No more baby straightjacket

Mom and Dad will breathe a sigh of relief at this one. Alex has finally outgrown his Miracle Blanket, AKA the Baby Straightjacket. It's a complicated little contraption with pockets and flaps that has kept Alex snugly swaddled at nights. We bought it in desperation when he could only sleep in our arms as a newborn, and within a few nights he was sleeping soundly in his crib. For the last week or two, he's protested a lot as we wrestle him into it, then conked out immediately thereafter. But yesterday morning, Chris went in to get him and found him lying facedown with the blanket draped toga-style across his torso. So we have had to find alternate sleepwear. He was very confused last night to placed in the crib with his hands free. I have found that if I hold him until he's drowsy, then lay him down, he will startle awake very quickly. So I have to stand there and hold his arms at his sides for a few minutes until he's deeply asleep.

Besides rolling over and escaping from his swaddle, Alex is hitting some other milestones as well. He cut two bottom teeth this weekend - you can just feel the little points as they've cut through the gum. He has been going crazy with chewing on hands and fingers and shirts and I hope he'll get some relief now that they're through. He's also been eyeing our dinners rather intently. He likes to sit on Chris's lap as we eat and he stares at the fork quite hungrily.

And my goodness, he's a noisy baby. "Mr. Grunt" doesn't begin to cover it any more. He sits in his bouncy seat and starts pumping with his legs until all the toys are flailing wildly about and crashing together. And he shrieks and screams and hollers until you'd think it was Jonathan making all that racket. I really can't believe how much noise this child makes. I'm anxious to see if he starts talking soon, and I get the sense he is, too.

Jonathan and his memory continue to amaze me. I realized last week that he remembers where almost all of his books and toys came from. He will periodically hold one up and say "Grandma gave me this" (covers quite a bit) or "Auntie Iz and Uncle Jim!" This morning, he was playing with one of his fire trucks, content after a breakfast of French toast and fresh raspberries. I was holding Alex on the sofa, enjoying the morning. Jonathan looked at me while holding his fire truck and said "You gave this to me. I want to say thank you. That was nice of you" and went back to playing.