The Way Toddlers Do Things

July has been a pretty rough month for Jackson.  Pretty much as soon as he turned one, it has been one thing after another.  In the span of the last two weeks, Jackson has cut a molar, had a virus that formed sores in his throat so he didn't want to eat, developed anxiety away from mom or dad, is going through a huge development phase that overwhelms the brain, and sleep regression to top it all off!!  Jackson has been a trooper, but boy are we tired in our household!

There have been a few funny moments that have seemed to breakthrough the gray cloud, though.  One of the skills that he is supposed to start learning, is how to use utensils on his own.  So, I gave him a little dish of yogurt and a spoon just to see what he would do with it all.  I helped him get his first spoonful and he knew what to do with the spoon...

He didn't really know what to do next, so he just gnawed on the spoon and dipped it into the bowl to get small bits of the yogurt.

That wasn't satisfying enough, though.  He was only getting small tastes of the yummy yogurt.  So he decided to abandon the spoon and go straight for the source.

At one point, though, he returned to the idea of using the spoon like a "big person" and figured maybe it would work better if he just poured the yogurt from the bowl onto the spoon.  Pretty creative!

Even more ridiculous than his adventures with a spoon, are his new methods for falling asleep.  For the longest, we could lay him down and he may roll around for a few minutes, but he would quickly just fall asleep laying on his tummy.  I don't know if it's all the advancements he has made in physical mobility lately or his desperate anxiety in demanding our attention, but lately he has been pulling himself to a stand in his crib and screaming until he tires himself out.  He eventually gets too tired to stand, so he will shift to his knees or a sitting position in the corner of his crib where he has the best sight line of his bedroom door.  After two days of screaming and not getting what he wanted, he doesn't fuss as much now, but he will stay in that corner of his crib in a stand, kneel or sit anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours.  His stubbornness and stamina have really amazed us this past week!

We will watch him on the monitor start to get sleepy.  He will sway back and forth and his head will rock forward against the railing as he fights to stay awake.  He then falls asleep leaning against the railing in the corner of his crib.  Usually within ten or fifteen minutes he will fall over backwards, let out one last cry, and then proceed to roll to his stomach for a more comfortable nap.  We feel so bad for the little guy, but his methods seem  to work for him no matter how pitiful  or boneheaded they may seem to us as an adult.