11 months old

Thomas and I went to Wisconsin this week to visit Mom and Dad. What a great time we had! Mom and Dad really enjoyed Thomas, the leaves were at the peak of their color, the air was a gorgeous 70, and Thomas got to play with Dominic! We went to Legacy Chocolate where I stocked up on truffles (don't tell Matthew-- "Chocolate? What chocolate, Matthew?"), visited the cute country store Grain Bin where they were unfortunately out of their famous cinnamon buns, and went to Acoustic Café where we met John, Alayne, Michelle, and Dominic for lunch. It was a big, noisy table and so nice to see everyone again!

This week Thomas waved bye-bye! He did a proper bye-bye wave on the third try, which was in Wisconsin, after three months of me waving his arm for him. After that, Mom and Dad reinforced it by waving to him throughout the day. I was so excited! To see three months of practice suddenly gel! I knew he really got it when he started waving to me while nursing in the dark. Now he waves to Paul and Judy in Pat the Bunny, to me in the rearview mirror, and to who knows what when he's standing, staring off into the distance with a thoughtful expression. It's almost like it's his first word -- in sign language. After this weekend, I've seen a lot more signs of language acquisition, perhaps because I'm seeing him with new eyes. When I say, "Where's your ball, Thomas?" he'll stop what he's doing and crawl around looking for it! He also seems to understand the process of "bath" and he's been so much more cooperative during the diaper-changing process (knock on wood, long may it continue). For the past few diaper changes, he (after a few false starts) lies on his back without twisting or crawling away and even puts one leg down so I can fasten the diaper on that side! I'm praying that this is the New Deal!



I think I have the hang of his new eating habit. The trick is to give him milk and then eat food in front of him an hour or two later. I have been offering him food before milk, halfway through milk, after milk, and every half hour after that, but he is only interested in food when there's someone else eating AND an hour or two after milk. He turns his face away with his nose in the air otherwise. Today he ate an eighth of a pear, some toast, and for dinner a potato-carrot-cauliflower-seaweed mash. I was giving him food off my plate because he ate everything off his! His appetite also seems to come in waves ... every couple of days, he'll eat a lot (for him).


Well, Matthew is finished with his Mexico--Toledo trip, but now he's in Las Vegas with his pilot union until late Sunday. I'm jealous because I am remembering what a good time Michelle and I had, back in the day before children. Oh well, we'll get back there someday. He's staying at the Planet Hollywood which is right next to Paris and its delicious boulangeries! Yum yum! Can't wait until we see him again. And can't wait until Mom and Dad come down! Only a couple of weeks to go!