Following me

Shosei has turned 10 months now.  He can kind of crawl and move across the floor faster than you think.  One minute he is in the far corner of the living room, and then the next minute, his wailing is happening right next to my ear. 
These days, he wails and starts to cry and whimper when he doesn't see me nearby.  I call to him from the kitchen to let him know where I am and then soon, I realize he has dragged himself into the kitchen, and is nuzzling his nose into my jeans.  He looks up at me with teary eyes and a runny nose( if he had been crying a lot) and begs for me to pick him up and hold him in my arms for however long he wishes.  I grant his wish for 5 minutes before I go back to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes and I put him down on the floor.  He cries again and the whole thing starts all over again.  He follows me into the kitchen and I try to distract him by giving him some household items to play with.  Lately, he likes to play with all the drawers by opening and closing them.  More than once, he has gotten his fingers caught.  He used to cry out when that happened, but now, he knows what he has done so instead of a shocked cry, he says, ' whaaa...' in a helpless tone.

Until tonight, I was starting to get annoyed with his frantic chase after me into the kitchen or other rooms, but after reading on the internet about this baby trait (happens around 8~9 months), I just reminded myself that Shosei has developed a certain kind of attachment towards his mother.  He likes the attention and finds comfort when I hold him.  So that's a good thing.  It won't last forever.  When he grows old, I would call his name and he might totally ignore me.  I would be the one 'chasing' him and expecting a nice reaction, but he might point his attention elsewhere.  I should cherish these moments now. 

The fun has started

The cradle will rock....zzzz....

I am slowly getting Shosei used to sleeping in his crib.  Before, he was accustomed to being put down for a nap in the master bed and I would lie down next to him and sing a lullaby until he fell asleep.  He now knows that the song, 'Rock-a-bye baby' is when it is time to sleep.  He usually can fall asleep for a nap in about 10 minutes or less.  When he is too sleepy, he can't fall asleep so well.  If he has a hard time falling asleep, then I say, 'Shhh, shhh' rhythmically.  And if that doesn't work, I just take him out into the living room and try something else. 
When he naps, it is my free time to surf the web, write letters and emails, write this blog, read a magazine, jot down my errand notes, or finish a sewing project.  Or I take a nap with Shosei.