We always figured Michael would walk early - and he is certainly on his way. He is able to pull himself up on ANYTHING, he can cruise around the whole coffee table, couch etc... He can reach out to move from one piece of furniture to another and now he can walk with his little car for support. In this video from a gfew days ago he is pretty wobbly as he had just learned how to do this. Now he just motors. It won't be long until we can lose the props. Hopefully before we go to Hawaii at the end of April he will be independently mobile. Yeah Michael!
The laughing in the background is Matthew - he is very excited and proud of his little brother.
The boys have been loving their toys, unfortunately Matthew has a new found interest in the baby toys and Michale gravitates towards his big brothers choking hazard toys. Ugh!
They do have a great time playing together now that Michael can crawl, stand, cruise, and is babbling a lot. Matthew loves to show Michael how to do things. Generally their play ends up in fits of giggles as one or the other does something amusing.
We had a nice visit with Nana & Papa. Matthew was thrilled to be spoiled with Valentine treats, special cupcakes, and he got a McDonald's gift card so he can take us out for lunch. Michael sat in his booster seat at the restaurant for the first time. He was very well behaved and didn't fuss until after I had finished eating. Yeah! After lunch Matthew got to play in Freddy and honk the horn, when we got home he howed off on his run bike. Nana and Papa were impressed with his balance. It was a nice visit, can't wait until they live closer so they don't have to rush to beat the traffic.
Michael has been busy learning many new things this week. He has perfected his crawl. He is speedy now and loves to come for the camera. He has started using a sippy cup to drink water (with assistance holding it), and can play with his gumball machine independently, putting the balls in and pressing the lever to make them drop down. He is also starting to babble a lot more (mum, dada, tata). I guess he is using his lack of sleep due to teething to practice all this.
Wow! Teeth are hard to photograph. Michael got his first tooth about 2 weeks ago, and the second one about a week ago. I have been trying since to photograph them. This crooked shot is the best so far - Michael keeps his mouth closed alot. The teething battle is still going on. We are working on a 3rd tooth on the bottom. Hopefully this one will be quicker than the first ones. His teeth have been playing peek-a-boo for months, we are all tired of this - especially Michael.
Michael has been working hard learning how to get around the living room. He has almost mastered this whole crawling thing. He is getting up on his knees, rocking back and forth, putting a leg forward, and then lunging forward instead of moving the other leg. It isn't a pretty sight, but it gets him from A to B. Nothing is safe now. He is pulling baskets off the shelves (mostly filled with his toys so it is okay), opening the DVD player, turning the stereo on, and trying to eat Matthew's books. Pretty soon he'll be fast enough I'll have to put up the baby gates to keep him off the stairs. The next 6 months should be interesting.
John had 2 big cups of hot chocolate waiting for us when we came in after an hour and a half of snow play. Yum! Sambucca also got a snowy treat that night, John walked her to the Lacrosse box at the school and let her run free in the deep snow.
We all walked over to the school and went down some of the great hills. 
Matthew's first run on his own was fun, but ended in a shrub. 
We will be out there everyday until the snow is gone. It is a win-win situation, he has fun, it's free, and climbing back up the hill tires him out so he sleeps well at night. 
John and Matthew stayed out over an hour sledding. I took Michael home after about 15 minutes, the sweetheart was getting a bit chilled despite being all bundled up. He was much happier once we got home and all warmed up.
Michael is on the fast track to crawling. For the past week he has been pushing up onto his toes and yesterday he finally got the knees bent. His arms are still stronger than his legs though so he only manages to shuffle himself backwards. Once he backs himself up against the coffee table or the wall he can use those to push forward. It shouldn't be long now before he is crawling all over.
