Here’s Mommy with Jakob at 48 weeks. We’re at work, and this is proof that I do occassionally wear my hair down. (I always regret it. Jakob is FASCINATED by my hair and can’t leave it alone when I wear it down. He always stares at me like he’s amazed, and can’t stop touching and pulling it).

…will probably be able to:

-play patty-check (clap hands) or wave bye-bye CHECK– he’s been waving for over a month now, and all of a sudden on Monday he started clapping his hands. All you have to do now is say “clap clap” and he’ll clap for you. My little trained seal…

-walk holding on to furniture (cruise) CHECK – his favorite thing to do!

-point or gesture to something to get needs met NOT REALLY – does reaching count?

(I don’t know why Yannick always looks like a deer caught in headlights in these photos)

…may possibly be able to:

-pick up a tiny object neatly with tips of thumb and forefinger CHECK – for months now

-stand alone momentarily CHECK – but not of his own will. It scares him.

-say “dada” or “mama” discriminately NOT REALLY – sometimes it sounds like he’s trying to say “papa” or “cat”, but he’s not really calling anything by a name. He says babababa and dadadada and blablabla all the time, but no “mama” or “papa” yet.

-say one word other than “mama” or “dada” NOPE

…may even be able to:

-stand alone well NOPE

-indicate wants in ways other than crying CHECK – among other things, he shakes his hand when he wants his bottle (we sing “shake shake shake, shake your bottle”)

-“play ball” (roll a ball back to you) CHECK – we play fetch. He throws it, we chase.

-drink from a cup independently CHECK – he drinks from a cup alone at every meal, and only spills it when he turns it upside down to look at the bottom of the cup.

-use immature jargoning (gibberish that sounds as if baby is talking a made-up foreign language) SOMETIMES – he’s definately babbling in a more speech-like way lately

-say three or more words other than “mama” or “dada” NOPE – unlike the girl in our playgroup who is 9 months old and can say “book” and “duck” (with comprehension), Jakob is still wordless.

–respond to a one-step command without gestures (“Give that to me” – without hand out) CHECK – if you ask for a kiss he’ll grab your face and kiss you. He’ll also clap when you ask him to, or wave hi/bye.

–walk well NOPE

All in all, not bad for 11 months old, I think. I won’t go on and on about how big he’s getting, and how time flies, because you can imagine it yourself. But I will say that he’s absolutely my favorite person in the world right now. Every time he wakes from a nap, while a part of me wants a few extra minutes alone, the rest of me can’t wait to run into his room and see him smiling at me. Can’t wait to pick him up and get smothered in kisses. Can’t wait to see what he’ll surprise me with today.