Daredevil!

Look what Sebby figured out how to do a few days ago...

 

Looks pretty proud of himself!

Last week I noticed that he had gotten VERY brave at the playground, climbing the stairs to the big kids slide and sliding down arms out, head first. Zero fear of falling.

This week he is climbing like crazy!

Two days ago he was trying to climb from the top of our kitchen step stool onto the counter. Yesterday he climbed on top of the coffee table.

Today Darren caught him trying to climb from the chairs onto the kitchen table.

Today he had his first climbing fall from our living room chair.

I'm sure it was the first of many.

Reminds me so much of when my younger brother Kevin (now 18!) was Sebby's size and climbing everywhere the minute you turned your back on him.

He's also become a lot more confident in walking over the past few days and since Sunday he has been on his feet a lot more. 

He's growing up so fast!

New Words & Other Skills

I wanted to record some of the neat things that I have observed Sebby doing over the past week or so because at this stage in his development, it seems like he learns a few new skills every day.

  This weekend it has been particularly exciting to watch Sebby make improvements in communication. He put two words together for the first time, asking for "more toast!" The way he says toast is really cute because he draws it out and it sounds more like "TOE-SSST."

I also noticed that his comprehension is growing. He is able to respond correctly when we ask him to point out his nose & his toes (or "TOE-SSS" as he would say) using his pointers from both his hands at the same time.

All weekend he has been obsessed with music, asking for music the moment he wakes up, using his special sign language, until the time he goes to sleep. Darren showed Sebby to snap to the music and now Sebby makes a snapping motion with his fingers to the music. He is fascinated by the snapping sound and hasn't figured that out yet, although the motion is pretty close to right on! He's a pretty observant little guy.

Sebby is also getting very good at opening doors around our flat now. In some ways, I'm really thankful for this new development because it means that he no longer freaks out when he closes himself in a room. He used to love closing the doors but as soon as a door closed, he would want me to come right away to open it. He has been having tons of fun practicing closing his bedroom door then opening it and letting himself out again. He used to stand by the bathroom door and shout when Darren took a shower, upset that he wasn't invited in. You can imagine how pleased he is with his new ability to open the bathroom door when Darren is in there! I don't think Darren is as excited about losing his peaceful time showering.

Wonder what other skills Sebby will master this week?!

Our Little Sponge!

Well our dream became a reality this week when we started to realize that Sebby is picking up a Scottish accent. He started saying "nooooo" in the same cute Scottish accent as his friend, Eva. 

We can't help ourselves from bursting out laughing every time he says it.

SO ADORABLE!!!

It appears that 3 year old Eva has become an important influence in his life because he is also "sharing" just like her too! As soon as another child touches his toys he says, "nooooo" & tries to grab them away from them. He experienced many rough afternoons attempting to play with Eva's toys, quickly getting a shove and a loud "Noooo Sebby, Eva's toy!" Lately, Eva has been extra kind to Sebby and has been learning to share quite nicely but it seems that Sebby is just beginning this super possessive stage a bit early. May the drama in their relationship continue...

Fun with Cousins

Sebby's cousins, Camdyn & Isla, left today to go back to Canada. He really enjoyed having them visit. 

On Friday we went on a little day trip to Ayr with them. We all enjoyed the soft play area.

Sebby has fun watching older kids play, especially older boys, so he really looks up to Camdyn! Camdyn is almost 5 and is great to spend time playing with Sebby. They have fun chasing each other and playing other boy games. 

 

Isla & Sebby are too young to play together well. Isla usually tries to escape when Sebby approaches or starts crying or yelling at him in baby talk, I think she is saying something like "leave me alone, I don't want to play with you!"

Sebby will also miss his Auntie Allison, she's one of his favourites and he often goes over to her then asks to be picked up.

 

Looking forward to seeing them all again this summer in PEI!

Observing Sebby Lately

Sleep Time

Sebby went through a phase of falling asleep while clutching Lamby with one hand and his sippy cup in the other hand. When I put him in bed for naps, he would crawl over to the corner to get his sippy cup, sit up to have a drink, then lie down, clutching tightly to the sippy cup. When he woke from naps, he had Lamby in one hand and his sippy cup in the other. After about a week, he decided that he didn't need the sippy cup to sleep, just Lamby. Now the cup sits in the corner of his bed unless he is thirsty and wants a drink.

His Tastes

Although Sebby is somewhat of a picky eater, it seems like he can't get enough of strange tasting things like his thyme & licorice cough syrup. It tastes so strong that he blinks hard and grimaces when he has his first taste but always asks for more.

Last week I made some bright orange gluten free play dough. Although it was extremely salty, he kept putting chunks of it into his mouth and saying "MMMM!" I think eating it was his favourite part of the play dough activity but I didn't mind as it kept his attention for a good 10 minutes. Amazing for a kid who usually has a much shorter attention span!


A Lover Of Music

He still LOVES music and raises his hands (or sometimes just one finger) in the air the minute he hears music. He's a hoot during the praise & worship time at church!

Communication

Sebby is getting even better at imitating the sounds that he hears us making. He is starting to use the
word "no." Uh oh!!!

He also likes putting my cell phone up to his ear and talking on the phone. He makes little noises then puts the phone up to my ear so that I can talk too.

He is doing really well at picking up new signs but sometimes mixes them up. When he really wants something he pulls out all his signs, especially the signs for "water" and "grape" (or as he says, bape), his two current favourites.


Getting Around

He still crawls quite a bit but seems pretty excited to be walking now. At first, it didn't seem like he realized that he could walk but he seems to now. 
He walks with both hands out in front to steady himself and usually manages about 8 little steps before falling onto his knees.

He's Walking!!!

I don't think Sebby even realized that yesterday was a monumental day in his development! He took his first unassisted steps, walking the 4 steps from the bookshelf to where I was sitting at the table. I had a friend over for lunch and he really wanted me to read him a book. He took one from the bookshelf and brought it over to me. 

I wasn't totally sure if it was a fluke or if he is walking now but when Darren got home, he walked a few steps for him too. This morning in the kitchen, he walked around, and this afternoon at my friends house, he was walking all over the kitchen and living room. Yay!

The "standing but not walking" stage seemed like it had been going on forever. He has been pulling himself up to standing since August but his lack of balance made us wonder if we would have to wait months until Sebby would walk on his own. Lately it seemed like he was getting somewhat steadier on his feet, he would take falling steps towards me from the coffee table and bookshelf. However, I was quite surprised to see him talk his first steps!

Darren & I are pretty excited about this development. We are hoping that it will make things easier in the sense that we won't have to carry him everywhere. I know it can be a difficult stage in some ways due to the many bumps and bruises. Some kids are really slow walkers but I don't think this will be an issue with Sebby. We anticipate that once he is walking confidently, he will be running confidently and we will have to be even quicker at chasing after him.

I'm working on getting a video of him walking but he isn't walking "on demand" so far, instead, he walks when he decides that he wants to walk. Yes, our little Sebby sure has a mind of his own, sounds like someone else I know...

Sebby Had A Little Lamb, Little Lamb, Little Lamb...

Lamby is a little blue blanket with a lamb stuffed animal attached to it.

Over the past month or so, Sebby has become increasingly attached to Lamby. He learned that Lamby says "baaa" and has become interested in lambs in books and pictures as well. 

Sebby had been sleeping with Lamby since he was a few months old but never bothered with him during the day until recently. 

Every time we get Sebby after his naps & in the mornings, he is standing in his crib, clutching Lamby tightly. If Lamby gets dropped in his crib, Sebby goes back over and points at his crib, asking for Lamby. Lamby now joins him in his chair for many meals and in the living room for games. Too bad Momma won't let him go in the bath!

Lamby is a very loyal "partner in crime" for Sebby.