Honestly, I don't know if I can do this.  Raise a boy that is.  I mean, I had heard boys are different - don't sit still, aggressive, obstinate, etc. but really, I am not sure I am equipped to handle what I have here.  Up until about a week ago I would have said Luke was an easy little boy (besides the hurling himself down the flight of 13 stairs at 10 months old), smiley, sweet, cuddly, good eater, great sleeper, etc.  But now I have a new creature on my hands that is kicking my ass.  And he's not even walking yet.  This is one DETERMINED little guy.  I see the look in his eye when he wants something and he doesn't need words to say, "mommy, I DARE you to stop me".  As soon as I put him down there are two places he makes a bee-line for... the dog bowl and the stairs.  If he's dog bowl bound I usually have to dive over him to grab the water/food before it's flipped over, water everywhere and food in his fists.  I do think my screams of NO are working on that one though since as of today as soon as he's within arms reach he starts rapidly shaking his had "no".  Ok, so the boy CAN learn.  If he is stairway bound, then I get behind him as he quickly makes his way up the stairs, but if I dare place a helpful hand on him, he swats me away grunting something along the lines of, "I can do it mommy, I do not need or want your help" ( in baby language of course).  As soon as he's at the top, he tears into his or Hannah's bedroom where he then makes his way up the stairs to her bed or his chair.  I actually found him sitting in his rocking chair the other day with a very proud look on his face.  One minute later I'm sure he would have found himself face first on his rug trying to get off the chair.  This week he has also somehow climbed into the jogging stroller, climbed onto my bed using the doggy stairs, and stood up in his highchair.   Oh and the feeding that goes on in the highchair is a whole 'nother story.  He needs to be holding at least three toys while being fed or he puts up a serious roadblock between the spoon and his mouth.  For some reason I don't think I'm fostering very good eating habits here.  He will not allow baby food as part of his meals, yet "real" foods that he enjoys are few and far between.  One member of the family who is making a killing with this situation is the dog since she is on the receiving end of all thrown foods from the chair.  Anything that leaves Luke's hand is caught mid-air by leaping Bella.  I've also decided that a shower cap may be a smart idea for Luke to wear while he eats since rubbing the entree du jour in his hair is now a common theme.  You can often find him with the "crispy hair" look... I like to just think of it as baby hair gel.  Somehow, we'll get through this I'm sure, but for now the end of the day really can't come quick enough, and I pat myself on the back each night that we all lived through the day in one piece.

At a much later stage than Hannah, Luke is finally learning how to be social.  Up until very recently when he was in the company of other kids he would stare at them and gently touch them as if he wondered whether they were real.  Yes, he’s a bit of a mama’s boy, attached to my hip most hours of the day.  So I joined a gym class so that he could learn to interact with other kids, play with other kids, just see some different walls than the ones in my house really!  Most of the kids in the class are older - running around, talking a bit and participating in the organized class.  Luke really just uses the time as “open gym” where he crawls around, throws balls and touches the other kids.  I’m fine with that.  The drama came yesterday when I noticed Luke putting something in his mouth.  I ran over and saw a whole peanut sitting on the ground next to him and assumed he had put another whole peanut in his mouth.  I assumed correctly.  Luckily I was able to scoop it out of his mouth before he choked on it but my true fear was the allergy side of it.  The rational side of me knew that he had been tested and everything came back negative but the mom of Hannah side of me didn’t trust those tests at all.  Coincidentally he also started coughing immediately and got the hiccups.   Visions of all the stories I’d read about anaphylaxis came rushing into my head. Thankfully all was fine and Luke seemed amused by my worries but it was a tense 30 minutes or so.  But really, who in their right mind brings whole peanuts to a baby gym class and leaves them scattered about?  What is wrong with people?   I never found the culprit here but each mom got a pretty bitchy look from me just in case they were to blame so they would know I was NOT happy!

Daily Drama Dose: I'm a little confused how Luke refuses to put most new foods in his mouth (as yummy as I explain they are) yet eating that wood chip at the playground seemed like a delicious idea.  My mouth sweep wasn't as effective as with the peanut and I hope to find the chip in his diaper tomorrow...