Traveling sans son

We've been taking turns taking trips for the past two weeks so we both really miss the boy! C went to Dallas for a few days and got back in time for me to leave for DC. Now that I'm back, C is heading to Indy. We're trying very hard to be in the same place at the same time for longer than a couple of days. (We hear that's good for family dynamics. ;-) Later this month I head to Chicago... and then DC... and then we head (all together, thank goodness) to Palm Springs for the Bennett reunion. No travel in May, and then a family/work trip to NYC in June, which should be a blast. (We've wanted to introduce NYC to Ronan for so long!) What a busy winter/spring! And that's not even taking into account the possible Italy trip later this year, which we should start planning NOW....

Ronan is almost 11.5 months old... almost a year! He's changing so fast. Becoming his own beautiful, opinionated person. He stands pretty well while holding on to furniture and walls and is starting to "cruise," i.e., take small steps while supporting himself on the couch or table. He crawls everywhere really fast. We're going to miss the sound of his hands and knees thump-smack-thumping down our hallway as he chases us, laughing! He even waddles a bit, like a little round bear.

Ronan's bottle strike is basically over. I think he's going to wean himself very soon! He's drinking milk 5 times a day, but the amount is decreasing... it can be anywhere from 2 oz to 5 oz. We're slowly introducing cow's milk (started at 11 mos) and he doesn't seem to mind it. He LOVES his solid food, especially the meats and barley. Everything is still pureed, but when we get around to it (i.e. when we actually have time to plan his meals ahead of time... and who has that kind of time?! Certainly not us right now...) we hope to start him on more chunky and textured foods. Like tortilla chips and pretzels. ;-)

Ronan spends the whole day talking to Lisa and whomever else is around to listen. Though we can't quite understand his words (it's Ronan-speak), he's very earnest in communicating his many ideas. It sounds a lot like this:

"Errr."
"Arrroooh?"
"MBAH!"
"Errroh...."
"Eeeeeee!!"
"Muh-muh-muh"
"BUH"
"Mmm. Mmm. MMMM"
"Aroh."

We've been using some basic signs with him (more, eat, drink) for a couple of months, but he hasn't signed back to us yet. He waves -- once in a while -- a full-body, double-arm kind of wave. He seems much more interested, however, in figuring out the THINGS all around him... the TV, the doors, the stereo, the fridge... If I can indulge in some gratuitous stereotyping (hey, I'm his mommy!), I'd say he's displaying all the mechanical, spatial, and analytical deftness that I lacked as a child! He has a particular predilection for outsmarting the baby-proofing stuff around the house. He's only 11 months old and he's figured out how to undo the oven lock, the window latches, AND the hook-and-eye locks on his drawers that we just installed! Sheesh!

The below series is called "Me and My Mouth."


I think I'll have a book sandwich for lunch


Hook and eyes? C'mon, Dad, give me something challenging.
(I looked at this picture and was startled. I suddenly saw him as a teenager or a young man, not my nearly-one-year-old!)


How many other babies can turn the TV on and off with their mouths?