Life's Tough for This 11 Month Old...

I included this so that you can all see that Winston does, indeed, have some hair. It doesn't show up in the photos because...well, there isn't much of it.

We just finished up a wonderful visit from Grandma Mary, who came down to Miami (missing a rare June heat wave in Wisconsin) for a week. Dave and I spent the weekend in Toronto. What a great city - don't miss the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Bell Lightbox Cinema.

Grandma brought these incredibly awesome boots for Win to test out.

This was my first full week away from Winston, and it was remarkable to see the growth in such a short time. When I left, he was able to pull up and then would fall backward to sit down. Now he can stand, hold onto the couch or table, squat to pick up an item, then stand back up. He is now an expert "cruiser" - he holds onto an objects and walks around it to get where he needs to go. He's talking a blue streak - no words that make sense to us, but he feels compelled to participate in many of the adult conversations and uses his hands and funny facial expressions to emphasize his point.

I love watching him negotiate the chairs and tables as he crawls - he's able to duck under a chair, crawling over the lowest bar and under the next without hitting his head. And he's figured out which items can be moved with brute strength (dining room chairs) and which are immovable (mahogany end tables). I know we are not entering genius territory here (except in mommy's mind), but it is interesting to see how children evaluate the physical landscape and adapt their actions to get what they need. When in doubt, push the chair aside and keep moving forward!

Here are some fun photos from Winston's new play area in the living room. Who needs toys when we can bang on mixing bowls from daddy's kitchen?

Another sign of burgeoning independence: Win hates to have his diaper changed. He will squirm and flip over at the slightest hint of diaper manipulation. I've taken to making crazy monkey noises to keep him intrigued and still. It worked today, not sure if it will help tomorrow though. One of our baby books says to get used to diapering the child standing up. really??

We spent Saturday morning with Mary at the beach. Here are some cute pictures from our adventures.

Winston got this awesome car from Grandma and Grandpa Wanless for his birthday. He loves to stand behind it and push and "walk" with his car.

That is one happy kid...and yes, that is a hotdog on his onesie.

So far, my all time favorite photo.

Winston discovering Grandma's yarn.