Sebastian's Quiver

Less than a week ago Sebastian turned one year old.  Crazy.  Hard to believe that a year ago he looked like this.  He was a tiny (well, 9+ lbs tiny) little guy who couldn’t really do much of anything but pee, poop and cry (and, once in a blue moon, sleep).  Now he’s walking around the house, signing all his signs (15 or so, at present count), babbling away, and seeming more and more like a human being every day.  He pushes his new shopping cart around the house, back and forth, around and around, inside and outside.  He gives Misha hugs and kisses (sometimes more than Misha can take).  He is very helpful in the kitchen, helping his mom and dad with the stirring and mixing and emptying the dishwasher and putting things in the sink and taking things out of the cabinets.  He tells us when he’s pooped and it’s time to change his diaper.  He points to specific foods that he wants to eat.  He loves taking his baths and climbing the stairs at bath time and playing with his bath toys.  He loves playing boomie at bedtime.  He asks for music when there’s no music playing.  He helps clean up his toys before it’s bedtime.  He listens intently (sometimes) when you’re reading him his books.  He gets super excited whenever he sees a dog (we were looking at a house and there was a Pomeranian and Sebastian was laughing HYSTERICALLY at it for a good five minutes).  He has caught on to the things that he’s not supposed to do and usually stays away from doing hem – play with the stereo, for example – but he still insists on playing with Misha’s food and water dish, oh, and climbing on the dishwasher.

Yesterday we took him outside with his cart and he was pushing it up and down the sidewalk with a huge grin.  Ever since Chanukah, when we were lighting candles every night, he’s come to expect us to light a candle up in the window.  So every late afternoon/evening, Sebastian looks up at the candle and signs ‘light’.

For Sebastian’s birthday, we made pancakes for breakfast and a fancy fruit/yogurt parfait that Juliann made for him.  After some technical difficulties we hooked up with his aunt, uncle, cousins and grandparents back in Georgia for some video present unwrapping.  He’s been playing with his new toys ever since.  Oh yeah, he also took a 2-1/2 hour nap in th morning/afternoon, is longest midday nap, I belive, ever.

I’ve attached some photos below.  You can go and see all the birthday photos on the photoblog.  There are also some new, non-birthday photos starting with this one on the photoblog.

We went to a children’s store in the Alberta Arts section of Portland the other day (for you Atlantans, think Little Five Points, but more shops and restaurants) and they had tons of toys and brands that Juli and I really like (Plan Toys, blabla, Haba, etc.). Juli was talking to one of the women who work there (there were four people working there even though the store is less than 1000 sq ft) about how we were looking for a rattle for Sebastian. The woman asked how old he was, and when we told him that he was almost 3 months, she pretty much told us to forget about it because they can’t comprehend anything at that age anyway, and they can’t really see anything or DO anything with stuff. Ummmm….really? And you work for a children’s store? And, oh yeah, you’re wrong. Sebastian loves his rattle. And he loves his Abima.  So, Lady Who Works In The Children’s Store, maybe you should learn a little something about children before you decide to sell toys to their parents.

As for Sebastian, he’s getting more and more expressive with every passing day.  He does his share of babbling and grunting.  His manual dexterity is light years ahead of where it was last week – he’s grabbing on shirts and cat fur and toys all the time.  He does a pretty good job of trying to manipulate Abima’s head nipple into his mouth.  He definitely prefers some toys over others.  The other day I put him on the bed after a diaper change and I found Abima laying around so I picked him up and showed him to Sebastian and Sebastian started flailing his arms and legs in happiness to see Abima.  It wasn’t long before he was sucking on Abima’s head nipple.  I also found a wooden song flute and Sebastian loves it when I play it for him.  Of course the only song I can really play is Michael Row Your Boat Ashore, but I’m not a bad improviser (though I wouldn’t classify myself as a good improviser, either).

So here are some new photos.  As always, there are more photos on the photoblog.