Here we go

Liam's on two wheels. Noah's not just going to stand by and let him get all the glory. He has a few tricks up his sleeve. Recently, he found his feet.




And today Noah caught Jenia a little off-guard with a new trick, but we got it on video. He just started rolling over like this tonight. Three or four times before bath.

Tummy Time

Noah's really liking his tummy these days.

Tired of the Papparazzi.

With Liam.

Freedom!

Today was Liam's first day without training wheels! It was great. Just like with swimming -- no interest whatsoever in getting instruction from Daddy. Also like with swimming this year, he was completely reluctant to try it out until he was ready. I urged frequently, "Hey, let's take those off and practice!" and was almost always answered with a shrug, "Not today. Maybe later." Well, later was apparently today... This morning, he said, "Daddy, let's practice without my training wheels." We took them off, and he rode away -- just like that.

...Come to think of it, that's pretty much how he potty trained himself, after Jenia and I gave up and decided we wouldn't mind if he was the only 6th grader still wearing Lightning McQueen pullups. And, you know... That's more or less how he gave up the crib... That, and Jenia and I also were resolved to him being the only kid in his freshman dorm still in a crib. If you leave him alone, he pretty much figures things out, and if you push him too quickly... (well, it doesn't really go well, for anybody...)

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This first video is only the second "run" after we first took them off. The first was about 10 feet before I grabbed him... If you can't hear it, he's saying, "cheese" as he rides by (wanted to get a good picture, I guess).


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Listen closely to this video -- turn up the volume on your computer -- it's funny. You can hear him panting quickly as he pedals. He's so determined to beat his 8-year old buddy, Luke.

Rolling Over

It may have been an accident, but we were filming Noah holding his head up and he ended up surprising us with this trick...

Smile!

Noah's really starting to smile socially. Liam, appears, still needs a little work...

(Pay no attention to the grandma behind the curtain!)

Practice

Two days of practice makes a huge difference!

Thumbing it

Noah is working hard to become a thumb-sucker. It starts when he gets tired. You can hear the lip-smacking and sucking from his crib throughout the night, and his face is a little scratched from all the clawing. It's painfully frustrating to watch, because he has just enough control to mostly find his hands, but not enough to make it stick.

Commentary from Noah

And now for a bit of social commentary from Mr. Noah Keating.

Some early smiles

We caught Noah being particularly fun tonight.

Head turning

Noah just started turning his head toward sound. He doesn't yet focus on you, but he'll turn his head in your general direction when he hears you in the room.

I found it!

Today, Noah found his hand. Actually, it happened last night and was pretty disruptive of sleep. He has virtually no control over his little hands, but the they somehow make it to his mouth pretty consistently. It's really amazing to watch.