him kisses, and laughs hysterically at Zeke when he's in the back of our car panting right over Cruz's carseat. The feeling is definitely mutual despite Zeke getting attacked with Cruz's death grip and drool:).
Curiosity-Everyone said once they go mobile your life gets a lot harder. For some reason, I like this stage. I like seeing the curiosity and I'm just really glad he isn't frustrated that he can't move anymore (he was REALLY fussy for a while right before he started crawling). He loves to discover new things, figure out how things work, and he still likes to look at things from ALL angles before deciding if he likes it or not. Cruz is very very inquisitive and is getting more so the older he gets. He is also loving to climb and stand every chance he gets. If we are on the floor with him we are human jungle gyms. If we are standing up he is pulling himself up to stand on our legs. He is moving a ton and loving this new freedom!
Talking/Understanding- Unfortunately, I haven't really taught him signs. I wanted to in the beginning but I just wasn't consistent enough. Although, he can't sign or talk, he is much more vocal at this stage than any other. He understands a lot of what we say to him {i.e. "are you hungry?", "would you like some juice?", "would you like some more?", "could you hold this for me, please?" "are you ready for night nights?"}. He still says da-da and mama and plays peek-a-boo. He likes to hide under a blanket or shirt and then we say, "where's Cruz?". When he lifts the blanket off we yell, "peek-a-boo", and he goes crazy for it! The game would last all day if we let it:)
