He took his first real steps on the 8th, at the Arboretum! Over uneven ground, no less. He can walk rather well, now, but only if he's distracted, otherwise he insists on clinging to something for balance.
In other news, he figured out that balls bounce on hard surfaces, and he's become a great enthusiast for peekaboo. If there's no corner to hide behind, he'll push your face aside until you say "where's Tristan?" He's such a gentle and undemanding soul.
He recognizes several words and phrases for sure: "dog," "squirrel," "block," "outside," "walk," "water," "taste," "nurse," "good job," "no," "no biting," "not yours," "shock collar." The basics. He probably knows many others - "mama," "up," "down," "standing," "edge," "pool," "park," "home," "headphones," "recycling bucket" (yes, really), "clean diaper," "be gentle," "mirror," "burp" etc., but the context makes it harder to be sure if he's really made the connection. We're still waiting on proper words, though he sorta says "mama" from time to time. He does however do a distinctive "no-no" head shake and polite grunt when offered, say, the wrong toy - very cute.
As you can see, he's learned to climb. With enthusiasm. He can easily get onto the furniture now, and frequently discovers things he can now reach. On the plus side, he's less prone to putting things in his mouth, so we usually get a chance to intercept whatever hazard he's discovered.
He eats a lot of solid foods now, with favorites like ratatouille, chicken and squash casserole, fried rice, and, uh, candy. He likes that a lot. He's recognizes the sound the candy jar makes, though he's heard it only a few times, and takes much bigger bites when offered, say, chocolate, rather than real food.
The tooth meter stands at 35%.
