Personality

At church Sunday someone asked how old Lil' D was. 11 months, Saturday! Then she mentioned something about him having personality, so I wanted to take this opportunity to document Lil' D's Personality.

• Bedtime Silly Time--When it is close to bedtime, Lil' D gets really playful. Currently, he likes to practice standing up and then fall down on Mommy or Daddy. When Nicholas gets him ready for bed, he puts him in the crib to take off his clothes. Lil' D starts bouncing around and plays peek-a-boo through the crib slates. And there are LOTS of giggles!
• Peek-a-boo--Speaking of peek-a-boo, Lil' D loves it! He will play peek-a-boo with anything and anyone! Coming back from Dallas in December, Lil' D woke up about 45 miles outside of Austin. We found him playing peek-a-boo with passing cars using a blanket he found within reach of his car seat. He also will just move his head back and forth and close his eyes to "hide." And strangers are perfectly good peek-a-boo partners! Lil' D is such a flirt!
• Car seat Meltdown--Lil' D is not all smiles and hugs. He definitely gets upset. Currently, he is unhappy about getting in his car seat, despite loving to go places. He starts screaming, arches his back, and straightens his legs. Despite Lil' D's amazing strength, it is still possible for one person to get him strapped in, but it is a little easier with two people!
• Problem Solving--Lil' D is quite the little problem solver, and Nicholas loves giving him problems to solve. This morning he was trying to open the bottom drawer of the china cabinet. The drawer is filled with large candles, so it is heavy. There is a big box currently sitting in front of the cabinet that was preventing Lil' D from opening the drawer. He figured out that the more he tried to open the drawer the more the box would move and the further he could open the drawer.
• Inquisitiveness--Lil' D is very curious, and he has a very serious face when he is examining something.
• Mommy's Little Helper--Lil' D is beginning to be very helpful. He helped me fold diapers the other day by getting them out of the basket and handing them to me. Tonight he was handing me Tupperware lids.
• I Know What I Want (Sometimes)--Lil' D is starting to point at things that he wants. It seems that distance is no obstacle. If Lil' D is being held, he will likely point and try to leap in the direction of his desire. Often he likes to reach for Mommy if Daddy is holding him and then immediately reach back for Daddy (and vice versa). If something happens that he does not like, he will make a sound that is a mix between a grunt and a scream. Sometimes he will clench his fists, flap his hands in the air, straighten his legs, scrunch his nose and mouth and close his eyes real tight or make a tight frown with his eyes open and his neck muscles flexed (like a Gila monster).
• Some things Lil' D does not like: not knowing what he wants; not eating when other people are eating, or more appropriately when said people are not sharing; not getting his food fast enough, unless he is full, in which case he will drop the food on the floor; getting strapped into his car seat; laying down to have his diaper changed;
• Some things Lil' D loves: reading books; Mommy and Daddy and people he knows; smiling and giving kisses; eating; nursing; exploring new places; playing with musical toys; playing with stacking toys; Peek-a-boo; dogs; being held by tall people
• Lil' D is shy when someone first starts paying attention to him. If we are holding him, he will laying his head down on our chest/shoulder so he can still view the new person and will most likely give the new person a shy smile.

Overall, Lil' D is a calm, peaceful, easy to laugh, smart, curious, problem-solving little boy. We are most certainly blessed, but so is he. He is surrounded by people that love him, interact with him, and teach him new things everyday.