The thing that's more noticeable now about Alex is that he's starting his slow and impending transformation into a toddler. Perhaps it's the stronger intensity of noise that's coming out of him, or his utter lack of interest in anything more than half a minute. Or maybe because he's responding more to smiles and other attempts at humor and is more likely to smile back at a happy face. But definitely because he's starting to scream and holler more when he doesn't get what he wants.

It just seems like yesterday when he took two two-hour naps per day. Oh wait, it was the day before yesterday. Yesterday, he attempted one nap, which makes for a cranky little boy because he's fighting sleep but trying to rule the world at the same time. He's also starting to eat Cheerios, which is kinda fun to watch because he grabs it with his whole hand, and then attempts to shove it into his mouth. He misses 9 times out of ten, but the one time he does get it in his mouth, he gives me a proud little grin. Then he proceeds to gum the Cheerio to death.

His latest thing, according to the wife, is his tendency to stand up in his crib using his arms to support himself. He can't actually stand by himself yet, but he's sure pulling himself him and bouncing around, avoiding sleep. Pesky little guy!

So, as Alex is slowly becoming the man of the world, we're enjoying/dreading it more. He's more responsive than ever, but he's also starting to develop something that parents are always afraid of - a brain.

A good memory - There was one time, when he kept crawling away, so I stepped on his pants to keep him from crawling away. When I looked down, his pants were off and he was still crawling away.

So now I step on his hand.

Just kidding!