dear finn,
you have been getting soooo close to crawling for the past month or so...i have just been waiting for the day that you figure out how to use your hands to help you go forward. and that day finally came! as of today, i feel confident in saying we have a crawler.
rewind to a month and a few days ago........grandma cindy was over and she was amazed at how well you scooted on your tummy. you could scoot backwards clear across a room. after seeing that, she told me she thought you'd be crawling really soon. i had never heard of a six-month-old crawler, so i assured her that you wouldn't be crawling any time soon, and that this scooting was just a normal developmental achievement for any 5-6 month old baby.
well, you became quite the pro at scooting...so much so, that at your 6 month doctor appointment i mentioned to the doctor how well you scoot, and he told me that you are advanced in the motor-skills department. he gave me the impression that you would be crawling within the next month or so. your bff's mr. locke phippen and mr. krew clark have been crawling for a few weeks too...locke was a super early crawler, and krew was doing the same thing you have been doing when he was your age (weird to say since you are only 3 weeks apart, however that 3 weeks makes quite a difference, i have come to learn)... anyway, so i guess my assurance that 6 month old babies don't crawl was quite inaccurate! but that doesn't change the fact that six months is early to be crawling...you and your friends are just really smart. :)
the week of october 3rd you figured out how to get in the "crawling position..." on your hands and knees, and you would rock forward for a while before you got tired and collapsed on your tummy. shortly thereafter you learned how to scoot forward, which was quite the milestone, because that skill enabled you to reach toys in front of you that used to be out of grasp.
about a week and a half ago you started army crawling. this is particularly enjoyable to watch...you look like a fish out of water haha. you use your elbows and knees to move forward, with your chest up in the air a bit, then you collapse onto your tummy (that is the part that reminds me of a fish on land) and then you do it all over again until you get where you are going.
you started to make rapid progress with army crawling once i figured out that if i put something in front of you that you realllly want, you will work much harder to crawl forward and get it. in most cases, the object we use is my phone. that or a remote control. sometimes a regular old toy will work, but you have to be in the right mood for that. my phone, on the other hand, never fails. :) so that is how we have been practicing this past week and a half. i sit on one side of the room with my phone (or i just put the phone on one side of the room), we put you on the other, and all it takes is a few minutes before you have crawled to the phone.
it amazes me how fast you have picked this all up. i know that you have been getting so close for a while now, but in only a week and a half you have gone from army crawling, to pretty much actually crawling. you still army crawl some of the time, but in the past few days i would say the majority of your crawls are real crawls, not army crawls.
we are now at the point that we have to keep our eye on you 100% of the time, which is a bit of a new experience. i feel fine leaving you in a room for a few seconds, as long as you have a toy to occupy your attention for a minute or so...but a minute is about the limit of your attention span these days (lets hope this isn't a sign of adhd!) so if i do step out of the room you are in, i am constantly coming back to check on you. in the end, it's easier if i just take you with me wherever i go. not to mention, you might be a bit of a defiant little stinker! so far, your favorite things to crawl to (besides my phone) are electrical outlets, cords and dvds. i wonder at what age you'll start learning what "no" means, because right now it is foreign to you. when you crawl to any one of the aforementioned things, i gently say, "no baby finn, those aren't for you to play with," and it is obvious you have no idea what i am saying or that i am even implying anything is wrong. haha i think i must be expecting to much of you! i bet this is normal for a little boy though...and for any person really. we always want what we can't...or aren't supposed...to have. looks like we need to get our house fully babyproofed, asap. :)
you make me so proud mr. finn. i absolutely love watching you crawl. after you have woken up from a nap i always find you in your crib, on your hands and knees, practicing crawling. it is fun to see how quickly you pick things like this up, and i know in no time you will be doing so many other things that leave me wondering how i ever ended up with such a smart, adorable little guy. :) love you sooo much mister!
love,
mom
