He is into EVERYTHING! "No" means nothing. Hand slaps don't faze him. Zander watches to see if someone's paying attention and then does something he's not supposed to. He's fearless. There have been many times I've caught him trying to touch a lit candle, try to jump headfirst off the couch and climb up the bookcase. He loves to pull himself up on furniture, drawers and the TV stand to reach more things he's not supposed to touch. DVD's are thrown all over the floor, the Xbox is constantly on and off and he's constantly getting his fingers caught in the snack drawer.
We have a drawer in our kitchen that I fill with snacks for the boys. It's mostly dried fruit packs, fruit snacks, granola bars, oatmeal packets, little things that Gabe can get and open himself for breakfast or to add to lunch or just something to grab on the way out the door. Zander has discovered that this drawer has food in it. He loves food. He would eat all day if I let him. Anytime he sees anyone with food or drink, he has to have some and he screams until he gets some. It is now a constant battle to keep him out of the snack drawer. There have been many times I've been folding laundry or getting dinner ready and he's emptied numerous snacks all over the floor while also trying to eat one through the wrapper. Granola bars are pulverized, oatmeal packets are soggy, Zander's pushing on the drawer to steady himself but also has his fingers stuck in the closed drawer. Oh my.
Today, we had two very memorable developments with Zander.
I was trying to keep the boys out of Matt's way so he could finish a paper and we had already come back from our play group and lunch. Both boys woke up abnormally early and Gabe was fighting resting. The boys and I all ended up in Gabe's bed to rest and goof around. Zander is not the nicest of snuggler's, his idea of snuggling is growling and biting and laughing and hitting. I have no idea where this growling and biting came from, but it's his signature move. We have affectionately dubbed him "Zombie Baby" because he always growls before he bites. If you are anywhere near him and he leans towards you, while he might snuggle into you for a split second, you are going to get bit. And hard. So here we were laughing and growling and Zander hitting and me trying to keep him from biting Gabe. Gabe is a good sport about it, thankfully, and pretends to fight with Zander. In this instance, Gabe was pretending to fight Zander and he said, "Zander, I got you. You're dead." And Zander, who was sitting up at the time, fell straight backwards. Gabe and I both busted out laughing. As Zander sat back up, Gabe said again, "Zander, you're dead." and again Zander fell backwards. He has learned to play dead. He did it probably four or five times in a row. I was dying from laughter and trying to get Matt to come and see (which did not help with the writing of the paper). I just couldn't believe it, my 10 month old has learned to die dramatically. Gabe is a good teacher.
*Also new on the growling front, when he really wants something and is mad that I won't get it (mostly food), he growls "Mama". I could not believe it the first time I heard him.
The other hilarious moment we had today was at dinner (involves food, who knew?). We had rotini chicken, mushroom and spinach alfredo. I normally feed Zander before we eat dinner together because if I try to feed him simultaneously, it becomes all about him eating my food and I get nothing. So, I try to stuff him full enough that he'll leave me alone so I can eat in peace, instead of the screaming and growling and pulling on me that I normally get. Matt did the honors of feeding him tonight so I could finish making dinner. After he ate a good amount and was signalling that he was all done, Matt took him out of the high chair, washed him up and he played, that is until he saw me with a food bowl. He doesn't harass anyone else, it's always me that he focuses on. Anyway, he saw that I had food in a bowl so he crawled over to me, climbed up my leg and started screaming and doing the "bird" mouth. I didn't honestly think he would eat the pasta noodle, but he did. He chewed it all up and expected more immediately. The funny part was when Matt sat down next to me. Zander was content to stand against my leg and eat like a little bird, but when Matt sat down he had to show Matt that he was eating like a big boy. As soon as he'd get a noodle in his mouth, he'd go over to Matt and tap his knee until Matt would look at him, then he would open his mouth to show Matt the noodle. Only then would he start chewing. We were really surprised that he was so proud of himself! It got to be hilarious when it happened with every noodle. Without fail, I put a noodle in his mouth, he would crawl over to Matt and show him before he would eat it. I wish I could have gotten a video or picture of it, I feel like I'm not doing the moment justice. It was so funny and sweet at the same time. And every time, Matt would say, "Wow, look at you big boy!" "You're eating noodles like a big boy!" Zander was so proud of himself, he had to show his daddy.
Despite all his growing up, he's still a Mama's boy at heart. Every time I leave the room, he follows me. Every time I'm doing something, he has to see what it is. Before he can sleep in his crib, I still dance and sing to him to calm him down.
He's got such a big personality. I can't help from loving him with my whole heart. I wait eagerly to see him grow and develop into a toddler and then a boy.
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