octobaby

Shopping with Dennis today at Wal-Mart was like shopping with a toddler with 8 arms. He grabbed and lunged at everything even remotely close to the shopping cart, which he was standing in because he refused to sit up front. We narrowly avoided a wine bottle disaster on the beverage aisle. The bottles are pretty and I turned to see him reaching up to touch and grab several at once when I shouted "Dennis STOP!", and that delayed him for the 5 seconds Gran needed to process what was happening and move the cart quickly to deter his reach. Trying on the shoes was also fun. He needed dress shoes for the wedding to go with his new black pants, and we quickly found a pair that fit the bill nicely. He required a size 6 in them, and I'm glad I took him with me to try them. The 6 in those is so much like a 5 in other shoes! Once he had the shoes on (this was a major accomplishment on my part because he was wiggling constantly so that he could turn around and flirt with himself in the mirror), he took off for parts unknown (the craft department). I lured him back with a pair of Thomas the Train tennis shoes, which he loved and which I intended to buy for him until he tossed them out of the cart 3 times. I warned him that I would put them back if he did it again, and he did, so I did. No Thomas shoes here. He would have liked them better if he could have seen the trains (Thomas, James, AND Percy) while they were on his feet, but they were on the outside of the shoe and even though he manipulated the heck out of his leg trying to see the trains, he couldn't. He even sat on the floor and picked up his foot and turned it to try and see the trains on the shoe to no avail. He does need tennis shoes, and he liked the idea of train shoes, so I may see what else is out there. In a size 6! I can hardly believe it!

He suffered through some grocery shopping before we left, and as a reward we let him ride the baby merry-go-round out by the Coca-cola machines. His face stayed mostly expressionless as he rode around and around, and I couldn't tell if he liked it or not. He sort of smiled around his pacifier at the end. And when it stopped, I picked him up off the ride and set him down. He climbed back on it. I asked him if he wanted to ride again and he spent a minute carefully comparing the 3 steeds (2 horses, 1 elephant) to choose his ride. He opted for the second horse, having already ridden the first one. He petted the elephant, though, so it wouldn't feel left out. On the second ride, he waved at us each time he passed and said "whee". And when it stopped, I told him to say "bye bye" to the horses, and he did, all the way out the door with no crying or fussing.

Other items of note: He pulled my hair HARD today, and while he did it, he yelled "OWWWW!" at the top of his lungs (to keep me from having to, I guess). The octopus action continued at home while he reached for everything on the kitchen table and even surfed the web a little on his own while my head was turned. And, I am dismayed to report that he can now open the front door of the house. We have been vigilant about locking it, but I was loading the car and making several trips when I realized I needed to get a bib. As I was returning from the bathroom, there he was standing by the door with it open. He almost walked out but decided to wait for me instead. When he saw me, he pointed to the door and said "door open" and then walked outside, slowly and waiting for me to catch up. Thank goodness he stopped! I don't know that he would have gotten far, but I have nightmares about having to search 13 wooded acres for him. So now we're diligently using the deadbolt. He can also open the back door at Gran's house and the bathroom door at the lake house (he surprised me good in there today). I have no worries about his motor skills. They are as astounding as his rapidly increasing verbal abilities!