Well, we’ve certainly had one of those spurts recently – coincidentally enough, right around his first birthday. It’s getting harder and harder to refer to him as a baby because of how much he’s changing.

The biggest change has been walking. A month or so ago, Maddox took his first steps in (of all places) the bath tub. He took another few the next day, and then that was it. I think of him saying, alright, I know how to do this now, I just need to wait for my body to get the balance down.

Then near the end of last week he decided, ok, I think I’m good! And he started walking everywhere. He still stumbles and falls a lot of course, and he hasn’t learned how to stand up without the support of a couch, wall, etc, but I’m sure that is coming soon. It was really surreal last week when I was in the kitchen making breakfast, and all of the sudden I just see him turn the corner and walk into the kitchen. I’m so proud of him, but even better, he’s so proud of himself – you can just see it in his face when he walks towards you.

At the same time he’s also begun making new sounds, like “ga ga”. He’s said maybe about a dozen words since he first said “da da” six months ago, but recently it’s just been a constant stream of new sounds. He’s also started using emphasis as well. For example, when he finds a crayon he’ll beeline over to his drawing pad saying “dot dot, dot dot” (which is what Jeanne, his daycare provider, has taught him to call it) in what can best be described as an excited whisper. It’s pretty cute.

He’s started imitating more sounds too. The other night, Leanne and I were watching a cartoon where a hawk was swooping down and making a screeching cawing sound. Out of nowhere, Maddox does a dead-on impression of it.

He’s also growing in other ways, such as having stranger anxiety, which is odd to get used to since it was so non-existant until now.

Right after his birthday, we moved his crib into the bedroom that was eventually going to be his when he was old enough for a bed.

So, there’s been quite a lot of change for The Duke recently! The Duke has been Mad’s nickname ever since he started crawling. He reminded me of Marmaduke, the cartoon dog, because of the way he crawled around. Except I thought the dog’s name was Marduke. Which, of course, can be shortened to Duke. And hence Maddox became Duke, The Duke, or Baby Duke.

Then just a day or two ago, we had actual, legitimate, sustained crawling! Including a 90 degree turn – very impressive.

At the same time, Maddox also learned how to stand in his crib. It definitely takes some getting used to, to come into the nursery and see your baby standing and looking up at you.

Leanne has done a great job babyproofing the house, although I’m still getting used to the fact that you can turn around and – whoops – baby is pulling down your laptop.

I’ve got a feeling, the crib is going to be one of those items that will always be tied to my emotions.  I cried in the store when we bought it, because the model crib was so dingy with horrible Ikea blankets tossed over it, even though it was safer than all the gussied up cribs I’d seen at department stores or baby-centered stores.  And tonight, it is so poignant when I think of how quickly baby’s growing – these past 8 months have flown.

I imagine when we make it into the “bed” model, with the side taken down, I won’t be able to believe that it’s already time.

Before we get carried away, I’d like to state that at this very second, Maddox is snoozing next to me in his puppy dog pjs and is not really in any danger of going near a crib in any form.  And when he does sleep in his crib, some of the sentiment will be displaced by the knowledge we’ll have to lean over pretty darn far now to heft our 20 lbs of adorable baby butt out now.

But still.  How can something so wonderful just keep getting better and better?

Even while sick, Maddox has still maintained his cheerful outlook and continues to delight us with his new skills.  Last night, before bed, he repeatedly lifted the sheet, hid underneath it, and snapped it down to play peek-a-boo.

Not only is Maddox engineering his own games, but he’s finally at the stage where he has wants as well as needs, and what he wants is to express his opinion about what he needs!  After peek-a-boo, we finished reading “Baby Animals” and he waved it in the air until I understood that he wanted to read it again.

Maddox has always clicked the light switches off while I’ve changed him.  It keeps him busy during this indignity, and is a good way to learn cause and effect.  Yesterday, he surprised me by turning the lights back on, which is a first!

Another wonderful milestone is Maddox’s speaking.  He now consistently says “dada” and “baba,” and I think it’s pretty clear that “dada” is the first word.  Lucky Dad!

We’re at 3 1/2 teeth now, with the 1/2 coming in quickly.  It went bottom right, bottom left, top right, and now top left.  And, the one next to his bottom right is making an appearance.

Maddox continues to laugh when others around him are laughing, and nothing delights him more than giggling madly with someone.

Finally, our days of sitting together and cuddling are numbered – Maddox has a Lion walker, and he’s been pulling himself up into a standing position.  He’s already mastered scooting around backwards, and I think he’s decided that this is an inefficient way to move compared to the way Mom and Dad get around.  If we think we are tired now, ask us how we feel in another 8 months, after chasing Maddox around the world for awhile.

Having a baby is fascinating.  We are so lucky to have Maddox in our lives.

He weighed in at 16.7 lbs and is 26 inches tall, which puts him in the 86% and 81% percentile, respectively. So I guess that explains why he is nearly as tall as the one year olds at his daycare!

This was dad’s turn to take him for his appointment, and we had a good time. Mads had fun tearing up the paper on the doctor’s table.

This weekend, Leanne and I started our initial packing for our (hopeful) move to an actual house next month. Of course Mads likes being the center of attention, so we put his door jumped in the only central place we could find: the closet. Kind of odd to store your baby in a closet, but hey, whatever works!

This weekend, Maddox “ate” his first “solids”. The excessive use of quotations is due to the fact that he probably only actually ate about 10% of the food (the rest ended up on his clothes), and I’d question whether they were solids since the rice cereal was so watered down.

Overall it was more entertaining than it was nutritious, but it sure was fun seeing him attempt to actually eat some food.

Lastly, I have to say that I’m just endlessly amazed at how happy this baby is. I didn’t think it was actually possible for him to smile any more than he does, but this past week or two he’s proved me wrong.

Maddox went down for a nap around 10 this morning. It was good, because it gave me a chance to clean up the loft and vacuum up all the kitty litter that the cats have been strewing about in silent protest because they don’t get as much attention anymore. Jon was working on his computer, using technology to A) learn new things B) make us money or C) save the world. (He does this all the time.)

Around 11, Maddox woke up. Jon and I both got up. Then, we raced each other down the hall to Mads’ room because we missed the baby.

When it’s only been an hour, and you miss someone like crazy, you know it’s got to be love. Or obsession. Either way, Maddox is pretty much the center of our world.

Here he is playing with his new dangling teething toys – he is getting so great at grabbing things, which is cute when it’s a toy, and vastly entertaining (to me) when it’s Jon’s nose.

He’s not thrilled about it, but Jon explained to him about the delights of calzones and the larger world of noms in general. (We call his food “noms,” as in NomNomNom!). Since Maddox is a big fan of noms, he’s coming around.

He also seems to be adjusting to the discomfort. Sometimes he’s pretty unhappy, and our wonderful daycare provider (who spotted the fact he was teething in the first place) suggested using Orajel. At home, we usually soothe him and rub his gums, and I let him chomp on my fingers.

I’m a little concerned about what happens when he can actually chomp holes through things. Namely, things like me. Doing bottles full time would be so much less convenient, especially at night. I’m back at work now, so it wouldn’t be awful to switch, but I’d miss the bonding time – my pump is a whole lot less adorable to hold, and although I appreciate it, I’m not looking to spend more time with it.

I’m torn between being proud of Mads, being concerned about his discomfort and the possible change to bottles, and being just plain excited that he’s growing fast and is healthy. Overall, I’m savoring the experience – you never get to go through the same phase with the same kid twice, and Maddox is a constant source of amazement.

He used to use his knees to activate his Rainforest Bouncer, but is starting to use his right hand as well:

Wearing our “Patent Pending” t-shirt from Kahn & Michelle:

Also, looking through my photo collection makes me realize that he was so little when he first arrived, and that he’s grown so much. He sleeps less, smiles more and holds his head up when he wants to look at something. Just this morning he made a new, glass-shatteringly piercing sound.

Those were the days, but these are the days, too!

After the bath, he didn’t want to be put down in his Pack ‘n Play, but he did consent to sit in a chair. He’s not sitting up on his own yet, but soon!

You can see that he finds my company somewhat less than stimulating!

After about 5 minutes, he started looking around for food (i.e. Mom) expectantly. So, the party was over, and the chair no longer cut it. After making this clear, he had a 35 minute breakfast and now he’s snoozin’ away in his baby burrito.