We are on the move...and I owe Mike dinner

That's right we are moving! WAIT...no, not what you think. Err--we are still living in the same place and plan to for a while longer (are we ever going to get to grad school--to the land where kitchens abound and toilets don't run?) What I actually meant is that Andrew is crawling! YEP, HE is on the move, quite literally, all over the place--ALL OVER. He actually started little "doggy walk" just two days after he turned 8 months on December 26, and now he is the expert!

At first he did the wobbly, unsure and little "Holy-cow-what-the-heck-am-I-doing" thing as he would amble directly into walls (like a mini suicidal steam train), bump his head and then look at me as his big eyes welled up with crocodile tears and said, "Mom--how could you let this happen to me?" ("Said" through facial expression and body language, of course). Needless to say this is what has spurred me into a "mover" phase as well. Yes, yes I do let Andrew bump a little here and bonk a bit there for the sake of learning how this all works, BUT I have to be near him! Especially as he seems to find great pleasure in taunting me with the idea of ramming himself into sharp coffee table corners or picking up little bits of gross or chokable (that have somehow eluded the vacuum cleaner-TWICE)and try them out as a mid-morning snack.

It is getting a bit better though, I mean I am a little surprised at how quickly Andrew is picking things up (no, not just the fuzz on the floor). He has now been crawling for about a week and a half and he has already figured out how to climb the first few stairs (nearly giving me a heart attack--we will be buying a baby gate now), and how to pull himself into a standing position using the couch or, his personal favorite and my personal hate it, sharp cornered coffee table. As you can imagine this recent talent has also produced some battle wounds such as a few scrapes across the face, a bump on the back of his head and a very sad looking bruise above his eye. But the good thing (or the bad thing, I'm not sure yet)about Andrew is that he is a very easy going little boy and he stays upset from the bumps and bruises for about .5 seconds and then he is off for a new adventure. Great resolve but Mom notices a little daring streak in there which makes her a little nervous. (Please don't be one of those kids that wears a superman cape and tries to fly down a flight of stairs!)

Anyway, we are definitely on the move here at the West household and it is a lot of fun. Plus a great way for me to burn those holiday calories (one of my new resolutions is to be more positive). I have attached some video footage of Andrew showing off his new antics at the bottom of this post.

The last thing about this whole experience is that, much to me chagrin, I now owe Mike dinner. See, we had a bet about when Andrew would begin crawling and my guess was the first week in January and his guess...the last week of December. So, Mike, I have swallowed my pride and you win. The deal is that I now have to find a restaurant we haven't tried and take him to it. Any suggestions?? I know he likes sea food and Indian food.

Here is Andrew Crawling:


This is a funny little video of Andrew in his Johnny Jump-up. He has never really got into the whole bounce aspect of it, but that hasn't stopped him from having fun. This clip is pretty short but it shows how Andrew likes to run around instead of jump and I find it pretty cute!